A parade of wooden horses: The politics of presentation in the early modern Dresden armoury

Abstract This article considers the use of wooden horses as display supports in the Dresden armoury (Rüstkammer), established in 1590 as a publicly accessible collection in a dedicated building. As in other Renaissance armouries, this early arrangement included gatherings of mounted suits of armour. From the early seventeenth century onwards, a defining feature of the Dresden presentation became the display of valuable parade trappings on riderless wooden horses, each placed in a different room. It is argued here that these equestrian exhibits were conceived as a unified series conveying a political message, the accoutrements selected for display originating as illustrious diplomatic presents, including gifts from three Habsburg emperors. Subsequent changes to the displays reflect different narratives. After 1697, for example, the series was expanded to include trappings from an equestrian parade staged by Elector Friedrich August I (Augustus the Strong) on the occasion of his coronation in 1697 as King of Poland. As a compelling narrative device, furthermore, some of the horse statues portrayed actual steeds that had either been presented to the electors as diplomatic gifts or had been ridden at a particular stage in a ceremonial pageant.