DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0014
IO gion. New techniques in craftsmanship were adopted together with new ideas in architecture, painting, and
in the ornamental arts, the goldsmith's art in particular. The latter underwent transformations under the
influence of local pre-Christian traditions and customs and became adapted to specific needs of the popu-
lation. Crafts developed round stronghold towns which were centres of political and military authority,
where court assizes were held and market fairs took place, dues and taxes were collected and treasure
amassed.
Among the few historical sources which can shed some light on the early history of Polish craftsmanship,
toponymy is very helpful. Geographical names of what are known as service settlements -— where craftsmen
lived and had their workshops — have been preserved unchanged. Thus si^omy (helmets) were produced
in Slomniki; STfQity (shields) in Szczytniki; and groty (spearheads) in Grotniki. Place names such as Kobier-
niki (from kftbieriec — carpet) and Zlotniki (from 7$oto — g°ld), frequently encountered in Poland,
testify to the early beginnings of industry satisfying aesthetic needs and demand for luxury goods. Of
special importance was the goldsmith's art, at first based on imports of precious metal, and later, presu-
mably from the end of the iith century, on home deposits — silver found in the Cracow-Wielun area,
and gold discovered in Lower Silesia. Silver denarii promoted the development of trade and industry.
Coinage minted at home, though to begin with in limited quantities only, helped to raise the prestige of
Poland's rulers, Mieszko I, Boleslaus the Brave, Boleslaus the Bold and his successors.
Fragmentary as it is for understandable reasons the picture of applied art at the beginning of Poland's
existence as a state can be reconstructed from archaeological finds, analysis of historical documents and
also from the few examples of such crafts as are depicted in art (though it should be stressed that this last
source is not really reliable).
Thus pottery workshops kept improving their methods, though ornamental patterns and designs still
remained on the primitive side, mostly series of straight or wavy lines. That as early as the i ith century
this kind of production was made to serve architecture, is testified by remnants of flooring of yellow and
dark blue tiles in Gniezno Cathedral and of tiles bearing a griffon design in the Trzemeszno church.
Objects of the goldsmith's art dating from the ioth and iith centuries, both those made locally and
brought from abroad, all carried the stamp of workmanship in lands bordering on the southern Baltic coast.
For the most part, these were pieces of silver jewelry in wrought, cast, filigree or granulated techniques.
Lacy filigree was produced by soldering together metal beads, twisted wire and bands in convoluted forms.
Cast and wrought objects of silver were decorated with stamped designs punched with dies, or engraved
with burins. Archaeologists have found stone moulds in which jewelry of various shape was cast, for
example circular and half-moon shaped pendants. Jewelry thus produced included earrings, bracelets and
armlets, rings, clasps, chains, belts, and pendants in the form of little trapezium-shaped flat receptacles in
which amulets, herbs and fragrant substances were carried. Animal and plant motifs began to appear in
jewelry under the influence of Western and Scandinavian countries. In his Chronicle (written
in 11 12 —13), Galius Anonymus speaks of an abundance of gold in Poland during the reign of Boleslaus
the Brave. To some extent this may be a figure of speech, praising the 'good old times', or referring
to the legendary 'golden age'; however in view of the power the country represented in this period, amass-
ment of treasure, due in part to the spoils of war, may be taken as a certainty. The ruler, his lords
and the bravest of his knights used ornaments and jewelry made of gold and silver. The peasants and
craftsmen adorned themselves and their womenfolk in bronze jewelry. Objects made of bronze, an alloy
of copper and tin, were cast in shapes similar to those of objects in gold and silver and similarly decorated,
usually in abstract motifs: continuous and dotted lines, diagonal crosses, zigzags, chequers, diamonds,
small circles and chains.
Iron implements and weapons, made by blacksmiths, swordniakers and armourers, were also often
embellished. Weapons were frequently inlaid with gold, silver, copper or bronze and the hilts were usually
of bone or horn. Many weapons were brought from abroad or acquired as war trophies; these served as
models subsequently copied by local craftsmen. In that early period it was customary to import sword
blades from abroad and fit them with hilts and guards locally.
Ornamental objects of daily utility, such as caskets, combs, cups and tumblers, mirror frames and knife
handles, were carved from horn, bone or wood, decorated in ancient, simple ornamental patterns. Wood-
carving was one of the traditional handicrafts. A unique example of wood-carving has been unearthed
at Opole: a fragment of an ornamental bed, dating from between the ioth and 12th centuries, with its
frame decorated in a diamond design circumscribed with a rope motif.
in the ornamental arts, the goldsmith's art in particular. The latter underwent transformations under the
influence of local pre-Christian traditions and customs and became adapted to specific needs of the popu-
lation. Crafts developed round stronghold towns which were centres of political and military authority,
where court assizes were held and market fairs took place, dues and taxes were collected and treasure
amassed.
