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Rocznik Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie — 3(39).2014

DOI Heft:
Część II. Sztuka starożytna / Part II. Ancient Art
DOI Artikel:
Wiercinśka, Janina: Kolekcja numizmatyczna dr. Władysława Semerau-Siemianowskiego w Muzeum Narodowym w Warszawie
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: 
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45362#0137

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Ancient Art

The conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 led to the breakup of the
Byzantine Empire into a few smaller political organisms. One of these was the Empire of
Trebizond, which was established around the city of Trebizond in the eastern part of Asia
Minor. The state lasted through 1461, ruled by a dynasty called the “Great Komnenos.” Made
up of a few dozen coins, this set is among the rarest in Polish collections. The coinage derived
from the Byzantine system, but transformed, approaching the coinage of neighboringlands,
chiefly the Seljuk Turks. It was based on a silver coin called an asper. The coin typology includes
themes known from Byzantine coins. The most typical motif is a likeness of the ruler on one
side and Saint Eugenios, patron of Trebizond, on the other (fig. 16).
The set of Byzantine seals consists of 133 lead examples and 25 metal copies,33 all of which
survived the war undisturbed. Semerau-Siemianowski began collecting them once he moved
to Constantinople. Most of them were found by him on the seashore or bought from antiquar-
ies.34 The last purchases were made in 1919-20. Lead seals were known from the beginning of
the Late Roman period, that is, the turn of the 3rd and 4th century. They started being used on
a bigger scale in the 6th century and flourished in the Byzantine period. They were also made
in gold, more seldom in silver. The seals in the doctor’s collection are all of lead. Beside seals
of rulers, there were also seals of officials of the imperial court and the state, civil, fiscal and
military administration, functionaries of the provincial administration, church administration
and family seals (fig. 17), as well as metal copies from the original seals. According to Vitalien
Laurent, they are the work of Greek forgers operating in 1918-39 in Athens and probably also
in Constantinople.35 The collection includes 18 copies from this workshop.
Doctor Władysław Semerau-Siemianowski formed a monumental collection, which included
examples of coinage from the entire ancient world, starting from the oldest issues of Greek cities
and Hellenistic kingdoms, through the coinage of Roman emperors, to the coins of Byzantine
rulers. It remains an impressive collection despite severe wartime losses. Rare examples, struck
of precious metals and in perfect condition, are a highlight of any collection. The collection is
interesting in its comprehensiveness. A thorough analysis of its contents, supplemented with
facts from the doctor’s life, paints a picture of the man in an entirely new light: not a casual gath-
erer of finds, but a conscious collector systematically and methodically forming his collection.
A man of broad horizons and extensive knowledge for his times, maintaining close contacts with
many numismatists around the world. Last but not least, a patriot who offered the collection he
had created over a lifetime to a free homeland. The Ancient Numismatics Department would
not have been established without this gift and the National Museum in Warsaw would not be
now in possession of the largest and richest ancient coin collections in Poland.
Translated by Iwona Zych

33 Anna Szemioth, Tadeusz Wasilewski, “Sceaux byzantins du Musée National de Varsovie. Première
partie,” Studiu Źródłoznawcze, vol. u (1966), pp. 1-38; Szemioth, Wasilewski, “Sceaux byzantins du Musée National
de Varsovie. Deuxième partie,” Studia Zródłoznawcze, vol. 14 (1969), pp. 63-89.
34 Anna Szemiothowa, “Zbiór pieczęci bizantyjskich Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie,” Rocznik Muzeum
Narodowego w Warszawie, Ann 3 (1958), pp. 181-240, esp. p. 182.
35 Szemioth, Wasilewski, “Sceaux byzantins... Première partie,” op. cit., p. 3, n. 8.
 
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