Porcelain

In the display case to the left is a chalice dating from around 1760, belonging to Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, known as “Rybeńko.” It is decorated with the Radziwiłł coat of arms (Trąby) with the Order of the White Eagle, and the Mycielski coat of arms (Dołęga) with the Order of the Starry Cross, referring to his wife, Anna Radziwiłł, née Mycielska.

Also on display are carafes from the early 19th century, produced at the Radziwiłł glassworks in Naliboki, as well as a covered goblet and a beaker, both marked “Augustus Rex,” manufactured in Saxony in the first half of the 18th century.

On the lower shelf is a set of plates decorated with views of structures from the Radziwiłł garden in Nesvizh, created before the outbreak of the First World War. The depicted sites, including Mon Plaisir and the Rotunda, were destroyed during the war. The series also includes a plate titled Cannons Unearthed on the Ramparts, Right Bastion, 12/25 July 1913, as well as views of other Radziwiłł parks—Radziwiłłmonty and Alba.

 

The display case to the right holds the historically and artistically invaluable “Memorial Book” of Balice. Bound in carmine leather and embossed with the inscription “Balice”, this elegant album (the three surviving volumes) provides a wonderful chronological record of visitors to the Radziwiłł estate in Balice near Krakow.

In 1887, Prince Dominik Radziwiłł, who lived with his wife Dolores de Agramonte in Paris, purchased the palace in the village of Balice from the Hungarian Homolacs family. Thus started the most colourful, albeit tragically ended, chapter in the history of these estates. The Radziwiłl family intended to turn the suburban villa into a family home combining modernity with old Polish tradition and a dignified reference to their ancestral seats. The end of the golden age for Balice came shortly after the start of hostilities in 1939. The Germans took over the palace, but allowed the Radziwiłł family to live in the outbuilding. Throughout the occupation, Prince Hieronim, son of Dominik and Dolores, was involved in clandestine activities. He supported the Home Army financially, provided food, employed many people in hiding who needed help, and offered cash and food aid to the poorest.

In August 1944, anticipating the worst, he prudently decided to remove the most valuable objects from the palace and deposit them in Kraków's Princes Czartoryski Museum.

 

Above the display case:

Portrait of Dominik Radziwiłł, by Bolesław Szańkowski.