DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0080
y 6 were also very ornate, of silk or lace, with the rod and handle of ivory, ebony or silver, sometimes
gilt, enamelled or set with precious stones. Purses and vanity-cases were equally indispensable accessories
of a fashionable lady. They were made of the finest morocco leather, gold or silver embroidered silk and,
towards the end of the century, also of silver scales. Mention should also be made of bouquets which every
young lady carried at balls. Such bouquets, usually small, were held together by thin wire, with the stems
fitted in small metal casings. They were worn by ladies, dangling from the wrist or finger when dancing.
During the French Empire period, Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian art was imitated in jewelry:
diadems, tiaras, necklaces, earrings, brooches, bracelets and rings, above all various cameos and intaglios.
This sophisticated style gave way to the more homely and intimate Victorian fashion of the second half
of the 19th century when necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches, clasps, rings, pins and ornate little
gold watches on gold chains used to be adorned in motifs of leaves, flowers and artistic knots. Next to
diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, garnets, turquoises and tourmalines, enamel and niello ornaments
were applied. As mentioned before during the period of national mourning black was widely worn:
black dresses, black ornaments, little black crosses on black chains, earrings of black oxidized silver, and
even rings in the form of shackles.
As before, in the 19th century artistic crafts served various spheres of life, the comfort and beauty
of the home in the first place. Many residences and manor houses required redecoration and refurnishing,
however new style in interior design originated mostly in towns, where magnates had their town houses,
in which they spent more time than in their country seats. A decline of great lordly residences had set
in irrevocably and the causes of this decline were many. In the 19th century gradually the feudal type of
social relations came to an end, serfdom was abolished and peasants were granted ownership of land they
tilled. Large landed estates in the East, seized by Russia in 1772, were either confiscated or compulsorily
sold out. To a lesser extent, a similar fate befell magnate estates in the other partition zones. Though a great
deal of land still remained in the hands of the aristocracy, they could no longer lead a life on such a vast
scale as they had done in the past. Some aristocratic families turned their residences into museums, at
first private family museums and later open to the public. Such museums were organized by the
Czartoryskis in Cracow and Pulawy, the Potockis in Wilanow and Lancut, the Lubomirskis in Lvov,
the Krasihskis in Warsaw, the Ossolihskis in Lvov, the Raczynskis in Poznah, the Radziwills in Nieborow,
the Dziafyhskis in Gofuchow and the Zamoyskis at Kornik. This trend also helped preserve authentic
18th and 19th century interiors largely intact. In their town houses the aristocracy and the gentry
continued to favour traditional style in interior design, complete with Gdansk and Kolbuszowa furniture,
tapestries and carpets, Polish cut glass and silverware, old weapons and trophies. However, town apartments
could not compare in size and arrangement of rooms with manor houses and consequently there was simply
no room for much of these belongings. Neither did their new material circumstances permit them to keep
all these valuable pieces of furniture. Gradually, the bourgeoisie became the most energetic class in evolving
new styles and new types of material culture. A cross between the gentry and the bourgeois styles was
represented by the homes of the intelligentsia. To this should be added an interest, though limited only,
in folklore and folk art, which could be noticed towards the end of the 19th century.
The French Empire style of the early 19th century was not very popular in Poland. This rather heavy if
not pompous style of furniture could not be expected to agree with the Polish inclination to intimacy and
straightforwardness, so typical of the Sarmatian way of life. Empire furniture was only acquired for very
special purposes, for example by Izabela Czartoryska to furnish the crypt of the Temple of Sibyl in Pulawy,
the first Polish historical museum, opened in 1801, which probably also served as the meeting-place
of a masonic lodge. • These Pulawy armchairs — cast in bronze and with the seats covered in crimson
damask (now in the Czartoryski Collection in Cracow) — are believed to be the work of Warsaw
bronze smiths. The backs of the chairs are formed by two sphinx-like figures and the legs are in the shape
of a lion's paws. Two bronze armchairs, which closely resemble the ones described above, are just cases
for two famous chairs of Shakespeare and Jean Jacques Rousseau, acquired by Izabela Czartoryska during
her treasure hunting journeys. Another example of Empire furniture is a bronze, X-shaped folding chair with
the Polish eagle, from Arkadia (at present in the Nieborow palace).
