Orient
International conference 28th June – 1st July 2022
From 28 June to 1 July 2022 the Berlin State Library is hosting a three-day-conference exploring the interplay between collection history and the translocation of, especially, Asian and African manuscripts to libraries in Germany between, roughly, the 17th and 21st century. German libraries have more than 100,000 objects from such manuscript traditions in their custody.
Organisers are the DFG-funded project “Orient-Digital” and the long-term project “KOHD” at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The conference is generously funded by the Fritz-Thyssen-Foundation. Presentations are given in English or German.
The international market for manuscript has remained an elusive phenomenon. Individual actors and transactions are often difficult to identify. So are historical conditions under which the local and global manuscript trade worked. We subsume all these moving parts under the term Collection History.
The conference approaches this complex issue through three thematic approaches: The first one explores the perspective of the collections, both as a subject of curation and through the eyes of provenance research. Whereas recently the history of libraries in the Middle East as evolved into a vibrant field of research, it also has served as a stimulant for provenance research in western collections. This is the right time to investigate the history of collecting in German libraries, as well.
The second approach investigates the processes and conditions of the manuscript trade. Both the circulation of objects on the European markets and the access to markets in Africa and Asia were essential for collections to emerge. An understanding of diverse local market conditions is necessary to understand the political and economic catalysts of the manuscript trade.
The third approach puts the focus on the actors involved in translocating manuscripts and building up collections. In Germany, a plethora of people with different interests, training and financial means were involved in establishing and growing collections: e.g. librarians, book dealers, Orientalist scholars, government agents and private patrons. Scholars, in particular, could act as both buyers and sellers of manuscripts. In the regions of origin agents, dealers, Arabic teachers and copyists influenced the composition of collections in Germany.
Further Information and program
“<Author><Title><Place>: Authority Records and Manuscripts in Libraries and Research”
[Translate to English:]
“<Author><Title><Place>: Authority Records and Manuscripts in Libraries and Research”
27. bis 29. Oktober 2021 an der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Der internationale hybride Workshop wird organisiert von dem Projekt Bibliotheca Arabica an der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Leipzig und dem DFG-Projekt Orient-Digital an der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
Aktuelle Informationen und Teilnahmehinweise finden Sie hier:
https://blog.sbb.berlin/authority-control-and-oriental-manuscripts
International Coptic Workshop from 22.9. to 25.9.2020 at the State Library of Berlin ⲕⲟⲡⲁⲗⲕⲱ
From 22.9. to 25.9.2020 an International Coptic Workshop is organized in the State Library of Berlin (KoPalKo).
Lecturers are:
Anne Boud’hors (Paris, CNRS)
Petra Figeac (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin)
Esther Garel (Université de Strasbourg)
Tea Ghigo (Rom, La Sapienza / Universität Hamburg / Berlin, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung)
Tonio Sebastian Richter (FU Berlin / BBAW)
In this context, Thursday the 24.09.20 at 18:00 Prof. Anne Boud'hors will give an Evening Lecture:
An Ancient Coptic Book and its Making: The "Proverbienkodex" of the Berlin State Library.
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin / Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Saal / Haus Potsdamer Str. 33 / 10785 Berlin
Admission is free. The number of seats is limited. The lecture will be transmitted via Zoom. Registration (with the Information of you will come to the library or if of you want to be registered for the Zoom-conference) is requested under events@sbb.spk-berlin.de
The Coptic "Proverbienkodex" is the oldest book of the State Library, a completely even with its binding preserved Papyrus Codex from the 4th century.
Call for Papers - Collection History Between the Academic Thirst for Knowledge, Antique Trade Across the Globe, and Imperial Claims to Power
Call for Papers
Oriental Manuscripts in Germany – Collection History Between the Academic Thirst for Knowledge, Antique Trade Across the Globe, and Colonial Claims to Power
International Conference at the Berlin State Library, 29 June – 1 July 2022
International scholarship has recently intensified its focus on collection history, as current debates about Orientalism, colonial pasts, and provenance demand a more nuanced view on the processes that led to the transfer of knowledge contained in manuscripts from Asia and Africa to European libraries. The importance of the study of the development of collections in libraries and research institutions for understanding the history of the “Oriental disciplines” and intercultural relations is slowly beginning to be acknowledged.
