DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0074
Jasna Gora in Cz^stochowa, was a votive offering made in thanksgiving for freeing Poland from the Swedes.
Of pure gold, studded with precious stones, it was made in Warsaw in 1672 by the court goldsmith
Waclaw Grotko. Goldsmiths produced a large number of church vessels and objects serving to decorate
the altar and church interiors in general, such as ciboria, trays and ampullae, vessels for holy oils, censers,
jugs and wash-bowls, altar bells, altar lamps and church candelabra. In form and decoration they combined
what seems to be two contradictory aspects: one traditional, the Church always adhering to tradition,
and the other influenced by current fashions in art. Reliquaries, originally in the form of caskets, since
the middle of the 1 7th century acquired the form of miniature ornate little coffins, which best corresponded
with the spirit of the Counter-Reformation. Some reliquaries however were in more original and imagina-
tive shape. For example, a reliquary made in Vilna in 1637 was an eagle, the receptacle for the relic
concealed in the bird's breast. A typically Polish custom was the adorning of holy pictures in robes of
silver. These repousse works of gilded silver studded with precious stones and pearls were made by local
craftsmen as were also various votive offerings in the Baroque-Sarmatian style. The latter were usually of
repousse or chased silver, occasionally of gold, and were often shaped like hearts, arms or legs — possibly
in connection with the various ailments for which cure was sought or miraculously obtained. Some represent-
ed infants and were intended as a plea to save a child from an illness. Finally there were votive plaques
with representations of noblemen in grand national costumes and these are particularly important from
our point of view. The largest number of votive offerings are to be seen at Jasna Gora in Czqstochowa
and at Ostra Brama in Vilna.
In addition to goldsmiths, craftsmen working in bronze and brass, bell-founders and locksmiths all
worked for the needs of the Church, making ornamental gratings, lavers, baptismal fonts, holy-water
basins, bells and intricate, often ornamental, locks. The bronze door of the Vasa Chapel in Wawel Cathedral,
made in 1673, is the work of the Gdansk master Michal Weinhold and bears his signature. The principal
motif of this monumental grating is an allegory on the vanity of worldly honours: a skeleton trampling
over emblems of temporal power and authority, both royal and ecclesiastic. Gratings were also made of
wrought iron, often with armorial bearings, inscriptions and typically baroque motifs.
Carpenters, cabinetmakers and wood-carvers, too, made beautiful things for churches; some worked
exclusively for Church needs and had their workshops on monastery premises. Special mention must be
made of stalls in Wawel Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady and the Corpus Christi Church in Cracow
and the various pulpits, reading-desks, panelling work, sacristy cupboards, etc., in churches built or restored
in that period, which all adopted the characteristic features of Baroque, Rococo or Classicism. A very
special place belongs to altars and organ cases built by architects and sculptors, but in practice also the work
of wood-carvers, carpenters, painters and gilders. Gilded and carved altars were made in the 17th century
in Cracow and other towns in the Carpathian foothills. Suffice it to mention the magnificent high altar
in the parish church in Biecz and the high altars in the churches of Corpus Christi, St. Catherine and
St. Mark and Wawel Cathedral, all in Cracow. These altars were usually monumental structures of pillars,
columns, prominent cornices and friezes, tympanons, plinths, and niches and with a multitude of figures,
cartouches, garlands, bunches of fruit and flowers, draperies, intertwining plants and angels' heads. All
this abundance expressed the Sarmatian predilection for richness and at the same time fear of vacuum, or
horror vacui. Pulpits, which were as richly adorned, were frequently shaped like symbolic ships. Of the
organ cases the one at Lezajsk is outstanding as regards exuberance of Baroque forms and the multitude
of figural representations. However, organ cases as a rule belong to the sphere of architecture and monument-
al sculpture.
The Baroque magnificence of Catholic churches inevitably exercised influence on interiors of churches
of other religious denominations, particularly the Uniate and Orthodox churches, though the traditional
Byzantine style still persisted there. Separate mention must be made of synagogues, and the many objects
pertaining to Jewish ritual such as fabrics embroidered in ritual symbols and signs, objects in gold with
filigree ornaments, Torah crowns, bindings of the Torah and other sacred books, Hanukkah lamps,
and menorahs (seven-branched candelabra).
