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Vis P35(p) pistol The pistol was a legend cherished during the war and, especially during the post-war period. It was a very good Polish design (based on the structure of the Colt M1911 pistol) delivered by the engineer Piotr Wilniewszczyc and Jan Skrzypiński. Work on the pistol began as early as 1930... |
Spear of the Lombards The presented spear could have been forged either in the fifth or fifteenth century. In spite of the metallurgical examination carried out by specialists from the Jagiellonian University, it was not possible to determine the production date of the spearhead. |
Parade miner’s sabre Carrying weapons was a privilege of miners as free people. Salt Works introduced uniforms for their employees in 1773. A sabre was an important element of the outfit and later also the mining uniform. Parade weapons are a special type of weapon that have almost lost their utilitarian functions in favour of representational ones. |
Mace A mace, that is a blunt weapon consisting of a handle and a head created of vertically placed flangs (feathers), was commonly used in the Polish army of the 17th and 18th centuries, as an insignia indicating the rank of rittmeister or colonel. According to tradition, the presented mace was owned by Stefan Czarniecki, the Castellan of Kiev, later the Field Crown Hetman. |
Drum-like airdrop capsule, the so-called “little cell” It is one of the elements of the British airdrop capsules, which consisted of a number of segments like this. It has a simple cylinder-like structure fitted with covers. When removed from the container, the cell could be transported by its handles. Museums and private collections include few... |
Casket in the shape of a “sąsiek” (corn chest) We buy, receive and collect... items of everyday use – the faithful companions of our reality. We try to surround ourselves with those objects that make us happy, those which make our hearts beat faster, and those to which we feel sympathy at first sight. |
Clock shaped as a highlander’s cottage Everyday companions We buy, receive and collect... items of so-called everyday use that are faithful companions of our reality. We try to surround ourselves with objects that bring us pleasure, that cause our hearts to beat faster and that we take a liking to at the first glance. The space that surrounds us is important. We run away from “ordinariness” and “mediocrity.” We always try to decorate it somehow. The same applies to the past. In the second half of the 19th century in England, artists who were dissatisfied with mass machine production started the Arts and Crafts Movement. They wanted to re-create what was beautiful and noble in everyday-use objects. This initiative reverberated throughout the whole of Europe, including also Poland of that time. |
Cap Eagle of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, pattern 40 An eagle produced for soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West in 1942 or later. Its shape refers to the pre-war military eagles, especially the so-called forage cap from the 1930s. It featured a full crown, like the state eagle of 1919. Just like the pre-war... |
Krzysztof Wodiczko, “The Homeless Vehicle” |
Metal cutting saw A type of saw or file for cutting narrow gaps in metal, which was most often used to cut patterns in keys. The metal cutting saw consists of two riveted plates with a free space between them. |
“Brunsviga 13” calculating machine Brunsviga 13 is a manual mechanical calculating machine (arithmometer) with a 13-position counter. Arithmometers were patented in the 19th century in France and were designed to perform addition and subtraction, whereas multiplication and division could be conducted by several operations of adding and subtracting. They were driven manually (with a crank or a lever). |
Powder horn The powder horn comes from the collection of Władysław Łoziński in Lviv. It was donated to the Wawel Royal Castle by an antiquary Szymon Szwarc in 1930. |
Closed helmet It is an example of a closed helmet that protects the entire head of a soldier. It represents the decadent phase of development of this type of armament, the early days of which date back to the 16th century, when movable face covers started to be fixed to helmets. |
Pistol with circular lock Today, most researchers believe that Leonardo da Vinci — whose drawings were developed technically and used practically in Germany at the beginning of the 16th century — was the first proponent of the idea of a wheel-lock, which led to the construction of the first wheel-lock, which, in turn, made it possible to popularize short guns, otherwise known as pistols. |
Wheellock pistol The exhibit is a representative example of a luxurious, richly decorated firearm. An early type of pistol called the puffer, characterised by the presence of a massive ball at the end of the butt. |
Percussion-cap pistol The percussion-cap pistol, double-barrelled, with a wooden handle, was made by the Lepage company in Paris. Its fittings are decorated with floral motifs. The exhibit is also signed, which allows one to determine its place of production. Near the chambers, between the barrels... |
Black and white “Belweder” — OT 1782 TV set Following the Wisła TV set, the black and white Belweder TV set was the second TV set to be produced in Poland and the first one entirely designed in our country. Laboratory works commenced in 1955 with the assumption that its production would be based on technologies available in Poland, on the contrary the Wisła TV set was produced on the basis of Soviet license and parts. |
Typewriter “Hammond” James Hammond obtained a patent for the construction of the machine in 1881, and its serial production began in 1884. The presented model 12 was created in the early 20th century in two versions; one was characterized by an arched two-row keyboard, typical of the early Hammonds; and the second, with a three-row keyboard, was typical for three-register machines. The final version, seen in the presented object, was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century along with the growing competition of lever-typing machines, with a typical arrangement of keys in straight rows. |
Tomasz Bajer, “Minimalism of Guantanamo” The work is an accurate replica of Yasser Talal al Zahrani’s prison cell at the American detention camp for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Saudi prisoner died in 2006. The official cause of death was given as suicide. However, an examination by an independent pathologist showed traces of repeated beating, which could be indicative of torture. The work can be interpreted as a commentary on the abuse of human rights by imperialist powers, and the individual’s helplessness in the face of such behavior. |
Longcase clock One of the two twin longcase clocks, decorated with the imitation of green Far Eastern lacquer, comes from the castle in Podhorce, belonging originally to the Rzewuski family and subsequently purchased together with its furnishings by the Sanguszko family. The clock cases distinguish themselves with the pseudo-Chinese decoration painted in gold, enriched with European motifs and “Chinese” figural scenes and landscapes. |