Stanisław August - construction of the Church of Divine Providence in Warsaw

This rare medal, found only in some public collections, commemorates the laying of the foundation stone of the Church of Providence in Warsaw on 3 May 1792. The building was to be a votive offering for the Constitution of 3 May 1791. The celebrations of its first anniversary began with a solemn session of the Sejm in the Church of the Holy Cross, from where after Holy Mass a procession led by the King and assisted by a good number of military troops made its way to the place intended for the erection of the church, now the site of the Botanic Garden. The cornerstone laying was reported by ‘Gazeta Narodowa y Obca’ as follows: ‘Prince Primate consecrated the stone with the customary rite; then he gave a golden trowel and hammer to His Majesty the King, a medal and money minted for the present reign were placed under the stone. After the stone had been placed on the Church of Providence, when His Majesty threw the trowel, followed by the xx. Bishops, Ministers, and Sejm Marshals’. Undoubtedly, the press information about the medal placed under the cornerstone refers to the work in question.

The obverse is decorated with the head of King Stanisław August Poniatowski in right profile surrounded by a monarchical titulature in Latin, translating: ‘Stanislaw August King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania’. At the intersection of the monarch's neck the author has placed his signature: ‘F[ecit]. JAN REGULSKI’. The reverse side is filled with an eleven-line Latin inscription, translating: ‘Stanislaw August the king and the Sejm of the Republic of Poland enacted on May 3, 1791 a church in honour of the Holy Providence, the first stone of which was laid on May 3, 1792’. As the result of the vicissitudes of history, the church was not built until modern times.

Two variants of the medal are known, differing in the obverse. The original version was made by Johann Filip Holzhaeusser (1741-1792) according to the pattern first introduced on the coronation medal of 1766. Damage to the stamp soon forced the making of a new die. Its preparation after the artist's death was commissioned to Jan Regulski (ca. 1760-1807) – a valued glyptist and sculptor, as well as a talented medallist.

Our copy comes from the medallic collection of Bolesław Mink, purchased for the Museum.

Tomasz Markiewicz