In week 3, we learned about Catherine of Austria and her kunstkammer. Who is a another female patron of the arts? As you reflect on this question, remember to link any images or textual sources to your journal posting that might relate to this question or your thoughts on it.

Kunstkammer, or cabinet of curiosities as defined by wikipedia, “was regarded as a microcosm or theater of the world, and a memory theater. The Kunstkammer conveyed symbolically the patron’s control of the world through its indoor, microscopic reproduction.”

I wonder, for Catherine, how much of a collection is collected for fancy or when the cabinet itself, reveals a deeper meaning, as defined, the patron’s control of such worldly objects and their significance to her own status. Almost like trophy cabinet for other’s scrutiny and I’m sure a patron of the arts then, meant certain wealth and power.

Still it is undeniable, her collection served as a point to promote and conserve the arts, even if the arts was more politically driven and a luxury.

Researching in line with this thought, another female patron of the arts would be Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwar Kingdom, India in the 17th century.

As wife to the king, who died in battle and 12 years later, her father-in-law, died, she inherited the throne. Not only did she built a prosperous city under her rule, she also awarded craftsmen, sculptors and artists with honor and salaries and encouraged the textile industry. She has been compared to other rulers, such as Catherine the Great and Queen Elizabeth.

Certainly, at those times, arts was seen as a form of luxury, empowerment and political strength that enriched a country.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ahilyabai_Holkar