During the past few years, digital databases have made Oriental manuscripts in Germany increasingly accessible while also bringing into focus collections of medium and small size. This enhanced visibility enables new perspectives on the historical development of these collections as well as on potential cross-connections.
Topic area 1: Collection history
We welcome contributions that approach collection history from different perspectives. Not only institutions, but also agents, objects, a collection’s reception, or its cataloguing process can serve as starting points for an investigation of the subject. Questions such as whether clear objectives or coincidences played a role in building a collection, handling the acquisition of scholars’ libraries, or accepting donations will be of interest.
Closely related to collection research are matters of acquisition records, provenance documentation, and the accessibility of such information in catalogues and databases, as well as their survey and analysis for research on collection and provenance.
The call covers the entire range of African and Asian script cultures and also allows for contextualising European manuscript culture. All time periods of collection will be considered. The focus is on developments in Germany in a broad international context.
Topic area 2: Contexts
This area takes as its starting point social- and cultural-historical questions that go beyond the focus on actual historical collections. This includes market development on a global and local scale and its political and economic catalysts. The differentiation of the Oriental disciplines, scholarly networks, and development of scientific methods (including technological developments such as photography) present further factors that merit study as regards their impact on the development of collections and the market situation. To afford an objective assessment of the mechanisms of transfer of cultural assets from Asia and Africa, it seems worthwhile to also consider antique trade in general and the dynamics of the European art market in particular.
We welcome contributions on networks or individual agents of manuscript trade, different forms of manuscript translocation, and on the (virtual) reconstruction of historical collections.
SUBMISSIONS
Interested participants are invited to submit a proposal (email only) including a title, a brief abstract and a short CV by 10 August 2021 to christoph.rauch@sbb.spk-berlin.de.
Pending funding agreement, the participants’ travel expenses will be covered.
Successful applicants will be notified by the end of September 2021.
Christoph Rauch and Torsten Wollina (Berlin State Library, Oriental Department / DFG Project „Orient-Digital“)
Ute Pietruschka (KOHD, Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities)
Exposition “Travelling Tales: One Thousand and One Nights between the Orient and Europe”
Scheherezade enchants the Staatsbibliothek
The One Thousand and One Nights ranks among the most influential works of world literature. A multimedia exposition with 200 exhibits in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin illustrates the manifold oral and written traditions and the manifestations of the collection of tales.
More than 300 tales are associated with One Thousand and One Nights, which never were a finished literary work. It is an open collection of tales, fables, and fairy tales, its composition was influenced by oral narrative traditions of the Orient as well as later European translations and literary adaptations.
Coming from India and via Iran, there was a first Arabian version of the collection of tales in the 8th century. In the course of time, many more tales were incorporated into the collection, for example, legendary events involving the Baghdad Caliph Harun al-Rashid (died 809) or fantastic tales from Egypt. The French edition by Antoine Galland is the oldest known written testimony of some of the tales most popular in Europe, such as those of Aladdin or Ali Baba. As a result of Galland‘s French literary adaptation the tales of One Thousand and One Nights became extremely popular in 18th-century Europe. Like no other work, the tales at that time shaped the Occidental perception of the Orient and inspired the fanciful interpretations of countless authors and book artists. The frame story, in which Sheherazade, through her storytelling, dissuades King Shahriyar from his cruel intention to kill, has not only become a symbol of a strong and inventive woman but also an allegory for the power of storytelling.
