Portrait medallion of Stefan Czarniecki

At the end of the 18th century, English ceramics, especially colourful jasper stoneware produced in the Wedgwood manufactory, was an exclusive novelty in Poland. Its decoration appealed to the taste of people fascinated with antiquity. It was particularly popular among the Polish aristocracy, who tried to meet the latest fashion requirements of the classical era. Both numerous travels abroad and the activity of West European sales representatives contributed to the popularity of the long underestimated and even forgotten stoneware. Among orders sent to Poland, Warsaw and Gdansk addresses recurred, which testifies to lively trade contacts with these centres.

Most orders were dinner services with coats of arms and monograms of the recipients. Portrait medallions produced from the 1870s onwards enjoyed great popularity. In the group of decorative objects nine portrait medallions depicting famous Poles and rulers of Poland are worth mentioning.

Medallions made of jasper stoneware with images of Polish national heroes were made again in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Edward J. Kuntze, a sculptor from Pomerania who worked in London, designed and made for Wedgwood a series of patriotic medallions with images of Polish hetmans. After the fall of the January Uprising, both among the émigré circles and the public in the partitioned Poland, there was a growing demand for souvenirs and various objects reminding of the past glory and former significance of the homeland. The popularity of the former heroes of the Republic did not wane among the society deprived of its own statehood. In this way, even the products of foreign manufacturers worked for the Polish community, contributing to the preservation of knowledge about the past of the Republic and, consequently, the national identity of Poles. The medallion with the bust of Hetman Stefan Czarniecki, which belongs to the group of jasper stoneware products preserved in the museum collection, was made around 1869.

Magdalena Norkowska