Among the few historical sources which can shed some light on the early history of Polish craftsmanship,
toponymy is very helpful. Geographical names of what are known as service settlements -— where craftsmen
lived and had their workshops — have been preserved unchanged. Thus si^omy (helmets) were produced
in Slomniki; STfQity (shields) in Szczytniki; and groty (spearheads) in Grotniki. Place names such as Kobier-
niki (from kftbieriec — carpet) and Zlotniki (from 7$oto — g°ld), frequently encountered in Poland,
testify to the early beginnings of industry satisfying aesthetic needs and demand for luxury goods. Of
special importance was the goldsmith's art, at first based on imports of precious metal, and later, presu-
mably from the end of the iith century, on home deposits — silver found in the Cracow-Wielun area,
and gold discovered in Lower Silesia. Silver denarii promoted the development of trade and industry.
Coinage minted at home, though to begin with in limited quantities only, helped to raise the prestige of
Poland's rulers, Mieszko I, Boleslaus the Brave, Boleslaus the Bold and his successors.
Fragmentary as it is for understandable reasons the picture of applied art at the beginning of Poland's
existence as a state can be reconstructed from archaeological finds, analysis of historical documents and
also from the few examples of such crafts as are depicted in art (though it should be stressed that this last
source is not really reliable).
Thus pottery workshops kept improving their methods, though ornamental patterns and designs still
remained on the primitive side, mostly series of straight or wavy lines. That as early as the i ith century
this kind of production was made to serve architecture, is testified by remnants of flooring of yellow and
dark blue tiles in Gniezno Cathedral and of tiles bearing a griffon design in the Trzemeszno church.
Objects of the goldsmith's art dating from the ioth and iith centuries, both those made locally and
brought from abroad, all carried the stamp of workmanship in lands bordering on the southern Baltic coast.
For the most part, these were pieces of silver jewelry in wrought, cast, filigree or granulated techniques.
Lacy filigree was produced by soldering together metal beads, twisted wire and bands in convoluted forms.
Cast and wrought objects of silver were decorated with stamped designs punched with dies, or engraved
with burins. Archaeologists have found stone moulds in which jewelry of various shape was cast, for
example circular and half-moon shaped pendants. Jewelry thus produced included earrings, bracelets and
armlets, rings, clasps, chains, belts, and pendants in the form of little trapezium-shaped flat receptacles in
which amulets, herbs and fragrant substances were carried. Animal and plant motifs began to appear in
jewelry under the influence of Western and Scandinavian countries. In his Chronicle (written
in 11 12 —13), Galius Anonymus speaks of an abundance of gold in Poland during the reign of Boleslaus
the Brave. To some extent this may be a figure of speech, praising the 'good old times', or referring
to the legendary 'golden age'; however in view of the power the country represented in this period, amass-
ment of treasure, due in part to the spoils of war, may be taken as a certainty. The ruler, his lords
and the bravest of his knights used ornaments and jewelry made of gold and silver. The peasants and
craftsmen adorned themselves and their womenfolk in bronze jewelry. Objects made of bronze, an alloy
of copper and tin, were cast in shapes similar to those of objects in gold and silver and similarly decorated,
usually in abstract motifs: continuous and dotted lines, diagonal crosses, zigzags, chequers, diamonds,
small circles and chains.
Iron implements and weapons, made by blacksmiths, swordniakers and armourers, were also often
embellished. Weapons were frequently inlaid with gold, silver, copper or bronze and the hilts were usually
of bone or horn. Many weapons were brought from abroad or acquired as war trophies; these served as
models subsequently copied by local craftsmen. In that early period it was customary to import sword
blades from abroad and fit them with hilts and guards locally.
Ornamental objects of daily utility, such as caskets, combs, cups and tumblers, mirror frames and knife
handles, were carved from horn, bone or wood, decorated in ancient, simple ornamental patterns. Wood-
carving was one of the traditional handicrafts. A unique example of wood-carving has been unearthed
at Opole: a fragment of an ornamental bed, dating from between the ioth and 12th centuries, with its
frame decorated in a diamond design circumscribed with a rope motif.