On Friday, 17 April, the exhibition „Chocolate – The Secret of the Baroque Boudoir“ was ceremonially opened at the Chocolate Museum Zagreb. Created in collaboration between the Chocolate Museum Zagreb and the Marton Museum, it takes visitors back to the seductive world of the European aristocracy of the 17th and 18th centuries, a time when chocolate was not an everyday pleasure but a luxurious drink reserved for the highest social circles.
The opening attracted great public interest – more than 100 guests from the worlds of culture, diplomacy, business and the media gathered, confirming the status of the Chocolate Museum Zagreb as an important meeting place of art, history and the contemporary social scene.
The exhibition presents an exceptionally valuable selection of objects from the collection of Veljko Marton, one of the most significant private collections in Croatia and beyond. At the heart of the display are outstanding examples of European porcelain, glass and silver – chocolate cups, sugar bowls and sumptuous vessels for preparing the drink, the so-called chocolatière – which bear witness to the elegance and ceremony of aristocratic life.
This carefully shaped exhibition also reveals an almost forgotten dimension of chocolate – chocolate as a social ritual. In Baroque Europe, drinking chocolate was at the centre of private gatherings, conversations and court customs, often in intimate boudoirs and lavish salons, where the manner of serving was just as important as the drink itself. Special emphasis is placed on the historical ways of preparing chocolate, which went far beyond today’s understanding – recipes included spices, floral aromas and exotic ingredients such as jasmine, ambergris or musk, turning chocolate into an almost alchemical experience.
The opening programme was rounded off with speeches by the key participants in the project, who together shaped the narrative of this exhibition. Ružica Božić Cerovac, co-owner of the museum, emphasised that collaborating with a collector like Veljko Marton is an exceptional honour and stressed the importance of this collection in the context of world cultural heritage and its presentation to a wider audience.
Building on that thought, Marko Španjol, curator of the Chocolate Museum Zagreb and author of the exhibition, introduced the guests to the concept and inspiration of the display – the idea of using artistic objects and historical narratives to present chocolate as a symbol of prestige, culture and the social rituals of an era.
Rounding off the story, Veljko Marton noted that this is his first appearance in Zagreb since the exhibition at the Mimara Museum, which was interrupted by the great earthquake, and spoke about the selection of the exhibited objects and their artistic and historical value. He invited the guests to pause and admire the beauty of each individual exhibit, but also to experience the exhibition with all their senses.
In that spirit, the evening ended with a tasting of chocolate pralines made especially for the occasion by the museum’s owner, connecting the historical story with an authentic contemporary experience of chocolate.
The exhibition remains open to the public until 21 June 2026 and offers a unique opportunity to get to know chocolate as a phenomenon that transcends gastronomy – as a blend of art, luxury and the social history of Europe.
