Looted Ottoman objects in the Vienna Schatzkammer and their use in the political propaganda of Leopold I.

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject Art - Art of European countries, grade: 1,3, University of Bonn (Kunsthistorisches Institut), language: English, abstract: This paper examines the history of two objects from the art collections of the Habsburg Court in Vienna that were looted during the Great Turkish War. The first object is an Ottoman silk flag that was looted during the Great Turkish War and is now on display in the Museum of Military History in Vienna. The second object is the seal of Sultan Mustafa II, which was looted in the Battle of Zenta in 1697 and is today also in the collection of the Museum of Military History in Vienna. The two objects are worth investigating because both appear in the contemporary media and were owned or appropriated by influential political figures of the time. The research question of the thesis is therefore: What political meanings were attributed to Ottoman objects in the Habsburg treasury that were appropriated due to the Great Turkish War? It will be shown how the Court of Leopold I used art and loot for propaganda purposes, especially to demonstrate its religious and political legitimacy and superiority.