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The National Museum of Agriculture has prepared an exhibition on the butchers‘ guild, which excelled when defending Prague against the Carinthian Army seven hundred years ago.
The new exhibition opens on 16th July and will last until 12th December 2010. It follows the development of trade and craft in Bohemia in the course of the 13th century, where butchers gradually gained a leading position.
Their renown reached its peak in 1310, when they made their mark defending Prague against the Carinthian Army and obtained a silver lion in a red background for their crest given to them by John of Luxembourg. The king gave the guild other privileges, too, which were later confirmed to them by other rulers as well until the termination of the guild establishment in 1859, when the trade code was issued.
Butcher dog
The exhibition is divided into three parts. The first one deals with general history of the butchers‘ trade, supplemented with unique photographs from the museum’s photo-archives and a number of other objects from the museum’s collections, such as price lists, posters and other items illustrating the trade’s history.
Another part of the exhibition deals with the butcher’s guild and its attributes. This includes the symbolic butcher dog, which is presented here in an original way. Exhibits include such unique guild’s accoutrement such as (ferule, funeral shield, treasure chest etc.) borrowed from Prague City Museum, as well as unique festive and work uniforms from the collections of the National Museum of Agriculture.
What is kosher in butchery?
This part also presents Jewish butchers, who followed their proper rulers when slaughtering animals. Items such as kosher knives, whetstones, board, seals, unique photos and mainly a translated fragment of a letter from genize (a place of safe deposit) in Lausche, telling a butcher in a witty way to go and carry out the koshering of animals. This unique letter has never been published before.
Accompanying events
The last and the biggest part of the exhibition presents demonstration of meat processing from the moment of slaughtering until the finished products. The exhibition also features an installation of a butcher’s shop from the middle of the 20th century as well as recipes for prime butcher delicacies. The overall atmosphere is emphasized by unusual and witty panels in the form of butcher shops advertising posters. There will also be accompanying events for schools and a competition for the visitors with prizes to be won.
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