Abstract
Quality crafted products have been, continue to be and will continue to be an integral part of our lifestyle. They are one of the significant signs of the stylistic development, territorial identification and, therefore, an important proof of the cultural level of society. It is just a deep understanding of the applied material, a sense of functional use and technological skills that, in conjunction with the artistic inventiveness, give the craft products their unique and timeless quality. However, the active practice of many crafts is hastily disappearing and the European production is often replaced by the imports of substitute materials. Apart from the archival sources and living craftsmen, the sources of knowledge of endangered crafts are mainly the artifacts preserved in the rich collections of memory institutions and especially in the authentic historic interiors.
Over the course of five years, the Discourse of Materials project has monitored the selected endangered crafts and the somewhat neglected craft specializations which are perceived to have an extremely valuable cultural and historical potential. It has mapped the most important examples of the artifacts implemented using the selected historical technologies in the collections of castles and chateaux. The project focused on the written and iconographic sources as well as results of the new technological research and implementation of the knowledge acquired during the rehabilitation of historic interiors, especially of former aristocratic residences. Among the crafts, the predominant trades monitored were construction joinery, parquet laying, furniture making, smithery, plasterwork, staffage - gilding, stove building, upholstery, stained glass, and weaving. In the case of selected crafts, attention was also paid to the typology of individual elements and their preservation in museum collection funds. An integral part of the qualitative empirical research aimed to identify the causes and factors that are the source of transmission, modification or disappearance of the traditional craft technologies.
In the international debate on the phenomenon of authenticity and its conception in different periods and in different perspectives, the focus on the knowledge of historical crafts and reflection on their current possibilities and prospects in caring for the preserved historic interior is one of the key topics of the care of historical monuments. The final international conference of Historic Interiors and Discourse of Materials will address this topic in many contexts.