29th May at 2 p.m. Ieva Rusteikaitė, doctoral student of Art History and Theory, will defend her dissertation „The Book as an Artefact: Binding Techniques and Decoration of the Vilnius School to the Mid-17th Century“ (Art History and Theory H 003) at Vilnius Academy of Arts, 102 auditorium (Malūnų str. 3, Vilnius).
The dissertation defence meeting will be held in Lithuanian.
The institution where the dissertation was prepared: Vilnius Academy of Arts.
Doctoral supervisor:
Dr. Jolita Liškevičienė (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
The dissertation will be defended in front of the Joint Academic Board of Art History and Theory of Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuanian Culture Research Institute and Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre:
Chairperson:
Prof. Dr. Dalia Klajumienė (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
Members:
Dr. Ina Kažuro (Vilnius University, Social Sciences, Communication and Information S 008)
Prof. Dr. Giedrė Mickūnaitė (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
Prof. Dr. Nicholas Pickwoad (Institute of English Studies, University of London (UK), Humanities, History H 005)
Prof. Dr. habil. Arūnas Sverdiolas (Vilnius University, Humanities, Philosophy H 001)
Abstract
Dissertation examines the development of bookbinding in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the second half of the sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century, with particular attention to the bookbinding school that emerged in Vilnius. The research is based on the analysis of written sources and surviving artefacts, namely the bindings of books that circulated within the region. Using a structured descriptive model, the study systematically investigates the structural, material, and decorative features of the bindings. The findings reveal new evidence on the technological diversity of local bindings and the presence of imported artefacts. The study shows that bindings associated with the Vilnius school belong to a broader Northern and Central European tradition, while also displaying distinctive local characteristics. The analysis of one of the largest collections of books printed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the region, formerly owned by the Vilnius Jesuit Academy Library, provides new insights into early modern practices of book circulation and use. The dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of printing, book distribution, and craft of bookbinding in this period and proposes a methodological framework for further research.
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Illustration: 16th–17th century bookbinder’s workshop, from Jan Amos Comenius, Orbis Sensualium Pictus (Brzeg: Christoph Tschorn, Kaspar Müller, 1667), pp. 234–235 © Vilnius University Library.
