COLLECTION OF DUCHESS CZARTORYSKA IN PUŁAW
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-12-11

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Polish nobles as well as the aristocracy from Northern and Central Europe collected antiquities to embellish their residences. Until the 1830’s, nine large collections and about two dozens of minor ones were created. However, due to the turbulent history of Poland, many of them were scattered and looted, and a large part of the artefacts was lost. Nowadays, only the collection records (inventories, catalogues), iconographic testimonies (drawings, prints) as well as the architecture of residences in which these collections were housed allow to restore not only the contents of the collections, but also their background. The collection of Duchess Izabella Czartoryska in Puławy in Poland should also be studied in this context. Assembled at the beginning of the 19th century, it was dominated by ancient artefacts of little material value, rather souvenirs of immense sentimental worth. Duchess Czartoryska compensated for the lack of impressive sculptures and vases with pieces from the territories of Roman provinces, exhibited together with objects connected to pre-Roman cultures of Europe. This trend was not unusual in the period of birth of the identity of modern nations. She devoted a particular attention to the collected artefacts in both - the handwritten and the printed - catalogues. Now, although the collection is mostly dispersed and destroyed, and only few pieces survived, it can be reconstructed through the written and iconographic sources. Even more interesting is the context of the assemblage. The collection was exhibited (from 1809 open to the public) in the pavilion built in garden à l’antique, full of buildings and sculptures alluding in form, style of details to the art of ancient Rome. Thus, Duchess Czartoryska created one of the major venues for enthusiasts of Antiquity in Poland in the early 19th century.


Author(s): Rekowska, Monika (University of Warsaw, Institute of Archaeology)