SHOWCASE 32. AMBASSADORIAL GIFTS. POLAND

The showcase contains ambassadorial gifts from Poland, i.e. silverware and domestic utensils executed by Polish and German craftsmen during the flowering of the baroque style in Europe. Diplomatic missions sent to Russia by Poland in the 17th century had got varied purposes. An assortment of massive decorative silver objects, including jugs and a dish by the Gdansk makers in the mid-17th century, was part of the treasure brought by the ‘Grand Embassy’ of 1668, which came to Moscow to discuss the prospects of the election to the Polish throne of either Tsar Alexey or his son. 

The collection includes articles by silversmiths of Poland's centres of goldsmithery, such as Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Torun etc. Decorative arts of the country, as well as many other European countries, developed under the influence of German applied art and goldsmithery in particular. Polish makers used chasing, gilding, pouncing as principal ornamental methods. Surfaces of the items are richly decorated with a gilded figurative decor, baroque knorpelwerk (auricular style) and an ornament of acanthus leaves and hanging fruits, which form a delicate combination of engraved relief and smooth metal background.