To celebrate its anniversary, Vilnius University (VU) invites the public to a special lecture on April 1 at 11 a.m. in the VU Theatre Hall. The talk, titled “The Legendary Toga of Piotr Skarga and the Robe of Oriental Patterns”, will be delivered by Assoc. Prof. Miglė Lebednykaitė, Head of the Ethnography and Anthropology Department at the National Museum of Lithuania and a discoverer of historical relics. 

The lecture will spotlight one of the most remarkable treasures of Lithuanian cultural heritage: the academic attire of Piotr Skarga, the first rector of Vilnius University. This historic garment symbolizes the origins of the university. Attendees will hear the story behind the search for this relic, the research it inspired, and the unexpected discoveries that followed.

“Traditionally, the ceremonial academic robes were passed from one rector to the next. However, following the suppression of a two-year-long uprising, Vilnius University was closed in 1832. Its library, archives, museum collections, and faculty offices were dismantled. Nevertheless, analysis of the collected data suggests that, unlike the scepter and signet which were taken to St. Petersburg, Piotr Skarga’s ceremonial academic attire remained in Vilnius. Parts of the ensemble were preserved as relics and secretly hidden in the treasury of Vilnius Cathedral,” explained Assoc. Prof. Lebednykaitė upon announcing the discovery.

The lecture will also delve into the history of a garment with Oriental patterns that, during the 1950s and 60s, was mistakenly believed to be the toga of a Vilnius University rector. The metamorphosis of this item is truly remarkable: originally regarded as a “toga,” it was later interpreted as a “robe,” and eventually recognized as a fashionable outer garment with a lining, worn by upper-class women over their bustle-style visiting dresses. Elegant and luxurious, this garment—crafted from silk kimono fabric fragments in subtle colors and assembled with great skill—is one of the most striking examples of Japonisme fashion in Lithuania at the end of the 19th century.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Miglė Lebednykaitė is an art historian, museum curator, textile specialist, and a member of the artist group “Baltos kandys” (“White Moths”). She earned her PhD in 2013 and has been active in academic research since 2008. Her work focuses on ethnographic and East Asian art collections in Lithuanian museums. She has authored scholarly articles and curated several museum collection catalogues (2012, 2016, 2025). Since 2009, she has taught at the Textile Art and Design Department of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, where she became an associate professor in 2016. From 2013 to 2024, she lectured at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University. Since 2020, she has been heading the Ethnography and Anthropology Department at the National Museum of Lithuania and, since 2022, has served as a member of the Scientific Committee of the Asia Collections Network in Europe.

The lecture is free and open to all who are interested in cultural heritage, history, and art research.

Visitors will have the opportunity to view Piotr Skarga’s historic academic robes on April 1 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on April 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Franciszek Smuglewicz Hall at the Vilnius University Library (Universiteto St. 3). Admission is free.

On April 1, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas will also be on display in the Smuglewicz Hall.