The period of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807 —15) saw the emergence of a Polish variety of French
Empire, which came to be known as the Duchy of Warsaw style. Sofas, chairs, armchairs, tables, cupboards
and secretaires imitated Empire furniture in form but lacked bronze ornaments, in place of which they
featured bas-reliefs, mostly palmettes or single laurel leaves, and marquetry work. The aesthetic merit
gilt, enamelled or set with precious stones. Purses and vanity-cases were equally indispensable accessories
of a fashionable lady. They were made of the finest morocco leather, gold or silver embroidered silk and,
towards the end of the century, also of silver scales. Mention should also be made of bouquets which every
young lady carried at balls. Such bouquets, usually small, were held together by thin wire, with the stems
fitted in small metal casings. They were worn by ladies, dangling from the wrist or finger when dancing.
During the French Empire period, Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian art was imitated in jewelry:
diadems, tiaras, necklaces, earrings, brooches, bracelets and rings, above all various cameos and intaglios.
This sophisticated style gave way to the more homely and intimate Victorian fashion of the second half
of the 19th century when necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches, clasps, rings, pins and ornate little
gold watches on gold chains used to be adorned in motifs of leaves, flowers and artistic knots. Next to
diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, garnets, turquoises and tourmalines, enamel and niello ornaments
were applied. As mentioned before during the period of national mourning black was widely worn:
black dresses, black ornaments, little black crosses on black chains, earrings of black oxidized silver, and
even rings in the form of shackles.
As before, in the 19th century artistic crafts served various spheres of life, the comfort and beauty
of the home in the first place. Many residences and manor houses required redecoration and refurnishing,
however new style in interior design originated mostly in towns, where magnates had their town houses,
in which they spent more time than in their country seats. A decline of great lordly residences had set
in irrevocably and the causes of this decline were many. In the 19th century gradually the feudal type of
social relations came to an end, serfdom was abolished and peasants were granted ownership of land they
tilled. Large landed estates in the East, seized by Russia in 1772, were either confiscated or compulsorily
sold out. To a lesser extent, a similar fate befell magnate estates in the other partition zones. Though a great
deal of land still remained in the hands of the aristocracy, they could no longer lead a life on such a vast
scale as they had done in the past. Some aristocratic families turned their residences into museums, at
first private family museums and later open to the public. Such museums were organized by the
Czartoryskis in Cracow and Pulawy, the Potockis in Wilanow and Lancut, the Lubomirskis in Lvov,
the Krasihskis in Warsaw, the Ossolihskis in Lvov, the Raczynskis in Poznah, the Radziwills in Nieborow,
the Dziafyhskis in Gofuchow and the Zamoyskis at Kornik. This trend also helped preserve authentic
18th and 19th century interiors largely intact. In their town houses the aristocracy and the gentry
continued to favour traditional style in interior design, complete with Gdansk and Kolbuszowa furniture,
tapestries and carpets, Polish cut glass and silverware, old weapons and trophies. However, town apartments
could not compare in size and arrangement of rooms with manor houses and consequently there was simply
no room for much of these belongings. Neither did their new material circumstances permit them to keep
all these valuable pieces of furniture. Gradually, the bourgeoisie became the most energetic class in evolving
new styles and new types of material culture. A cross between the gentry and the bourgeois styles was
represented by the homes of the intelligentsia. To this should be added an interest, though limited only,
in folklore and folk art, which could be noticed towards the end of the 19th century.
The French Empire style of the early 19th century was not very popular in Poland. This rather heavy if
not pompous style of furniture could not be expected to agree with the Polish inclination to intimacy and
straightforwardness, so typical of the Sarmatian way of life. Empire furniture was only acquired for very
special purposes, for example by Izabela Czartoryska to furnish the crypt of the Temple of Sibyl in Pulawy,
the first Polish historical museum, opened in 1801, which probably also served as the meeting-place
of a masonic lodge. • These Pulawy armchairs — cast in bronze and with the seats covered in crimson
damask (now in the Czartoryski Collection in Cracow) — are believed to be the work of Warsaw
bronze smiths. The backs of the chairs are formed by two sphinx-like figures and the legs are in the shape
of a lion's paws. Two bronze armchairs, which closely resemble the ones described above, are just cases
for two famous chairs of Shakespeare and Jean Jacques Rousseau, acquired by Izabela Czartoryska during
her treasure hunting journeys. Another example of Empire furniture is a bronze, X-shaped folding chair with
the Polish eagle, from Arkadia (at present in the Nieborow palace).
The period of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807 —15) saw the emergence of a Polish variety of French
Empire, which came to be known as the Duchy of Warsaw style. Sofas, chairs, armchairs, tables, cupboards
and secretaires imitated Empire furniture in form but lacked bronze ornaments, in place of which they
featured bas-reliefs, mostly palmettes or single laurel leaves, and marquetry work. The aesthetic merit