Red beads were one of the basic elements of traditional folk costumes. However, not all beads adorning our great-grandmothers' necks had noble origins. Genuine coral beads could be so expensive that many girls could only dream of them. With a bit of dexterity and ingenuity, this obstacle was successfully overcome.

The ivory casket from the treasury of the Cracovian cathedral belongs to the group of artefacts made in Paris in the 2^nd quarter of the 14^th century – these objects are decorated with scenes from medieval romances (see the text Medieval femme fatales). The sets of individual episodes complement each other according to the principle of contrast: for example, stories about pure love were contrasted with legends about adultery. However, the snag is that many medieval romances are structured so that instead of condemning sinful lovers, we all root for their immoral relationship.

The creative position of women in the 19^th century was subject to numerous conditions and threats. Conditions primarily originated in the professionalization and institutionalization of artistic life, which — at least for women of this generation — were a hindrance to an artistic career. Difficulties arose from the limited access to institutions, from customary conventions, but also from a life full of personal tragedies and financial dependency. The women of Olga Boznańska’s generation constituted the first distinct group practicing art professionally, unlike their predecessors, who, with few exceptions, were amateurish, often talented and artistically educated.

Beautiful women of the oiran offered an attractive subject for artists dealing with Japanese wood engravings; it peaked in the Edo epoch (1603–1868). Elusiveness and passing, so strongly featured in the philosophy of this period, made people seize the current moment and celebrate the joy stemming from watching flowers or admiring the Moon.

During the mid-18^th 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.

The pride of the palace in Slavuta was a small pastel portrait which presented a charming teenage girl. It depicts Teresa née Czartoryska, the daughter of Józef Klemens, the founder of the china manufacturing plant in Korets. The girl’s mother was duchess Dorota née Jabłonowska, who was famous for her beauty. The author of the portrait was one of the most outstanding French painters, Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun /1755–1842/.

Witold Wojtkiewicz occupies a special position among the Young Poland painters. His paintings, typical of the decadent fin de siècle, were described by André Gide as the “personal fusion of Naturalism, Impressionism and grotesque.” The artist created his own painting world, astonishingly expressionistic, as if from some somnambulistic vision.

The portrait shows Teresa Karolina Radziwiłłowa, the daughter of the Grand Hetman of the Crown, Wacław Rzewuski and Anna née Lubomirska. From 1764 she was married to Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, the voivode of Vilnius, popularly known as My Dear Sir [Panie Kochanku]. Divorced in 1781, she remarried Feliks Chobrzyński.

A young woman, clearly amused, seems to be walking towards the viewer with a dance-like step. Her shapely figure has been captured in a lively pose, and the body is covered only with a fabric carelessly wrapped around the hips. The girl is raising a goblet with a vigorous gesture of her right hand. The Dionysian character of sculpture, marked in the title, is emphasized by a vine twig gripped in the left hand.

Seductive Salome, as a symbol of a femme fatale, became a character of numerous paintings, sculptures, literary and musical works. She excited the imagination of artists, especially in the decadent period of fin de siècle, when possessive and lethal femininity constituted one of the most important motifs in art.