Vase

Decorative vase The vase was made in the majolica factory in Nieborów. The factory, called Art Faience and Tile Stoves Factory, was established in 1881 by Prince Michał Piotr Radziwiłł on the grounds of his estate. The director of the factory was Stanisław Thiele, an experienced ceramic artist who had previously worked in the faience factory in Nevers, France. The Nieborów factory produced various objects, both decorative and functional: vases, jugs, cache-pôt pots, jardinieres, decorative wall-hanging plates, toiletries, hanging lamps, wall tiles. Its speciality was stove tiles. This eclectic pottery fits into the historicizing trends in European pottery of the second half of the 19th century. The forms and decoration were patterned upon Italian and French majolica, as well as on Dutch faience. Frequently, old stylistic forms were combined with Polish-themed painted decoration. It consisted of native landscapes, views of prominent towns, illustrations of Polish legends, and portrayals of kings and national heroes. The period in which the factory flourished lasted until 1886; the collapse of production occurred around 1889. In the Łańcut Castle Museum's collection, there is a set of eleven decorative majolicas: vases, jardinieres, cache-pôt (see B. Trojnar, Majolika w zbiorach Muzeum-Zamku w Łańcucie. Katalog, Łańcut 1988). The above vase is slender, with a pear-shaped belly on a cylindrical stem and a round foot, growing into a neck with a curled lip. Handles in the shape of double, twisted snakes. The belly is decorated with painted scenes: on the front, there is a Hetman on horseback, with a shield and a mace in his hands; on the opposite side, a group of Turkish captives sitting on the ground. Yellow vase background, painting colours: blue, black, yellow, rust. Barbara Trojnar