Plate with portrait of John III

The maiolica from Nieborów is an extremely impressive ceramics dating back to the 1880s, resembling old Italian and French vessels. It was inspired by compositions of famous works of art or the author's painting conception. The vivid and expressive colour decoration reaches to images of heroes known from the history of Poland and fantastic, floral, grotesque and stylised motifs and picturesque landscapes. Extraordinary diversity characterises decorative forms in products made in Polish factories. The vessels have eclectic features, but they gain freshness of conception thanks to hand-made painting, and each is a unique piece.

The portrait of John III Sobieski on the Nieborów plate is maintained in blue tones, painted with cobalt, and its composition refers to the representation of the king in the painting by H. Gascar from 1691, popularised by numerous prints (currently in the Wawel collection). The composition of the painting is subdued in both the sketchy character of the portrait and the careful way of painting the decorative border – the collar – giving the miniature representation of the ruler nobility, even monumentality.

The maiolica from Nieborów belongs to the most exciting and valuable examples illustrating the historicising tendencies present in 19th-century European ceramics. In the case of Polish art, references to the past in the culture of the time had a patriotic overtone, which was also significant for the originators and decorators of the Nieborów maiolica.

Magdalena Norkowska