Vase on foot with mermaids

After World War II, West Pomerania saw a near-complete exchange of population. The new settlers lived in abandoned houses with furniture and kitchen utensils left by previous inhabitants. One of those settlers was Janina Szczerska (born on 22 October 1897 in Stryj, died on 10 July 1981 in Szczecin) – teacher and educator, who managed to open the first Polish secondary school in Szczecin – a war-torn city. Szczerska moved to the second floor of the townhouse at Aleja Piastów 66 (formerly known as Barnimstrasse), with furniture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries as well as many decorative dishes left by the previous owners. Among them was a fairly well-preserved decorative vase in the shape of a cup with a flattened bowl. In 1976 Szczerska decided that after her death her furniture and personal items should be donated to the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin.

Anna Lew-Machniak