The 19th-century German antiquarian Heinrich von Siebold served as a diplomat and translator at the Austrian embassy in Tokyo, and during his life amassed a large collection of Japanese decorative art. He arrived in Japan at the age of 17: having failed to obtain a matriculation certificate, he decided to travel to the distant country with his brother. This happened at the dawn of the Meiji era, when Japan moved away from its isolationist policy and embarked on the path of industrialization. Young Siebold immediately became interested in the local culture, began collecting coins and various objects from all corners of the island country.
Over time, the diplomat seriously took up archaeology. He excavated several thousand fragments of ceramics and many stone tools. During the excavations, he was guided by the knowledge gained from communicating with the Danish archaeologist Jens Asmussen Worso. Having visited the World Exhibition in Vienna with the Japanese delegation in 1873, Siebold established business contacts with European museums, for which he purchased items of ethnographic value.
In Vienna, the collector presented Duke Karl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach with more than 200 Japanese and Chinese coins, and a few years later sent him about 800 more items. In 1888, Siebold donated more than 5,000 finds to the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, for which he received the title of baron. Today, the collections once collected by Siebold are in the Oriental Coin Cabinet in Jena (Germany), as well as in the Museum of Art History and the World Museum (Austria).
Source:
weltmuseumwien.at
