Can

Another object made of ivory, which was a valuable material in the past, in the collection of Wilanów Varia (a similar can adorned with figural relief is listed under the inventory number Wil.2646 – cf. note of the object). It is a cylindrical can slightly narrowing upwards, set in friezes of gilded bronze adorned with palmettes running around at the top (edge) and at the bottom (foot). The surface of the belly is surrounded with a relief presenting naked putti in various activities shown between dolphins and sea creatures. Ivory objects were popular among collectors due to their valuable and rare material and because of the difficulty of its processing, which brought brilliant results when handled by a highly skilful craftsman. The presence of the can in the Wilanów collection is recorded by two works of significant value for the history of the Museum. The first one is the catalogue of an exhibition of antiquities entitled ‘The 1856 exhibition of antiquities and art objects held in the Palace of His Excellency Count August Potocki and his wife in Warsaw at Krakowskie Przedmieście for the benefit of the Shelter Home of the Blessed Virgin Mary’. Under the catalogue number 1002, we can find a description of the object: ‘A carved ivory cup, with an ivory lid, slightly oval, set in gilded and engraved silver at the bottom and at the top. The product was probably made in Poland at the end of the 17th century. The sculpture presents cupids playing in the sea: fishing, sailing on dolphins and seashells, etc., and the lid bears a strangely curtailed, as if from a sideways perspective, sleeping Cupid with a bow and a quiver of arrows beside him; the drape covering his sleeping place is clearly cut at the bottom, and under the lid there is a silver medal of John III Sobieski with an inscription: IOAN. 3. REX POL. Height 0.150 m, diameter 0.083 m. The owner is Count August Potocki.’ The second source is a richly illustrated publication Willanów. An Album of Views and Souvenirs... prepared by Wojciech Gerson and Hipolit Skimborowicz upon the commission of Aleksandra Potocka née Potocka (1818–1892) in 1877. The descriptions contained in the aforementioned works are particularly valuable in the context of this object, because they inform us that it formerly had a lid in which a silver medal with a representation of John III Sobieski and a signature: IOAN.III.REX POL was set. The lid was lost, presumably during World War II, which was a difficult time for the collection of the Museum.