Ring

The object shown here belongs to a set of two similar rings that have survived in the Wilanów collection (cf. note to the object no. Wil.3381). These are very interesting and rare objects with a commemorative function – metal rings for tree trunks. Both rings bear marks or signatures that refer to their history and indicate the time of their creation. The first ring has an engraved inscription. The ring described here, which is the second part of the set, is decorated with the Pilawa coat of arms of the Potocki family applied onto the smooth surface and with two stylised letters in Gothic font: M and P.

Thanks to the inscription put on it, the first ring is a less mysterious object than this one. The text engraved on the second ring describes the history of a tree that was planted under the vigilant eye of the first inhabitant of the Wilanów Palace – King John III Sobieski. This history refers to the account handed down over the centuries which says that the king himself supervised the planting of trees in the gardens of his beloved mansion. According to the inscription, the creation of the ring was inspired by Stanisław Kostka Potocki, who opened the first art museum in Poland with his wife Aleksandra née Lubomirska in the Wilanów Palace. The second ring was presumably made at a similar time. In contrast to the first object, it contains no fields dividing further parts of the text, but only letters M and P and the Pilawa coat of arms. We can interpret these letters as initials identifying Maurycy Potocki (1812–1879), a grandson of Stanisław Kostka. Part of the Wilanów estate stretching on the eastern bank of the Wilanów Lake was called Morysin in his honour ((after the French version of his name – Maurice). Creating possible scenarios explaining the context of making the ring, we may be tempted to associate this object with the establishment of Morysin. This was in the first quarter of the 19th century – Stanisław Kostka Potocki and his wife Aleksandra commemorated their successive grandchildren by giving their names to selected fragments of the Wilanów demesne. Apart from Morysin, Gucin and Natolin were established (their names refer to August and Natalia, respectively). The changes were not limited to the new nomenclature – they also involved the transformation of spaces, particularly gardens, and the erection of architectural buildings with picturesque shapes. The ring shown here was presumably intended as a material souvenir of the new version of the eastern part of the Wilanów estate renamed into Morysin.