The Utraquist iconography of St Wenceslaus

the testimony of the stove tile relief

Abstract

Fragments of stove tiles from the Holákov and Rájov estates near Pelhřimov, produced with the same mould and remaining unnoticed in a museum collection until now, provide additional information on Utraquist iconography in the decoration of Late Gothic tiled stoves in Bohemia. The decorative relief shows the patron saint of Bohemia, St Wenceslaus, as the defender of the practice of receiving the Eucharist under both kinds: the standard iconography of the saint is supplemented with the attribute of a chalice. The presented stove tiles come from an area which, under the current state of research, represents the greatest concentration of stove tiles with Utraquist motifs in the former Kingdom of Bohemia. At the conclusion of the article, the authors raise questions regarding the role of decoration on Gothic tiled stoves as a medium of religious ideas.