Vienna 18th Century Rococo Ceremonial Carriages

The aim of this paper is to describe and review 18th century Viennese parade carriages from the point of view of arts and crafts. Carriages are a small architectural form and are “programme works”, examples of the synthesis of arts, harmoniously combining the principles of architecture, sculpture, painting, decorative art, carpentry, as well as the skills of carvers, gilders, bronzers, embroiderers. At the same time, carriages were an integral part of ceremonies and participated in the most important state ceremonies (coronations, weddings, funerals, baptism of heirs). Certain types of carriages, such as carousel chariots and masquerade sleighs, were used for court entertainments, festivals and games. Imperial ceremonial carriages of the 17th—18th centuries served to represent the monarch’s power on a par with the throne and regalia and were created as true works of art, using expensive materials and sophisticated decoration techniques.

The research is based on the study of natural material — original carriages from the collection of the Wagenburg Museum (Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna) and the Armoury Chamber of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Moscow Kremlin”, its tasks include determining the model range of actual forms and designs, identifying the characteristic artistic methods, techniques of execution and decorative motifs of rococo. For the first time it is proposed to consider carriages from Russian museum collections in the context of the European carriage school that created them, combining the knowledge of foreign and domestic researchers about carriages of the 18th century. A separate research task is the integration of Viennese carriages from the Armoury Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin into a single analogue series with models from Wagenburg, which allows to expand the understanding of the Viennese carriage school of the 18 century.

A review of the main models of rococo parade carriages created in the Viennese royal workshops from the 1720s to the 1760s is made. They are considered from the point of view of artistic value of the carriages, emphasis is made on the description of objects, decorative techniques and methods of artistic work. The material is divided into groups according to the statuses of the carriages: ceremonial official gala carriages of the emperor, retinue carriages and running holiday carriages. The specimens are arranged in chronological order, which illustrates the development of carriage-making from the model of the large carriage to the more technically advanced Berlines. It is shown that Viennese carriages are masterpieces of decorative and applied art, combining the highest level of skill of the creators of carriage projects (architects, decorators) and performers (carpenters, carvers, gilders, painters, weavers, embroiderers, blacksmiths and foundry workers).

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