DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41333#0018
Jadwiga Lipinska
Unfortunately the outbreak of war prevented activity, that had started so well. MICHALOWSKI took
part in the war as an officer and was taken prisoner. He spent next five years in a camp, where he organised
lectures and seminars for his fellow POWs, even working with the eminent architect Professor Jerzy
HRYN1EWIECKI on original hieroglyphic fonts.
After his return to Warsaw he began to work on restoring the faculty at the university first as dean, then
vice-president, at the same time serving as vice-director of the badly damaged National Museum and Gen-
eral Secretary of the Warsaw Scientific Society. He distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher and
administrator. In no time he succeeded in reconstructing the staff at the university and at the museum, and
educated a solid group of specialists in classical, Near Eastern and Egyptian art and archaeology. In 1948
a new Gallery of Ancient Art was opened in modernised halls with newly designed showcases and lighting.
It was at the time considered one of the best presentations of objects of art in Europe.
MICHALOWSKI was not originally a museum man - his interests being much wider. But through him
the Gallery of Ancient Art became a centre, where research and the care for and presentation of collections
received equal attention.
In 1956 he organised his first excavations in the classical world - together with Russian colleagues he
started to dig at the Greek colony of Mirmekeion on the Black Sea coast. One year later he returned to
Egypt, but, because of the political situation, any resumption of the Polish-French excavations at Tell Edfii
was impossible. So he took to excavating at Tell Atrib, a site some 50 km north of Cairo. The regular
seasons there lasted until recently, with some of the finds enriching the museum. In 1959 Professor
MICHALOWSKI began excavations at Palmyra in Syria, in 1960 in the centre of Alexandria. The great
progress of the field work was made possible by his creation of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archae-
ology in Cairo, an institution providing shelter for itinerant archaeologists, help with logistics and coordination
of various projects. And that task was most important, as at the same time the Centre was involved in the
Campaign to Save Nubian Monuments, in the reconstruction work at the Hatshepsut temple at Deir
el-Bahari, in excavating the Thutmosis III temple and in the above-mentioned field work in Alexandria and
Palmyra. MICHALOWSKI was also appointed chairman to the Abu Simbel Executive Committee of the
UNESCO Nubian Rescue campaign.
One of the greatest achievements of Kazimierz MICHALOWSKI was the discovery of the early Chris-
tian Cathedral at Faras, near the Egyptian-Sudanese border, where ca 120 mural paintings were removed
from the walls and saved from the oncoming high water level in the Lake of Naser. Half of these are on
display in a special “Faras Gallery” in this Museum, the other half is preserved in the National Museum in
Khartoum.
It is impossible to enumerate here all the important discoveries made by MICHALOWSKI — they are
described in series of thick volumes. Also thick are his studies on Egyptian, classical and early Christian art
and archaeology.
The catalogue of his multi-faceted achievements in themselves convey little of the charm of the man’s
character and personality, his dignity and sense of humour. His combination of inexhaustible energy, intellec-
tual distinction and diplomatic finesse brought him international prestige and friends among wide circles of the
world’s mighty and humble, and enabled him to operate and achieve success in such difficult times as post-
war communist Poland. Thanks to his activity we are able to welcome you today in Warsaw, where he built
a strong, active and progressive Egyptological centre.
Jadwiga Lipinska
12
Unfortunately the outbreak of war prevented activity, that had started so well. MICHALOWSKI took
part in the war as an officer and was taken prisoner. He spent next five years in a camp, where he organised
lectures and seminars for his fellow POWs, even working with the eminent architect Professor Jerzy
HRYN1EWIECKI on original hieroglyphic fonts.
After his return to Warsaw he began to work on restoring the faculty at the university first as dean, then
vice-president, at the same time serving as vice-director of the badly damaged National Museum and Gen-
eral Secretary of the Warsaw Scientific Society. He distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher and
administrator. In no time he succeeded in reconstructing the staff at the university and at the museum, and
educated a solid group of specialists in classical, Near Eastern and Egyptian art and archaeology. In 1948
a new Gallery of Ancient Art was opened in modernised halls with newly designed showcases and lighting.
It was at the time considered one of the best presentations of objects of art in Europe.
MICHALOWSKI was not originally a museum man - his interests being much wider. But through him
the Gallery of Ancient Art became a centre, where research and the care for and presentation of collections
received equal attention.
In 1956 he organised his first excavations in the classical world - together with Russian colleagues he
started to dig at the Greek colony of Mirmekeion on the Black Sea coast. One year later he returned to
Egypt, but, because of the political situation, any resumption of the Polish-French excavations at Tell Edfii
was impossible. So he took to excavating at Tell Atrib, a site some 50 km north of Cairo. The regular
seasons there lasted until recently, with some of the finds enriching the museum. In 1959 Professor
MICHALOWSKI began excavations at Palmyra in Syria, in 1960 in the centre of Alexandria. The great
progress of the field work was made possible by his creation of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archae-
ology in Cairo, an institution providing shelter for itinerant archaeologists, help with logistics and coordination
of various projects. And that task was most important, as at the same time the Centre was involved in the
Campaign to Save Nubian Monuments, in the reconstruction work at the Hatshepsut temple at Deir
el-Bahari, in excavating the Thutmosis III temple and in the above-mentioned field work in Alexandria and
Palmyra. MICHALOWSKI was also appointed chairman to the Abu Simbel Executive Committee of the
UNESCO Nubian Rescue campaign.
One of the greatest achievements of Kazimierz MICHALOWSKI was the discovery of the early Chris-
tian Cathedral at Faras, near the Egyptian-Sudanese border, where ca 120 mural paintings were removed
from the walls and saved from the oncoming high water level in the Lake of Naser. Half of these are on
display in a special “Faras Gallery” in this Museum, the other half is preserved in the National Museum in
Khartoum.
It is impossible to enumerate here all the important discoveries made by MICHALOWSKI — they are
described in series of thick volumes. Also thick are his studies on Egyptian, classical and early Christian art
and archaeology.
The catalogue of his multi-faceted achievements in themselves convey little of the charm of the man’s
character and personality, his dignity and sense of humour. His combination of inexhaustible energy, intellec-
tual distinction and diplomatic finesse brought him international prestige and friends among wide circles of the
world’s mighty and humble, and enabled him to operate and achieve success in such difficult times as post-
war communist Poland. Thanks to his activity we are able to welcome you today in Warsaw, where he built
a strong, active and progressive Egyptological centre.
Jadwiga Lipinska
12