Admiral and the Japanese Screen

The folding screen was made between 1900 and 1902. On one side, the folding screen features embroidery on silk with floral motifs that convey wishes for happiness, while on the other side, it presents silk paintings with bird and plant motifs symbolizing the four seasons, created by the Japanese painter Yamada Ōsai (1821–1846). The lacquered wooden frame, with its semicircular convex top and feet at the bottom, indicates that the folding screen was adapted for the use and taste of a European clientele.

For the museum, the folding screen holds great importance not only because of its age, artistic value, and its narrative about East Asian culture, and intercultural connections and influences, but primarily because of its association with the Grand Admiral of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Anton Haus (Tolmin 1851–Pula 1917), who is regarded as one of the most significant figures of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He made his mark on history as an excellent strategist and prudent commander of the navy, serving from 1913 to 1917.

In East Asia, from where he brought several objects, Anton Haus served between 1901 and 1902 as commander of the corvette Donau and later of the armored cruiser Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, as well as the East Asia Squadron. Evidence that the screen was made precisely during this period is provided by a newspaper dated February 1900, which was found inside the screen during restoration.

Before joining the navy, Anton Haus lived in Tolmin, Novo Mesto, and Ljubljana, and he and his family often visited the Draškovec manor near Šentjernej, from where his wife, his cousin Ana (née Trenz), also came. Part of his estate has therefore been preserved by the heirs of the Trenz family.

The exhibition focuses on the Japanese screen and its layered narrative: about the culture of its place of origin, the contacts of Anton Haus and other mariners with East Asia, and the role of the screen in its new environment. Among the exhibited items are also several other objects brought by Anton Haus from East Asia, as well as letters and other sources that tell the story of his life, his role in the navy, and his connections with relatives in the Slovenian lands.

A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to the complex conservation and restoration processes of the screen, carried out during a workshop on the conservation and restoration of Japanese screens at the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia in 2025. The workshop, intended for textile and paper conservators-restorers, was led by the renowned textile conservator Howard Sutcliffe (USA).