Beginning with the Indian and Persian origins of the fairy tales, the exhibition illustrates oral narrative traditions of the Arab World and literate culture in the Orient as well as the multifaceted European literary reception in translations, literary works and book art as well. Old Arabian manuscripts, rare historical prints, splendid illustrated volumes, advertising art and elaborately designed children’s books are examples that there existed during many centuries a relationship between the Orient and Europe, which was both tension-filled and fruitful.
In the foyer of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin visitors are greeted with impressive video and audio installations of the film artist Thomas Ladenburger, and they will find themselves drawn into the fantastic world of jugglers and storytellers in Marrakesh.
In cooperation with the Universitätsbibliothek der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Kunstbibliothek – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Zur Ausstellung erscheint ein Begleitband im Insel-Verlag: 184 Seiten, 78 farbige Abbildungen, Preis: 18 € (Insel-Bücherei 2038), ISBN 978-3-458-20038-3.
Scriptorium: Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts
Call for applications
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation (London) are delighted to call for applications for another international training course / workshop in the series:
Scriptorium: Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts
This training course / workshop will be organized under the title:
“Codicological and Paleographical Aspects of Islamic Manuscripts, with a Special Focus on Manuscript Notes”
Codicological and palaeographical aspects of Islamic manuscripts, like writing support, binding, calligraphy, etc., will be covered in this training course / workshop. Beyond the material side of manuscripts, the main focus of this training course / workshop will be on manuscripts as sources for social and historical research, beside their content. Manuscript notes (like owners and readers entries and collation statements) or analysis of paper are only two examples that reflect several cultural and economic aspects of Islamic learning and societies.
The focus of this course will be on hands-on sessions, in which the participants will have the opportunity to observe themselves the discussed features in Islamic manuscripts kept at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, which holds around 43,000 volumes, making it one of the largest collections of Oriental manuscripts in the Western world.
The workshop is planned as an advanced training course. Participants are either expected to have some experience in working with manuscripts (respectively their digital surrogates) or already participated at one of the introductory courses offered by several institutions.
The training course / workshop will be conducted by:
Prof. Dr. Konrad Hirschler (Freie Universität Berlin)
Dr. Olly Akkerman (Freie Universität Berlin)
Dr. Anne Regourd (University of Copenhagen)
Dr. Boris Liebrenz (Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leipzig)
Complementary lectures are given by Dr. Élise Franssen (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia) and Christoph Rauch (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin).
Venue: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Potsdamer Straße 33
Date: 25 - 29 March 2019
Public Keynote Lecture by Dr. Élise Franssen (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia), on 25 March 2019
The training course / workshop is intended for advanced MA and doctoral students as well as other junior researchers in the fields of Oriental Philology, Islamic Studies, Ethnography or Comparative Manuscript Studies. Dependent on prior arrangement with the home institution, students and PhD candidates are entitled to receive credit points for their participation. Working knowledge of written Arabic is required.
The participation fee is 140 Euro. The enrollment in the training course / workshop will only be active after payment. Bank details will be communicated to successful applicants by the beginning of December 2018. In case of cancellation, the fee cannot be reimbursed. The workshop will be held in English and the number of participants will be limited to 20.
Applications, including a motivation letter, curriculum vitae and a summary of your current research project, should be sent to orientabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de until 15 November 2018.
Flyer as pdf-file.
