BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sabre//Sabre VObject 4.5.8//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Zurich X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/Zurich TZURL:http://tzurl.org/zoneinfo/Europe/Zurich BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:19810329T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=-1SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:19961027T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news337@eikones.philhist.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260129T163500 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260511T181500 SUMMARY:NOMIS Lecture: Cups of Honor and Reward: The Value of Silver in the Thirty Years' War DESCRIPTION:Cups of Honor and Reward: The Value of Silver in the Thirty Yea rs' War\\r\\nIn Northern Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries \, honor and reward were often signified by a silver cup. Silver and gilt- silver vessels served to commemorate births\, deaths\, and marriages\; the y sealed diplomatic relationships and represented communal institutions li ke guilds\, charitable societies\, and civic governing bodies. They were p rizes in lotteries and shooting contests. Made of a precious metal directl y tied to contemporary currency\, the silver cup embodied monetary value t hat was recognizable and easily extracted by melting and minting.⁠ But\, as the product of innovating\, skilled craftsmen\, it could also hold aes thetic as well as symbolic value\, which was tied to its ability to denote people\, places\, and historical events. These entangled value systems we re brought into high relief in wartime\, when silver plate was taken as bo oty\, or confiscated to fund military defense\, or relinquished as ransom to protect life and limb. \\r\\nThis talk tracks silver cups through the tumultuous decades of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648)\, a period cha racterized by dispossession and displacement. It analyzes the highly ambiv alent status the silver cup held as both financial asset and symbolic obje ct. Primary evidence for this analysis includes eyewitness accounts of con fiscation\, inventories recording the personal significance of silver cups \, and surviving hoards of valuables concealed for protection under the th reat of siege. The talk’s conclusion turns towards the present day and t he competing values that still define early modern silver as both commodit y and cultural artifact.  X-ALT-DESC:

Cups of Honor and Reward: The Value of Silver in the Thirty Years' War

\n

In Northern Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries\, honor and reward were often signified by a silver cup. Silver and gilt-silver vessels served to commemorate births\, deaths \, and marriages\; they sealed diplomatic relationships and represented co mmunal institutions like guilds\, charitable societies\, and civic governi ng bodies. They were prizes in lotteries and shooting contests. Made of a precious metal directly tied to contemporary currency\, the silver cup emb odied monetary value that was recognizable and easily extracted by melting and minting.⁠ But\, as the product of innovating\, skilled craftsmen\, it could also hold aesthetic as well as symbolic value\, which was tied to its ability to denote people\, places\, and historical events. These enta ngled value systems were brought into high relief in wartime\, when silver plate was taken as booty\, or confiscated to fund military defense\, or r elinquished as ransom to protect life and limb. \;

\n

This talk t racks silver cups through the tumultuous decades of the Thirty Years’ Wa r (1618–1648)\, a period characterized by dispossession and displacement . It analyzes the highly ambivalent status the silver cup held as both fin ancial asset and symbolic object. Primary evidence for this analysis inclu des eyewitness accounts of confiscation\, inventories recording the person al significance of silver cups\, and surviving hoards of valuables conceal ed for protection under the threat of siege. The talk’s conclusion turns towards the present day and the competing values that still define early modern silver as both commodity and cultural artifact. \;

DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260511T194500 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR