The study of the material culture of the former social elites has long been neglected in Slovenian historiography, and the aim of the project group is to revive interest in this field, drawing as much as possible on the rich cultural and historical material in the collections of the National Museum of Slovenia. Objects of movable cultural heritage are an extremely valuable, but still under-appreciated, historical source. The project team is therefore striving to ensure that they are treated on an equal footing with written material.
The study of material sources requires an interdisciplinary approach, based on the integration of different disciplines and the application of their methods. As their analysis is not possible without a good knowledge of movable cultural heritage objects and archival material, the project team brought together experts from both fields. The extensive experience of most of the members in the study of the late medieval and early modern history of the Slovenian area provides all the necessary conditions for a thorough approach to the topic at hand.
The results of our research are communicated to the public through regular publications in scientific and professional journals, lectures and participation in scientific conferences.
The research project will be carried out in several phases. In the first phase, we will formulate the theoretical and methodological starting points and develop an appropriate methodology for collecting, recording and interpreting the data obtained through the study of specialist literature, archival material, museum collections and fieldwork. In the second phase, we will review relevant archival and museum holdings in Klagenfurt, Graz and Vienna. These findings will be used to complement the database obtained by studying the material of Slovenian institutions. In the third phase, we will interpret the collected data and present them to the public in various ways.
The main public event of the research project will be a scientific symposium entitled Between Glamour and Misery. Material Culture of Central European Social Elites between the 13th and 19th Centuries, which will take place in November 2025 in the Atrium of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The publication of a collection of scientific papers by the participants of the conference is also planned, which will present the latest results of the study of the material culture of the former social elites in Slovenia.
The aim of the research project is to draw attention to the importance of material culture as a historical source, as it is still overshadowed by written sources in historiography due to its poorer preservation, more difficult accessibility and more complex interpretation.