Scriptorium: Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Berlin are carrying out another workshop in the series Scriptorium:
Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts
Turkic Manuscript Studies: An Introduction
Venue: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus 2, Potsdamer Straße 33
Date: 27 March – 1 April 2017
The participants will be introduced to the study of different codicological and paleographical aspects of Turkic manuscripts and documents, including their periodisation, writing supports, bindings, mise-en-texte, mise-en-page, inks, illuminations, miniature-painting, calligraphy, dating systems, scripts, etc. Beyond the material side of manuscripts social and historical aspects as well as new scientific approaches to the research with handwritten material will be covered. The theoretical part will be supplemented by hands-on sessions, in which the participants have the opportunity to observe the discussed features themselves in Turkic manuscripts kept at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
The workshop will be conducted by:
Prof. Dr. Claudia Römer (Universität Wien, Institut für Orientalistik):
Monday – Thursday (Ottoman-Turkish Manuscript Tradition)
Prof. Dr. Ingeborg Baldauf (Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften):
Friday – Saturday (Turkic Manuscripts from Central Asia)
Complementary lectures are given by Prof. Dr. Claus-Peter Haase (Freie Universität Berlin/Museum für Islamische Kunst SMB), Dr. Patricia Engel (European Research Centre for Book and Paper Conservation-Restoration, Zentrum für Kulturgüterschutz, Donau-Universität Krems), and Katharina Siedler (paper maker and researcher in Berlin).
Keynote Lecture: 27 March 2017 (Prof. Dr. Claudia Römer)
The workshop is intended for advanced MA and doctoral students, and other junior researchers in the fields of Turkish Studies, Islamic Studies, Ethnography or Comparative Manuscript Studies. Dependent on prior arrangement with the home institution, students and PhD candidates are entitled to receive credit points for their participation.
The workshop will be held in English.
Symposium - Studies on J. G. Wetzstein: Manuscripts, Politics and Oriental Studies
Berlin State Library, 19 to 21 February 2015
Venue: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, (Simón-Bolívar-Hall), Potsdamer Str. 33, 10785 Berlin
The Oriental Department of the Berlin State Library in cooperation with the Oriental Institute of the University of Leipzig cordially invite you to participate in a conference celebrating the 200th birthday of the renowned orientalist, diplomat and manuscript-collector Johann Gottfried Wetzstein. A student of the famous Arabist Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer, Wetzstein himself was to become one of the most distinguished figures in 19th century German oriental studies. Beyond his published scholarship, his networking skills as a Prussian diplomat in Damascus (1849-61) and later on as a private scholar in Berlin brought him in close contact with many of his famous contemporaries. This is documented by his correspondence of which substantial parts are preserved in the Berlin State Library. As an avid collector of Islamic manuscripts his important acquisitions contributed significantly to the holdings of the libraries in Tuebingen, Leipzig, and Berlin.
Wetzstein’s life and manifold interests will provide a starting point to explore aspects of 19th century scholarship and diplomacy that put his individual achievements within a broader context.
complete programme as pdf-file
webflyer as pdf-file
For participation we kindly ask you to register before 13th February at orientabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de
Scriptorium: Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and the Research Unit „Intellectual History of the Islamicate World“ of Freie Universität Berlin are inviting applications for another workshop in the series
Scriptorium: Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts
Persian Manuscript Studies: An Introduction
The participants will be introduced to the study of different codicological and paleographical aspects of Persian manuscripts, including their periodisation, writing supports, bindings, miseen-texte, mise-en-page, inks, illuminations, miniature-painting, calligraphy, dating systems, scripts, etc. The theoretical part will be supplemented by hands-on sessions, in which the participants will have the opportunity to observe the discussed features themselves in Persian
manuscripts kept at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
The workshop will be conducted by:
Dr. Francis Richard (Bibliothèque Universitaire des Langues et Civilisations, Paris)
Dr. Simon Rettig (The Freer Sackler Galleries, Washington DC)
Venue: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus 2, Potsdamer Straße 33
Date: 22-26 September 2014
Keynote Lecture: 22 September 2014 (Dr. Francis Richard)
The workshop is intended for advanced MA and doctoral students, and other junior researchers in the fields of Iranian Studies, Islamic Studies, classic and medieval philology or comparative manuscript studies. Dependent on prior arrangement with the home institution, students of Freie Universität Berlin who are currently enrolled in Iranistik or Islamwissenschaft and PhD candidates at the BGSMCS are entitled to receive credit points for their participation.
