The Museum of the Order of St John

Jean Parisot de Valette was the 49th Grand Master of the Order of St John and founder of the city of Valletta, the capital of Malta. He is best known for organising the defence of Malta during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. Outnumbered by the large Ottoman force, the Order resisted the siege for over three months until the Turkish forces retreated. The victory brought Valette a great deal of prestige across Europe and he received many gifts to commend his brave leadership. This bust, the finest known portrait of this historical figure, is an example of such a gift and has been recently attributed to the important Renaissance sculptor Giovanni Bandini. Through Jeremy Warren’s research this talk will examine this exquisite artwork and the enigmatic and often difficult man it portrays.

Dr Jeremy Warren is Librarian to the Priory of England and the Islands of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, Honorary Curator of Sculpture for the Ashmolean Museum and Sculpture Research Curator for the National Trust. Dr Warren was formerly Collections and Academic Director at the Wallace Collection. He is a specialist in sculpture and works of art and has published extensively on the subject, including the award-winning catalogue of the collections of the Ashmolean Museum.

All proceeds from this talk, and others in the Treasures from the Museum of the Order of St John series, will be put towards the conservation of the books and bound manuscripts in the Museum’s internationally significant library collection.

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw a great artistic flowering of pottery-painting in Italy, which elevated maiolica to the level of a branch of Renaissance art. Among the most important markets for Italian maiolica workshops were pharmacies, both in religious hospitals and in commercial street operation. The Museum of the Order of St John holds a notable collection of maiolica jars, many of them made for the Order of St John in Malta. The lecture will discuss some of these in the context of the wider art of maiolica.

Timothy Wilson was from 1990 to 2017 Keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean and (from 2010) Professor of the Arts of the Renaissance at the University of Oxford. He is an Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, and now writes, organizes exhibitions, and lectures, principally on Italian Renaissance pottery.

All proceeds from this talk, and others in the Treasures from the Museum of the Order of St John series, will be put towards the conservation of the books and bound manuscripts in the Museum’s internationally significant library collection.

The virtual lecture attempts to show that fashionable dress was an essential part of good taste and luxury for the Maltese gentry and nobility of the 18th century mirroring contemporary styles emerging from European fashion centres. The focus will be on portraits of costume in Malta in the rich collection of the Museum of the Order of St John, London.

Caroline Tonna is an art historian and curator at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum Mdina. She holds Bachelor degrees in Anthropology, and Art History and has obtained a Master of Arts degree in Art History. She has contributed in local and foreign papers and delivered lectures on her specialised subjects in dress history and photography. Caroline has extensive experience in publishing, radio and television cultural productions.

All proceeds from this talk, and others in the Treasures from the Museum of the Order of St John series, will be put towards the conservation of the books and bound manuscripts in the Museum’s internationally significant library collection.

In this online lecture art historian and author Francesca Balzan will give us a flavour of the jewellery prevalent in Malta, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, when the Order of St John governed the Maltese islands. Not only will we be looking at stylistic development but we will also delve into the meaning of the jewellery and the context in which it was produced, the superstitions and quirks that made this jewellery so deeply personal yet reflective of society of the time.

Francesca Balzan is an art historian, author and practicing artist. She has specialised in the research and publication of the history of jewellery in Malta and has lectured extensively on the subject. She was curator of Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum from its opening to the public in 2007 until 2018 and was recently engaged in the design of a new museum. Francesca has curated several exhibitions and written catalogues and monographs to accompany them. She is visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.

All proceeds from this talk, and others in the Treasures from the Museum of the Order of St John series, will be put towards the conservation of the books and bound manuscripts in the Museum’s internationally significant library collection.