THE PROJECT
For almost two centuries the Piatti family collected porcelain from China, Japan and Europe. The pieces were destroyed during the Second World War. To this day, the broken collection is kept in the ‘Shard Room’ in Loosdorf Castle and is accessible to the public.
The question of how to tell the story of the broken collection and how to make it possible to experience it in its current state opens up a field of tension between brokeness and the completeness, conservation and destruction. The FWF (Austrian Science Fund) PEEK project „Broken Collection“ at the University of Applied Arts Vienna aims to use artistic means to explore the limits and possibilities of art conservation and cultural history. The project runs from 2022 until 2026.
CONFERENCE 5./6. JUNE 2025
Im Rahmen des FWF PEEK-Projektes „Broken Collection“ wird am 5. und 6. Juni 2025 an der Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien eine Tagung vorbereitet, die sich unter dem Titel
Noble Collections of Ceramics and their History beyond Fragmentation and Representation
der Bedeutung von Keramiksammlungen für die Repräsentation der Hocharistokratie in Europa vom 18.- 20. Jahrhundert widmen wird.
Internationale Expertinnen und Experten werden Aspekte des Sammelwesens, der Verwendung von Porzellan und asiatischer Keramik für die Räume und Tafeln der Habsburger und der HochAristokratie sowie aktuelle Restaurier-Projekte und rezente wissenschaftliche/künstlerische Forschungen zum „Scherbenzimmer“ in Schloß Loosdorf vorstellen.
As part of the FWF PEEK project “Broken Collection”, a conference is being prepared at the University of Applied Arts Vienna on June 5 and 6, 2025, under the title
Noble Collections of Ceramics and their History beyond Fragmentation and Representation
It will be dedicated to the significance of ceramic collections for the representation of the high aristocracy in Europe from the 18th to the 20th century.
International experts will present aspects of collecting, the use of porcelain and Asian ceramics for the rooms and tables of the Habsburgs and the high aristocracy as well as current conservation projects and recent scientific/artistic research on the “Scherbenzimmer” in Loosdorf Castle.