Funeral ceremonies were a peculiarly Sarmatian display of pomp and splendour on which vast sums
were lavished. There the talent and inventiveness of master craftsmen was again put to use. The huge ornate
catafalques, known as castra doloris, were the result of the combined efforts of architects, sculptors,
wood-carvers, painters, gilders and a host of other craftsmen. The coffins, often as monumental and ornate,
were made in special metalwork often with the participation of goldsmiths. Silver coffins with the mortal
Of pure gold, studded with precious stones, it was made in Warsaw in 1672 by the court goldsmith
Waclaw Grotko. Goldsmiths produced a large number of church vessels and objects serving to decorate
the altar and church interiors in general, such as ciboria, trays and ampullae, vessels for holy oils, censers,
jugs and wash-bowls, altar bells, altar lamps and church candelabra. In form and decoration they combined
what seems to be two contradictory aspects: one traditional, the Church always adhering to tradition,
and the other influenced by current fashions in art. Reliquaries, originally in the form of caskets, since
the middle of the 1 7th century acquired the form of miniature ornate little coffins, which best corresponded
with the spirit of the Counter-Reformation. Some reliquaries however were in more original and imagina-
tive shape. For example, a reliquary made in Vilna in 1637 was an eagle, the receptacle for the relic
concealed in the bird's breast. A typically Polish custom was the adorning of holy pictures in robes of
silver. These repousse works of gilded silver studded with precious stones and pearls were made by local
craftsmen as were also various votive offerings in the Baroque-Sarmatian style. The latter were usually of
repousse or chased silver, occasionally of gold, and were often shaped like hearts, arms or legs — possibly
in connection with the various ailments for which cure was sought or miraculously obtained. Some represent-
ed infants and were intended as a plea to save a child from an illness. Finally there were votive plaques
with representations of noblemen in grand national costumes and these are particularly important from
our point of view. The largest number of votive offerings are to be seen at Jasna Gora in Czqstochowa
and at Ostra Brama in Vilna.
In addition to goldsmiths, craftsmen working in bronze and brass, bell-founders and locksmiths all
worked for the needs of the Church, making ornamental gratings, lavers, baptismal fonts, holy-water
basins, bells and intricate, often ornamental, locks. The bronze door of the Vasa Chapel in Wawel Cathedral,
made in 1673, is the work of the Gdansk master Michal Weinhold and bears his signature. The principal
motif of this monumental grating is an allegory on the vanity of worldly honours: a skeleton trampling
over emblems of temporal power and authority, both royal and ecclesiastic. Gratings were also made of
wrought iron, often with armorial bearings, inscriptions and typically baroque motifs.
Carpenters, cabinetmakers and wood-carvers, too, made beautiful things for churches; some worked
exclusively for Church needs and had their workshops on monastery premises. Special mention must be
made of stalls in Wawel Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady and the Corpus Christi Church in Cracow
and the various pulpits, reading-desks, panelling work, sacristy cupboards, etc., in churches built or restored
in that period, which all adopted the characteristic features of Baroque, Rococo or Classicism. A very
special place belongs to altars and organ cases built by architects and sculptors, but in practice also the work
of wood-carvers, carpenters, painters and gilders. Gilded and carved altars were made in the 17th century
in Cracow and other towns in the Carpathian foothills. Suffice it to mention the magnificent high altar
in the parish church in Biecz and the high altars in the churches of Corpus Christi, St. Catherine and
St. Mark and Wawel Cathedral, all in Cracow. These altars were usually monumental structures of pillars,
columns, prominent cornices and friezes, tympanons, plinths, and niches and with a multitude of figures,
cartouches, garlands, bunches of fruit and flowers, draperies, intertwining plants and angels' heads. All
this abundance expressed the Sarmatian predilection for richness and at the same time fear of vacuum, or
horror vacui. Pulpits, which were as richly adorned, were frequently shaped like symbolic ships. Of the
organ cases the one at Lezajsk is outstanding as regards exuberance of Baroque forms and the multitude
of figural representations. However, organ cases as a rule belong to the sphere of architecture and monument-
al sculpture.
The Baroque magnificence of Catholic churches inevitably exercised influence on interiors of churches
of other religious denominations, particularly the Uniate and Orthodox churches, though the traditional
Byzantine style still persisted there. Separate mention must be made of synagogues, and the many objects
pertaining to Jewish ritual such as fabrics embroidered in ritual symbols and signs, objects in gold with
filigree ornaments, Torah crowns, bindings of the Torah and other sacred books, Hanukkah lamps,
and menorahs (seven-branched candelabra).
Funeral ceremonies were a peculiarly Sarmatian display of pomp and splendour on which vast sums
were lavished. There the talent and inventiveness of master craftsmen was again put to use. The huge ornate
catafalques, known as castra doloris, were the result of the combined efforts of architects, sculptors,
wood-carvers, painters, gilders and a host of other craftsmen. The coffins, often as monumental and ornate,
were made in special metalwork often with the participation of goldsmiths. Silver coffins with the mortal