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 Ai Weiwei, “Oil spills” This is a ceramic work – a technique that is inseparable from Chinese culture. The porcelain objects were fired in Jingdezhen, a city famous for its ceramics. The six elements in the MOCAK Collection, which simulate crude oil stains, are part of a 25-part installation. The work is a commentary on contemporary economic conditioning. Oil – a resource that impacts on international politics – symbolically “stains“ the world. |
 Porcelain perfume bottle with a genre painting The porcelain perfume bottle has the form of a bulky, short-necked decanter with no stopper. The upper side of the bottle is decorated with an ornament composed of stylized acanthus leaves, with traces of gilding. |
 Porcelain vase with a wooden base What do a cobalt vase and a Japanese emperor have in common? This vase is a gift from the Japanese court donated to the Manggha Museum during the visit of the Japanese emperor, Akihito, and his wife, Michiko, on 11 July 2002. This porcelain vase with a wooden base is ornamented with the imperial chrysanthemum – an emblem representing the imperial title in Japan. |
 The German Aero Club memorial plaque for the pilot Lieutenant Franciszek Żwirko In July 1930, two outstanding aviators, Franciszek Żwirko, together with Stanisław Wigura, took part in the international 1930 Challenge tourist planes competition flying the RWD-4 aircraft. On 25 July, the pilots had to withdraw due to an engine failure after a forced landing in Spain. |
 Perfume bottles on a chain The two perfume bottles with flat bodies have circular and oval cross-sections. They have been framed by gilded metal. |
 Porcelain salt cellar with a figure of black woman with a basket This is a figurine-shaped porcelain salt shaker with a container for salt. A very decorative figure of black woman with a basket was created in the oldest European porcelain workshop in Meissen, near Dresden. It was made according to the model developed by Johann Friedrich Eberlein in 1741. |
 Chinese porcelain salt shaker The presented salt shaker is an example of early white-blue pottery, which is decorated with cobalt blue. It is a rare form of Far Eastern porcelain imported to Europe. The object has come a long way to the collection of the Wieliczka Museum, because it was made in China during the Kangxi period (1662–1722). |
 Miniature bottle in the form of a shell The porcelain perfume bottle has the form of the shell of a sea snail. The body of the vessel is decorated with brown spots emphasizing the natural appearance of the item’s form. The neck of the bottle has been framed by gilded metal and decorated with a vegetal ornament. |
 Perfume bottle featuring an Art Nouveau decoration This porcelain perfume bottle has the shape of a rectangular decanter with rounded edges. The finish of the bottle and the cap are made of metal. The cap is gilded and has the shape of a dome. |
 Cobalt-coloured bottle with gilding and a miniature painting depicting flowers A pear-shaped porcelain perfume bottle decorated with fancy handles located on the sides of its body. The body of the vessel is coloured in cobalt. One side of the body features a small field with a miniature painting depicting a flower bouquet... |
 Pair of perfume bottles with a floral pattern The pair of twin porcelain perfume bottles is in the form of a bulky decanter with a shape similar to a cube. On the side walls of the vessels, floral compositions are painted with golden paint. |
 Miniature perfume bottles The two perfume containers have the form of small bottles with round shapes and flattened bodies. This is an example of personalized perfume containers belonging to a specific person with the initials C.D., of aristocratic origin, as evidenced by a count’s crown incorporated into the upper part of the initial. |
 Porcelain vessel decorated with garlands An extremely impressive vessel in the form of a vase with floral garlands instead of handles, made of porcelain. The shape of the vessel with a large body expanding at the top is overshadowed by the rich visual decoration featuring floral patterns. The flowers are made of a porcelain mass with sculptural qualities, supplementing them with painted illusionistic compositions. The vessel has no lid. |
 Small vase “kantharos” In the Korzec collection in Tarnów, which numbers 450 inventory items, a small vase of the kantharos type deserves special attention. Vases of this type served as decorations and were produced on the occasion of anniversaries or other events. The excellent quality of the product and the elegance of its form and decorations prove the high level of manufacturing quality in the 1st two decades of the 19th century. In Polish museum collections, a similar small vase can be found in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw. |
 Statue of Augustus III Wettin The statue is modelled on a portrait painted in 1737 by Louis de Silvestre, the court painter of Augustus III. The sculpture was designed by Johann Joachim Kändler in 1740, on the request of Heinrich, Count von Brühl; the sculpting work was completed in the autumn of 1741 and was carried out in cooperation with Johann Friedrich Eberlein and with the assistance of Johann Gottlieb Ehder. |
 Statuette of a Woman Feeding Poultry During the mid-18th century it was popular to set the table on the occasion of the most important ceremonies with porcelain statuettes forming rich iconographic stories. Along the entire length of the table, next to the silverware and the china, sat an arrangement of many statuettes in the form of garden paths, streets or castle arcades, placed on a mirror sheet or coloured sand. |
 Statuette of a Woman Selling Grapes During the mid-18th century it was popular to set the table on the occasion of the most important ceremonies with porcelain statuettes forming rich iconographic stories. Along the entire length of the table, next to the silverware and the china, sat an arrangement of many statuettes in the form of garden paths, streets or castle arcades, placed on a mirror sheet or coloured sand. |
 Statuette of a Woman in Hunting Clothes During the mid-18th century it was popular to set the table on the occasion of the most important ceremonies with porcelain statuettes forming rich iconographic stories. Along the entire length of the table, next to the silverware and the china, sat an arrangement of many statuettes in the form of garden paths, streets or castle arcades, placed on a mirror sheet or coloured sand. |
 Statuette of a Pole During the mid-18th century it was popular to set the table on the occasion of the most important ceremonies with porcelain statuettes forming rich iconographic stories.
Among the display of the typical national figures, undoubtedly seen as quite exotic in the eyes of Western Europe, one could be find considerable numbers of Poles, whose rich traditional noble attire and bent sabres with eastern ornamentation must have been fascinating to the Saxon court. |
 Statuette of a Pole During the mid-18th century it was popular to set the table on the occasion of the most important ceremonies with porcelain statuettes forming rich iconographic stories.
Among the display of the typical national figures, undoubtedly seen as quite exotic in the eyes of Western Europe, one could be find considerable numbers of Poles, whose rich traditional noble attire and bent sabres with eastern ornamentation must have been fascinating to the Saxon court. |