The participation fee is 100 Euro. The enrollment in the workshop will only be active after payment. Bank details will be communicated to successful applicants by the end of February 2014. In case of cancellation the fee cannot be reimbursed. The workshop will be held in English and the number of participants will be limited to 20.
Applications, including a motivation letter, curriculum vitae, a summary of your current research project, should be sent to
orientabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de or by regular mail to
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Orientabteilung, Potsdamer Str. 33, 10785 Berlin, until 31 January 2014.
The Diez Albums of the Berlin State Library: Current State of Research and New Perspectives
The Berlin State Library hosts an international symposium on the so called Diez-Albums from 2. to 5. June 2013: „The Diez Albums of the Berlin State Library: Current State of Research and New Perspectives“ with contributions of more than 20 speakers of international renown.
The five Diez albums contain about 450 single miniatures, sketches, stencils and works of calligraphy, mostly related to the Ilkhanid and Timurid period in 14th and 15th century Iran. The predominant part of the material belonged to albums preserved till this day in the Topkapı library in Istanbul. The scholarly community of Islamic art historians is aware of the important role the Diez albums play towards a better understanding of the development of Islamic (book-) art.
At the same time as the symposium takes place, the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin will open a cabinet-exhibition on Heinrich Friedrich von Diez and his albums, showing a selection of unique miniatures, drawings and sketches from Iran and Central-Asia from early 14th to 18th century.
Both conference and exhibition will be inaugurated on Sunday, 2 June 2013, 7:00 pm in the Mschatta-hall of the Museum of Islamic Art with a keynote lecture by Julian Raby (Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.) “Contents and Contexts – Re-viewing the Diez Albums”
(Registration for the opening and for the symposium is required!)
The conference will be held at the premises of the Berlin State Library, Potsdamer Strasse 33.
Updated programme of the symposium for download.
The Diez albums are currently part of a digitisation project. Together with all other Islamic miniatures of the collection of the Berlin State Library it will become available within the next year on the recently launched database of Islamic manuscripts
http://orient-digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de
Contact: Christoph Rauch (Head of the Oriental Department) christoph.rauch@sbb.spk-berlin.de
Scriptorium: Workshops on the Study of Oriental Manuscripts - Hebrew Manuscript Studies: An Introduction
The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and Research Unit Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, Freie Universität Berlin, solicit applications for a new workshop in the framework of
Scriptorium: Workshops on the Study of Oriental Manuscripts
15-19 July 2013
The participants will be introduced to the study of different codicological and paleographical aspects of Hebrew manuscripts, including their periodisation, writing supports, bindings, mise-en-texte, mise-en-page, inks, illuminations, dating systems, scripts, etc. The theoretical part will be supplemented by hands-on sessions, in which the participants will have the opportunity to observe the discussed features themselves in Hebrew manuscripts kept at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
The workshop will be conducted by:
Prof. Dr. Judith Olszowy-Schlanger (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne, Paris)
Prof. Dr. Malachi Beit-Arie (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
Key-lecture
Dr. Ben Outhwaite (Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library)
Venue: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus 2, Potsdamer Straße 33
The workshop is intended for advanced MA and doctoral students, and other junior researchers in the fields of Judaic Studies, Arabic and Islamic Studies, classic and medieval philology or comparative manuscript studies.
Dependent on prior arrangement with the home institution, students of the Freie Universität Berlin, who are currently enrolled in Judaistik, Islamwissenschaft or Arabistik and PhD candidates at the BGSMCS, are entitled to receive credits for their participation. Please refer to your institute for details.
The participation fee is 100 Euro. The enrollment in the workshop will only be active after payment. Bank details will be communicated to successful applicants, end of January 2013. The fee cannot be reimbursed in case of cancellation.
The workshop will be held in English and is limited to 25 participants!
Applications, including a cover letter with a brief description of your motivation, CV, summary of current research project, are to be sent to orientabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de or Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Orientabteilung, Potsdamer Str. 33, 10785 Berlin, until 15 January 2013. (pdf in German) (pdf in English)
