Count Sigismund Attems (1708–1758) in Light of His Probate Inventory

Abstract

Count Sigismund Attems (1708–1758) was one of the most prominent personalities in Gorizia in the mid-eighteenth century. He held important positions in the district government and devoted much of his private life to erudition and literary writing, as well as to studying antiques and local history. The article discusses the structure and value of the count’s property based on the presentation of the interior furnishings, luxury items, clothes, books, artworks, and residences listed in his posthumously compiled probate inventory. The comparison of the findings with other available studies of material culture in the County of Gorizia and in Carniola will shed light on Count Sigismund Attems’s standing in his social and societal milieu in terms of his estate and cultural impact.