Commemorative vase

The vase was made in one of the most famous Polish metalwork factories. 'Łopieńscy Brothers' was a family company operating in Warsaw from 1862. It made casts of sculptures, monuments and medals of outstanding artists such as Xawery Dunikowski, Cyprian Godebski, Antoni Kurzawa, Konstanty Laszczka, and others. The production also included building elements and utility and decorative objects. They were highly valued both in Poland and abroad in the interwar period, which was proved by the silver medal received at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1925. After the war, the Łopieńskis restored damaged monuments in Warsaw, including King Sigismund III, Adam Mickiewicz and Fryderyk Chopin, but they were still subject to restrictions and harassment by the people's government. The fortitude of the spirit and strength of family tradition meant that the company continued to operate, albeit in a limited capacity and under a changed name.

The vase is of impressive size and has a beautiful sculptural decoration. The bison heads, used as a decorative motif, can be associated with the action taken in Poland to save this endangered animal. During World War I, the bison in the Białowieża Forest were killed by the retreating German army, Russian partisans and poachers. In 1929, they were brought back there. The vase is unique because it was created for a special occasion, as a trophy for the winner of the Warsaw Derby, i.e., an annual race for three-year-old horses, held since 1939 in Służewiec (formerly Pole Mokotowskie). It was there that in 1931 the race was won by the horse Essor, bred at Count Alfred Potocki's stud in Łańcut and owned by Count Konstanty Zamoyski. The Count took the trophy to his estate in Adampol near Włodawa, where, carefully hidden, it luckily survived the war and the first post-war years, and finally – following the will of its former owners – found its way into the collection of the National Museum in Lublin.

Barbara Czajkowska