Textiles from the Esterházy Treasury

„Outstanding, unparalleled, unique,” such are the epithets bestowed by experts and public alike on the Esterházy treasury. And there are several specific senses in which they are well deserved. First of all, the collection stands apart from most Central European aristocratic treasuries of the early modern age in the diversity of its holdings. There are many points of comparison, but the Esterházys went far beyond their peers in the scope of their interest. This shows up especially in 16th- and 17th-century textiles, of which certain types are very strongly represented. There are some historical reasons for this concentration, but it is also due in part to the peculiar genesis and original function of the collection.

(From the preface of the volume)