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DOI Artikel:Gołyźniak, Paweł: Three Greek engraved gold finger rings from the Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński Collection at the National Museum in Krakow
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31061#0015
Paweł Gołyźniak
PhD student, Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University
Three Greek Engraved Gold Finger Rings from
the Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński Collection
at the National Museum in Kraków1
In 1886 the National Museum in Kraków came into possession of part of a magnificent
set of engraved gems and other glyptic objects assembled by one of the most prominent
nineteenth-century Polish collectors of objets dart, Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński.2
Originally, the share of the collection housed in Kraków comprised 2,517 pieces, 301 of
which were set in various types of rings (both ancient and post-classical).3 Only some
of the groups of objects have been profiled and published; the vast majority of them still
await elaboration.4 Among the rings, there are examples of magnificent ancient craftsman-
1 I am grateful to Gertrud Platz-Horster and Joachim Śliwa for reading the preliminary draft of this pa-
per and for their valuable hints and commentaries, which enabled me to improve it considerably. I would
like also to express my gratitude to the managing Staff of the National Museum in Kraków for allowing me
to publish the objects discussed here.
2 Biographical information about the person of the cołlector may be found in: J. Śliwa, Zur Geschichte
der Gemmensammlungen im 19 Jh. Die Sammlung von Konstantin Schmidt-Ciążyński (1817-1889), [in:]
Akten des XIII. Internationalen Kongresses fur Klassische Archaologie, Berlin 1988, Mainz 1990, pp. 402-
403, pl. 61: 3, 4 (in German); idem. Badacze, kolekcjonerzy, podróżnicy. Studia z dziejów zainteresowań
podróżniczych, Kraków 2012 (Regiony, historia, kultura 7), pp. 301-321 (an updated biography, in Polish;
in English: idem, Magical Gems from the Collection of Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński and from otherPo-
lish Collections, Kraków 2014, pp. 17-44).
3 This information is included in the list of gems compiled by Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński in 1886
on the occasion of the sale of the collection to the National Museum in Kraków. It is also confirmed in
another source - the inventory of the museums holdings written by the first director of the institution,
see: W. Łuszczkiewicz, Inwentarz dyr. Łuszczkiewicza, 1883-1900, p. 84, at no. 490. Both documents are
now preseryed in the archives of the National Museum in Kraków. I would like to express my gratitude to
Mrs Alicja Kiljańska, head of the Department of Decorative Art and Materiał Culture, who kindły allowed
me to see these documents.
4 For an overall profile of the collection see: P. Gołyźniak [et al.], A Nineteenth-Century Glyptic
Collection in the National Museum in Kraków. The Cabinet of Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński, „Journal of
the History of Collections”, published Online: doi:10.1093/jhc/fhu056 (7 November 2014, the hard-copy
version is forthcoming). The gems with inscriptions of modern engravers were also described by
M. Fredro-Boniecka, Gemmy z podpisami artystów w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie. Cz.l:
Gemmy Pilcherów, „Wiadomości Numizmatyczno-Archeologiczne”, vol. 20, years 1938-39, 1939,
pp. 278-292; eadem, Gemmy z podpisami artystów w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie. Cz.2,
„Wiadomości Numizmatyczno-Archeologiczne”, vol. 21, years 1940-1948, 1949, pp. 53-84. The groups
of Egyptian scarabs and magical gems were extensively elaborated and published by J. Śliwa, Egyptian
scarabs and magical gems, Warszawa-Kraków 1989. The Mesopotamian, Iranian and Sasanian seals
PhD student, Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University
Three Greek Engraved Gold Finger Rings from
the Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński Collection
at the National Museum in Kraków1
In 1886 the National Museum in Kraków came into possession of part of a magnificent
set of engraved gems and other glyptic objects assembled by one of the most prominent
nineteenth-century Polish collectors of objets dart, Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński.2
Originally, the share of the collection housed in Kraków comprised 2,517 pieces, 301 of
which were set in various types of rings (both ancient and post-classical).3 Only some
of the groups of objects have been profiled and published; the vast majority of them still
await elaboration.4 Among the rings, there are examples of magnificent ancient craftsman-
1 I am grateful to Gertrud Platz-Horster and Joachim Śliwa for reading the preliminary draft of this pa-
per and for their valuable hints and commentaries, which enabled me to improve it considerably. I would
like also to express my gratitude to the managing Staff of the National Museum in Kraków for allowing me
to publish the objects discussed here.
2 Biographical information about the person of the cołlector may be found in: J. Śliwa, Zur Geschichte
der Gemmensammlungen im 19 Jh. Die Sammlung von Konstantin Schmidt-Ciążyński (1817-1889), [in:]
Akten des XIII. Internationalen Kongresses fur Klassische Archaologie, Berlin 1988, Mainz 1990, pp. 402-
403, pl. 61: 3, 4 (in German); idem. Badacze, kolekcjonerzy, podróżnicy. Studia z dziejów zainteresowań
podróżniczych, Kraków 2012 (Regiony, historia, kultura 7), pp. 301-321 (an updated biography, in Polish;
in English: idem, Magical Gems from the Collection of Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński and from otherPo-
lish Collections, Kraków 2014, pp. 17-44).
3 This information is included in the list of gems compiled by Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński in 1886
on the occasion of the sale of the collection to the National Museum in Kraków. It is also confirmed in
another source - the inventory of the museums holdings written by the first director of the institution,
see: W. Łuszczkiewicz, Inwentarz dyr. Łuszczkiewicza, 1883-1900, p. 84, at no. 490. Both documents are
now preseryed in the archives of the National Museum in Kraków. I would like to express my gratitude to
Mrs Alicja Kiljańska, head of the Department of Decorative Art and Materiał Culture, who kindły allowed
me to see these documents.
4 For an overall profile of the collection see: P. Gołyźniak [et al.], A Nineteenth-Century Glyptic
Collection in the National Museum in Kraków. The Cabinet of Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński, „Journal of
the History of Collections”, published Online: doi:10.1093/jhc/fhu056 (7 November 2014, the hard-copy
version is forthcoming). The gems with inscriptions of modern engravers were also described by
M. Fredro-Boniecka, Gemmy z podpisami artystów w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie. Cz.l:
Gemmy Pilcherów, „Wiadomości Numizmatyczno-Archeologiczne”, vol. 20, years 1938-39, 1939,
pp. 278-292; eadem, Gemmy z podpisami artystów w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie. Cz.2,
„Wiadomości Numizmatyczno-Archeologiczne”, vol. 21, years 1940-1948, 1949, pp. 53-84. The groups
of Egyptian scarabs and magical gems were extensively elaborated and published by J. Śliwa, Egyptian
scarabs and magical gems, Warszawa-Kraków 1989. The Mesopotamian, Iranian and Sasanian seals