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Sculpture showing “St. Anna” from 18th century An altar sculpture showing an unknown saint, probably saint Anna, was made by an unknown artist in the 18th century. It supposedly comes from the wooden All Saints’ Church in Kęty which was dismantled on the command of Austrian authorities. The main reason for this decision was the poor technical condition of the building. Moreover, after the great fire which broke out in 1797, there were attempts to eliminate the wooden buildings from the centre in order to reduce the danger. |
“Obesłanie” – wooden plate bearing the emblem of the guild Obesłanie (plate bearing an emblem of a guild) was a characteristic element existing in the organisation of individual guilds. It was a sign used to authenticate the message being conveyed. If a messenger summoning, for example, guild members to a meeting, had an obesłanie with him, it was used to confirm that the message was from the guild master. Without this sign, the information was considered unreliable. |
The "Christ in Gethsemane" sculpture The sculpture Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane is a depiction of the time when Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives, just before he was taken captive. It may have been a fragment of a non-preserved composition showing Christ praying in the company of the sleeping apostles and an angel with a cup of bitterness, heralding future suffering. |
Sculpture “Artist’s Family” by Józef Marek On the rectangular base, a rectangular wall was placed vertically. To the rear part of the wall, artists attached a transverse board, creating a king of a bench on which three figures sit: a woman, a man and a boy between them. This is the family of Józef Marek, portrayed by the artist. The artist is holding a brush and a palette — the attributes of his profession, as he is not only a sculptor, but also a painter and this is what he wants to accentuate. |
Sculpture “Christ Resurrected” The work comes from a church in Mogilany, which no longer exists. It was a wooden church, built before 1440, which had survived until the beginning of the 17th century (when it probably burned down). The only object left from it is the presented sculpture of the Risen Christ, found in an attic in 1965. After conservation, it was transferred to the Regional Museum in Myślenice in 1968, as a gift from the Parish Office in Mogilany. |
Sculpture “Ludowika from Kęty” It is believed that this church sculpture, probably dating from the seventeenth century, represents the saintly Ludowika from Kęty, who lived from 1563 to 1623. Ludowika was born into a family of poor townsmen, and she spent the first period of her life in Kęty. At the age of 30, she joined a group of pilgrims heading for Rome. She remained in the Eternal City, where she joined the community of the Third Order of St. Francis. |
Candlestick with a kneeling angel This is a polychrome wooden sculpture depicting a kneeling angel with a candlestick in his left hand. The figure is dressed in a long dark green tunic and a brown coat. The sculpture was found in the destroyed chapel of St. Kunegunda on Boczaniec, on the 1st level of the Wieliczka Salt Mine. |
Sculpture “Our Lady of Sorrows” from 16th century The figure of Mary comes from the Crucifixion Group, which includes the sculpture of St. John the Evangelist, her pendant, also in the collections of the Museum of Ziemia Biecka. Initially, it was believed that both figures were placed on the rainbow beam of the Biecz parish church. However, their small size in relation to the parish space, according to art historians, excludes this view. They probably topped of one of the altarpieces. |
Sculpture “Our Lady of Sorrows” from 15th century It is a gothic sculpture depicting a figure in contrapposto, hands folded for prayer, face with a straight, narrow nose, small lips, head slightly bowed, covered with a cloak falling on the shoulders, bare neck, dress with a partially preserved polychrome in red, robes falling with heavy folds. |
Sculpture “St. Anna” from 16th century The Renaissance sculpture depicts a woman standing. Her right hand, which has not survived to this day, pressed a book to her chest; with the left one she holds a coattail. |
Sculpture “St. Onuphrius” The sculpture originates from a wayside shrine and represents St. Onuphrius the hermit. The massively built saint is kneeling with his hands folded at the chest in prayer. He is naked, with his body covered only with his long hair and a beard with a surface underlined with carved undulating lines. He has a broad face, hair with a parting across the middle of the head, a straight long nose, opened eyes and lips surrounded by facial hair. |
Sculpture “Madonna of Krużlowa” The figure passes as the most perfect sculptural work of art of the so-called Beautiful style epoch (around 1400) within the Małopolska region. A repertoire of forms elaborated previously in stone sculptures was transformed into a wooden sculpture (so-called Beautiful Madonnas); characteristic cascades of folds at the sides, frontal folds running through Mary’s torso at a semicircle, shaping the letter V below, and even lower, on a pedestal spreading widely, as an optical base of the figure. |
Sculpture “St. Stanislaus” (“St. Martin of Tours”?) The sculpture was made of polychrome and gilded lime wood. It presents the Saint in bishop’s robes, in a lively position: his body is slightly turned to the left and bent, his left leg lunged. The bishop is holding the hem of the coat in his right hand. With his left hand, he is picking up a man with a moustache from the ground, dressed in a short hooded coat and trousers, depicted in a reduced scale. |
Sculpture “Madonna and Child” The sculpture depicts Madonna in a slight contrapposto pose, with her head tilted to her right arm, holding the Child, facing front, in her right arm. The hollowed out figure was probably intended to be attached to the niche of an altar retable. |
Sculpture “Pensive Christ” The theme of a Pensive Christ is one of the most popular ones in folk art. The figure from the Pieniny Mountains Museum collection comes from the village of Sromowce Niżne, the population of which belongs to an ethnographic group of Pieniny highlanders. It was made in 1937 by Michał Plewa, a folk artist. |
Sculpture “Mother of God of Skępe” Sculptures representing the Mother of God of Skępe were modelled after a Gothic figurine of Mary the Servant from the Bernardine Church in Skępe near Toruń. The legendary beginning of the sanctuary is associated with the year of 1495, when the church was founded and where the unusual glowing person had appeared. |
Sculpture “Pensive Christ” by Leon Kudła The author of this sculpture is thought to be one of the most eminent amateur artists. The sculpture represents a Pensive Christ. This image alludes to the Passion and is one of the most popular themes used among amateur and folk sculptors, producing numerous sculptural variations on the Pensive Christ: seated on the throne, half-naked or covered with a royal coat, with a royal crown or with a crown of thorns, with a sceptre in his hand or Adam's skull at his feet. |
Sculptures of young couple from Indonesia Loro Blonyo – sculptures of a young couple representing Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice, and her husband Sadhono. The Loro Blonyo figures are an inseparable couple. Like the deities, they are considered symbols of fertility, granting the ability to have many descendants and to ensure good harvests, happiness, and prosperity, as well as a long life in good health and peace. |
Sculpture “Angel” by Karol Wójciak The author of the sculpture, Karol Wójciak, also known as Heródek (1892–1971), is considered to be one of the most original amateur artists. The angel is represented in a primitive way. Its head and torso are made up of a block of wood with a round section, truncated flat on both sides. The wings nailed to the back are made of triangular pieces of wood with a non-planed surface. |
Sculpture “Our Lady with Baby Jesus”, Kurpie region This sculpture made of a single block of wood depicts the Virgin Mary with Child. The sculpture is unique as regards depictions of Madonna with Child in the folk art of the Kurpiowszczyzna region. |