Courtly Figures: Collecting Meissen and the Creation of National Identity in the Court of Augustus II and Beyond (original) (raw)

This essay explores how Sarmatian costume was adopted by the German-speaking Wettin monarchs and its portrayal in Meissen-produced porcelain figures contributed to the political identity of the eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It analyzes the role of this costume in visually defining national identity, differentiating social classes, and creating political alliances, particularly under Augustus II and Augustus III. The Sarmatian attire is positioned as a strategic tool for exercising power and legitimizing authority, reflecting the complex cultural and political dynamics of the time.