The photograph presents Roman Potocki

The photograph presents Roman Potocki, chamberlain of the Austrian court, member of the House of Lords, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, who was the owner of Łańcut from 1889 to 1915.

A man with a magnificent, curled moustache, presented with his face turned slightly to the right, with his left hand resting on his hip, portrayed against the background of architecture. The Count is posing in a historical costume.

A kontusz (an outer garment) was put on the original żupan (long lined garment). Characteristic for this garment were the sleeves slit at almost the entire length. This costume required the use of a belt made of fabric, usually very valuable, often interwoven with gold. In Poland, the magnates valued the so-called kontusz belts, which were woven according to specific rules, i.e. they usually had from 3 to 4 meters in length and from 30 to 40 centimetres in width. They were sometimes two- or even four-sided, with each side having a different colour scheme. Such an outfit required a proper headgear and, of course, a sabre strapped to the side.

During the partitions of Poland, this particular type of clothing was allowed only in Galicia (under Austrian rule). This privilege could be enjoyed by the aristocracy during holidays and special occasions until the interwar period.

Michał Rajchert