R’n’B Speciál | Imaginative Origins and Social Afterlives of Loštice Goblets

Loštice pottery, produced in the Olomouc region in the late Middle Ages, offers a striking example of productively employed failure. As these goblets circulated beyond Moravia, they were fitted with silver mounts, which conferred social significance during communal wine drinking and emphasized their deliberately constructed origins. Some decorations highlighted a folk character, implying that the rough surfaces reflected peasant craftsmanship, while others identified the clay as medicinal, believed to possess healing properties. This lecture explores the contradictory cultural meanings attributed to Loštice pottery in the Renaissance and explores the imaginative explanations developed to account for its irregular, unruly textures.

Agnieszka Dziki is a PhD candidate at the Freie Universität Berlin. Her research focuses on the reception of unfinished and imperfect objects in the Holy Roman Empire between 1500 and 1600, with a particular interest in the materiality of artworks.

The lecture will be held in English. We look forward to seeing you!