Stoves from Špaček

The book introduces the history of pottery and stove-making in Prague during the Gothic and Renaissance periods. The main focus is on the exceptional archaeological find of a pottery workshop of the burgher of Prague and master potter Adam Špaček in Truhlářská Street in Prague’s New Town. During 1531–1572, the workshop produced tableware, kitchen ceramics, and stove tiles. The collection of nearly 30,000 discovered fragments of tiles is exceptional because of its number and the identification of more than three hundred motifs, many of them for the first time ever. The substantial part of the motifs on tile walls, especially the portrait and figural ones, was based on existing templates as evidenced by the numerous images in the book.