Multisensory Perspectives on Central European Ceramics

The inquiries into the agency of artworks, sensory experience and craftsmanship draw attention of art historians to previously little-studied artefacts, such as tin-glazed objects produced since the sixteenth century in various parts of Central Europe. The shift away from questions of attribution challenges the arbitrary choices made by international institutions to promote art of clearly identifiable individuals or artistic geniuses. The multisensory perspective levels the field and diverts the narrative from an idealized or supposedly universal aesthetic. It allows us to redefine the artistic output of specific communities and to highlight collaborative modes of production in early modern artisanal workshops. This article focuses on sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century ceramics produced in Moravia and discusses them from the multisensory perspective. The focus on the characteristics of the glazes, ecology of production and non-canonical artefacts underlines the specificity of the historic local art scene, or the visual culture to which these objects belonged. The aim is to challenge previous master narratives that remain nationalistic and ideological.