Gleaming in the Dark: Gemstones as Magic Devices with Carlotta Gonzi LIVE

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture, tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil's Botany Absinthe.

Doors open at 6:30pm and talk starts at 7pm

Carlotta Gonzi, The Warburg Institute

Belief in the occult powers and alleged virtues of gemstones was an accepted part of the Medieval and Renaissance understanding of the world. Well-known lapidary and philosophy texts, magic treatises, letters and chronicles testify to the awareness of the influence that gems were thought to exert on human beings and natural phenomena. In this talk we will take a closer look at the talismanic, symbolic and magic functions of a few emblematic stones which were exploited for people’s own gains and needs. For instance, gems were sought after and employed to get in someone’s good graces or to make someone fall in love (as well as their opposites), to increase or inhibit human abilities, or to make contact with other dimensions.

Carlotta Gonzi is a doctoral student at the Warburg Institute in London. In her PhD project 'The Sparkle in the Period Eye. Gemstones and their Cultural Connotations in Northern Italian Renaissance Courts', Carlotta focuses on the acquisition and employment of gemstones during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries at the courts of Ferrara, Mantua and Milan. She seeks to reconstruct the 'period eye' for looking at precious stones, aiming to shed new light on their trade, and particularly their cultural connotations and the significance of their representation in art. Carlotta’s academic interests span from Renaissance material culture and art to the history of magic, medicine and astrology.

THE SEASON OF THE WITCH

This event is part of The Last Tuesday Society's Season of the Witch series of lectures & workshops running in conjunction with our autumn/winter exhibition. For a full list of events in The Season of the Witch, please see https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-season-of-the-witch-3426299

is the UK's first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society's Absinthe Parlour & Cocktail Bar. Celebrating spirit's connection to art, literature, magic & mixology, Devil's Botany is unleashing the future of absinthe with bold expressions for the adventurous drinkers of today.

The venue opens at 18:30. Doors will close at 19:00 to avoid disrupting the speaker. We kindly ask that all guests arrive before 19:00. Refunds are not possible for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances.

Host or Publisher The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities