Medallion with the portrait of Jan Kochanowski

In the period of the Partitions of Poland, souvenirs with images of distinguished Poles were in great demand. The situation was aptly exploited by the Warsaw industrialist Karol Juliusz Minter (1812-1892). In 1835, he assumed the management of the family foundry and shifted production to art accessories products. The mass-produced statuettes, statues, busts, and medallions were distinguished by their high artistic and technical quality. They adorned the interiors of manor houses and residences, and quickly became the focus of collectors' interest. A medallion depicting the head of Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584), the most eminent Polish poet of the Renaissance, translator and royal secretary to Zygmunt August, belongs to the series of reliefs with images of historical figures, published in 1850-1879. The model for the representation on the medallion is believed to have been a small bust created by Jakub Tatarkiewicz in 1848-1854. After obtaining approval for reproduction, the first casts of Kochanowski's medallion were made in 1857 or 1858. The work is signed on the reverse only with the Minter factory hallmark. Genowefa Horoszko