A Small Constellation of Pomeranian Collectors.

To the Book Zbiory artystyczne polskich ziemian na Pomorzu Nadwiślańskim od końca XVIII wieku po czasy dzisiejsze [Artistic Collections of Polish Landowners in Vistula Pomerania from the End of the 18th Century to the Present day] by Dobromiła Rzyska-Laube

Abstract

This article is a review of Dobromiła Rzyska-Laube’s book entitled "Zbiory artystyczne polskich ziemian na Pomorzu Nadwiślańskim od końca XVIII wieku po czasy dzisiejsze" ["Artistic collections of Polish landowners in Vistula River Pomerania from the late 18th century to the present"] (Gdańsk: Muzeum Narodowe, 2022). Leaving aside the first and last parts of the text, which are respectively in the nature of a political, demographic and economic introduction to the Pomeranian region (Introduction) and an attempt to draw conclusions of a general nature (Conclusion), the book essentially consists of two parts. The first part (that in the structure of the publication corresponds to Parts I and II) is an analysis of selected Pomeranian gentry collections, the second (Part III, much more modest in volume, but enriched with a significant appendix) is a history of their dispersal during the turbulent war and post-war years and an attempt to determine the state of their present preservation. This arrangement of the text places the book on the borderline between research into the history of collecting and provenance studies. Both fields of research are currently developing quite intensively in Poland, and this publication is an important addition to our knowledge of private collecting before 1939.