Database of Japanese Exhibits at the Vienna World Exhibition of 1873
Big paper lanterns from Japan
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Research Project: Japan at the Vienna World Exhibition 1873 The database about exhibits of the Imperial Japanese Government at the Vienna World Exposition (VWE) is part of the project In Commemoration of 150 Years of the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition (Expo) - Bridging Japan and Europe at the Weltmuseum Wien (KHM-Museumsverband). It was financially supported by the Japan World Exposition Commemorative Fund/Kansai Osaka 21st Century Association (JEC) and carried out from April 2022 to March 2024 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Vienna World Exposition (1873-2023).
Link to the Database >>>Description of the Japanese Exhibits at the World Exhibition >>> |
Photo album with exhibits from the Japanese pavilion at the 1873 World's Fair
About the database
The database is dedicated to Japan's first official participation in a world exhibition.
It brings together the existing but fragmented historical material on objects sent to Vienna by the Japanese government in 1873. The information about individual objects is summarised from Japanese and German sources, compared to each other and thus made easier to find digitally. The aim is to enable further subsequent utilisation and research of the data in accordance with the FAIR principles. Object stories on Japan's economy, art and culture in exchange with the West will be added to the online database at a later date.
Part of the research project is to record objects that still exist today in museum collections in Vienna and around the world and to link them virtually with their historical catalogue information.
The database is available in three languages: German, Japanese, English.
The Japanese source material (KMOJS) will be available in German and English.
Data will be continuously enriched in order to incorporate future research findings. The maximum information provided for each object depends on the current information status.The current status refers to March 2024.
Structure of the metadata fields
- Catalogue entry of the CKJA1873
- Catalogue entry of the KMOJS
- Winner of the 1873 World Exhibition
- Historical photographic material (photo album with exhibits from the Japanese pavilion at the 1873 World's Exhibition), identification of the object on the photograph
- current location of the object: owning institution, inventory number, photograph and permalink to the online collection
- Provenance information
- Literature sources and archive material
- Notes, information from the research project
- CKJA1873: Catalog der Kaiserlichen Japanischen Ausstellung 1873
- KMOJS: Katalog Material (der japanischen Abteilung für Weltausstellung Wien) in Original Japanischer Sprache
(Catalogue Material (of the Japanese Department for the Vienna World Exhibition, in) Original Japanese language - Amtliches Verzeichnis der Ehrenpreise: Amtliches Verzeichniss der Aussteller, welchen von der internationalen Jury Ehrenpreise zuerkannt worden sind. Weltausstellung 1873 in Wien, Wien 1873
(Official list of prizes of honour: Official list of exhibitors who have been awarded prizes of honour by the international jury. World Exhibition 1873 in Vienna, Vienna 1873)
The primary basis of the database is the official exhibition catalogue of Japan:
Japanese Exhibition Commission 1873
Verl. der Japanischen Ausstellungs-Commission (ed.), Catalog der kaiserlichen japanischen Ausstellung 1873, Vienna 1873 (CKJA1873) [1873年大日本帝国出品目録].
The structure and organisation of the database are based on this official publication. The categorisation into the respective exhibition groups has been the base for the structure of the digital view and navigation.
The catalogue in German is based on the administrative lists of the Japanese Exhibition Commission, which were compiled in 1872-1873 and translated in 1873.
The catalogue material in Japanese (KMOJS) is partly published in:
Toyko National Cultural Research Institute 1997
明治期万国博覧会美術品出品目録 / 東京国立文化財研究所美術部 (Meijiki bankoku hakurankai bijutsuhin shuppin mokuroku / Tōkyō Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kenkyūjo Bijutsubu hen, Catalogue of artworks exhibited at the World Exposition of the Meiji Period / compiled by the Art Department of the National Cultural Properties Research Institute, Tokyo), 東京: 中央公論美術出版, 平成 9 (Tōkyō: Chūō Kōron Bijtusu Shuppan, Heisei 9 [1997. 5]).
