Abstract
The exhibition Without Borders : Art in Jáchymov and the Ore Mountains between the Gothic and the Renaissance is a smaller-scale restaging of the successful exhibition held at the Wallenstein Riding School of the National Gallery in Prague from autumn 2015 to spring 2016. The Jáchymov display, prepared for direct installation in the former Royal Mint, explores the theme of Gothic and Renaissance works of art preserved in the Ore Mountains,whose comission was associated in a variety of ways with the area's mining activities.
The exploitation of the rich mineral deposits in Bohemia's mountainous north-western borderland became a dynamic factor in the prosperity of the towns and villages located in the region. Their architectural appearance was particularly affected by the silver rush that took place in the late 15th and first half of the 16th centuries.
The exploitation of precious metals and the trade in raw materials produced wealth for the owners of the landed estates. They included the Cistercian monastery in Osek and the noble families of Lobkowicz (Kadaň), Weitmile (Chomutov), Fictum and Šumburk (the Chomutov and Kadaň areas) and, above all, the Schlick Counts in and around Jáchymov.
The huge profits earned from ore mining facilitated the lavish artistic selfrepresentation of these noble families, as well as of the royal towns that had a significant share in the ore trade (e.g. Most).
One of the exhibition's three sections is devoted to Jáchymov - a town founded after the discovery of rich silver deposits in 1516. The authentic spaces of the Royal Mint serve as a backdrop to a display that explores the output of the Jáchymov mint (medals, thalers), the municipal privileges issued by King Ferdinand I of Habsburg (illuminated royal decrees), and rare books owned by Humanist scholars and Reformist intellectuals active in Jáchymov, who were associated with the world-renowned Jáchymov Latin Library (e.g.
Johannes Mathesius, Jan Kopp of Raumenthal, Georgius Agricola).