Philipp Hainhofer

Philipp Hainhofer (1578–1647) was one early modern Germany’s most influential art agents. He is best known for perfecting the cabinet of curiosities as actual cabinet piece—a highly intricate and beautifully executed piece of furniture that contained hundreds of objects ranging from rare shells to ivory combs, miniature paintings and birds, all placed in visible or secret drawers with complex opening mechanisms. Uppsala University houses the only extant example that retains almost all its original objects—the city of Augsburg presented it to Gustavus Adolphus as diplomatic gift during the Thirty Years’ War. The perfection of these cabinets reveals the height of collaboration among Augsburg’s artisans during this period and Hainhofer’s ability to create rarities. Extracts from Hainhofer’s correspondence with the dukes of Pomerania, whom he served from 1610, and his extensive correspondence with Duke August the Younger of Brunswick Wolfenbüttel, whom he began serving in 1613, have long been edited. So have his detailed accounts of trips to courts and collections, such as the famous Munich cabinet of curiosities. In recent years, two major publications have focused on his cabinet for Philipp of Pomerania, and Hainhofer’s interest in networking through commissioning elaborate friendship alba has attracted scholarly attention. Yet Hainhofer still remains to be fully discovered as diplomat, merchant, art dealer and secret agent.

Ancient history · Art · Art history · Cabinet (room) · Extant taxon · Painting · Perfection · Theology · Visual arts · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · History · Medieval European History and Architecture · Philosophy

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