This publication is based on the work of:
Yokomizo 1993-1994
横溝廣子Yokomizo, Hiroko [黒川廣子 Kurokawa, Hiroko], ウイーン万国博覧会出品目録草稿. 美術工芸編 (Draft for Japanese Catalogue of Vienna Universal Exhibition. Sections of Arts and Crafts, Part I - III), in: 美術研究 (The Bijutsu Kenkyu. The Journal of Art Studies, 編集. 東京国立文化財研究所美術部 (Department of Fine Arts, Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties) , 通号 357, 1993.7, p. 260–269, 通号 358, 1993.12, p. 329–355, 通号 359, 1994.3, p. 30–68.
Additional information can be found in the following publications:
World Exhibition 1873 Vienna
Weltausstellung 1873 Wien, Internationale Ausstellung. Amtliches Verzeichniss der Aussteller, welchen von der internationalen Jury Ehrenpreise zuerkannt worden sind: Weltausstellung 1873 in Wien, 2. revidierte Ausg. Wien: Verl. der General-Direction, 1873.
[World Exhibition 1873 Vienna, International Exhibition. Official list of exhibitors who were awarded prizes of honour by the international jury: Weltausstellung 1873 in Wien, 2. revidierte Ausg. Wien: Verl. der General-Direction, 1873].
Moser - a.o. 1872-1873
Michael Moser [et al.] (photographer). Photo album with exhibits from the Japanese pavilion at the 1873 World's Exhibition: Convolute, [n.P.: 1872-1873].
The database provides you with "Image manipulation tools" that can be used to make the objects’ shapes and patterns more visible in the photographs.
We would like to point out that the historical photo album is also available digitally in the collections of other institutions, for example in the Austrian National Library, see: http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/baa20470200. As the arrangement and photographic angle of some of the objects are different, we recommend to compare them by using the link to the Mirador Image Viewer directly in the search interface of the database for each data record. The IIIF manifest is supported.
If you use the database search function, you should consider that the catalogue was written in 1873 in a now obsolete German spelling. The most common examples for this are: Cultur, Cigarren, Confect, Construction, Geräth, Thier, Thee, Schaale and Waaren. In 1873 there was still no official standardised German spelling system. See: Spelling reforms from 1876 onwards. An attempt was made to include as many deviations as possible in the index of the database for the search.
A standardised transcription system from Japanese into a German transcription did not exist in 1873. Therefore, the Japanese names or designations in the German catalogue of 1873 are a phonetic spelling and an early transliteration that was not consistently uniform. This is particularly important for those objects for which no data is available in Japanese. The first transcription system originates to the year 1885.
The aim of the database project is to provide information for further research. The metadata is therefore available to you in open access.
If you wish to re-use the data, please credit "KHM-Museumsverband, Weltmuseum Wien" in accordance with CC BY-SA 4.0.
An OAI interface is available for the re-use of the data. The data is stored in the internationally standardised METS/MODS format.
The photo album we used with historical photographs from 1873 is privately owned. It is available open access.
Object photographs from the respective owning museums and institutions were made available with kind permission. They are not authorised for download (Restricted Access). The image material and the objects are linked to the respective owning institutions so that you can obtain further information about the objects and the licences to use the images.
CONTACT
If you have any questions about the project In Commemoration of 150 Years of the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition (Expo) - Bridging Japan and Europe, suggestions or additional information about objects, please let us know.
If you notice any incomplete or incorrect data despite extensive editing (please note the historical circumstances), please contact us. Send an e-mail to: repository@khm.at
TEAM
Project management: Dr Bettina Zorn, Curator of the East Asia Collection, Weltmuseum Wien
Research assistants: Agnes Schwanzer, BA; Alexandra Kobalt, BA; Sibylle Girmond, MA
Translation: Kana Totsuka, MA; Alexandra Kobalt, BA
Interns: Leonard Stiles, MA; Nicole Lorek, BA, BA; Hannah Außerdorfer, BSc; Alexandra Kobalt, BA; Elyar Najmehchi, MA; Julia Nussbaumer; Komari Fujio, BA; Theresa Forstenlehner, BA; Lara Deniz Ersoy, BA.
Data preparation: Agnes Schwanzer, BA
Goobi database system: Support from intranda GmbH
With the kind support of Mag. Hanna Schneck MSc, Director, KHM Museum Library
We would like to thank all colleagues from the museums and institutions who kindly assisted with the research and the provision of materials.
