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The exhibition Artifacts from the Royal Palace of the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania
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- The
exhibition Artifacts from the Royal Palace of the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania was opened by the Prime Minister of the Republic of
Lithuania Algirdas Brazauskas, the Minister of Culture, and the
Minister of Education and Science on July 6, 2004, commemorating
the 751 anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas, King of
Lithuania, and celebrating Statehood Day. The exhibition was
installed in the restored historical ground-floor spaces of the
Old Arsenal, reminding of the vaulted halls of the Royal Palace
under restoration. It will function at the Applied Art Museum,
in the neighborhood of the Royal Palace, up to December 31,
2007, i.e. until the restoration of the Royal Palace of the
Grand Dukes' of Lithuania (GDL) and the completion of its
interiors and expositions. Every year, on the eve of Statehood
Day, the exhibition is to be renewed and augmented by the most
impressive restored and new artifacts (for example, the
collection of glass articles, the treasure of old coins, etc.).
- At present,
the exhibition Artifacts from the Royal Palace of the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania displays over one thousand findings - the
most valuable, interesting and informative artifacts discovered
and collected by the specialists of the Castle Research Centre
Lietuvos pilys during archeological and architectural
investigations carried out since 1987 on the site of the Royal
Palace (over 300 000 artifacts have been accumulated in the
course of nearly two decades). Among them stone architecture
details and their fragments of parti-colored marble, local and
imported sandstone, granite, ceramic, metal, leather, wood, bone
and other articles. The earliest objects of the exposition are
thought to reach the times of King Mindaugas, Grand Dukes
Gediminas, Algirdas and Jogaila (Jagiello) – 13th–14th
c. and the latest to be connected with the 17th c. as the last
period when the Royal Palace served as a residence, i.e., the
years of the reign of the Vasa dynasty. The exposition features
the majority of the artifacts in a chronological order with the
intention of reflecting the main periods of artistic and
historical development and stylistic changes in the Gothic,
Renaissance and Early Baroque epochs. Some of them (jewellery
pieces, coins, bone articles, etc.) are shown in smaller
showcases through magnifying glasses thus enabling the visitor
to notice the subtlety of finer and artistically as well as
materially greatly valuable artifacts. One can better discern,
for example, the masterly enamel work of the 15th-16th c. golden
ring with a diamond eye, the fanciful forms of the setting, to
see the miniature forms of 15th -16th c. chessmen and
draughtsman figurines made of bone.
- The most
copious collection of artifacts displayed in the illuminated
showcases reflects the heyday of Lithuania's Royal Palace as an
European-scale residence - the Renaissance and Early Baroque
epochs. The biggest group of the feature architectural and
household ceramics - glazed stove tiles, floor and wall tiles,
figurine bricks, various dishes and other household articles.
The oldest glazed tiles reach the 15th c. -the Gothic epoch, the
times of Grand Dukes Vytautas, Kazimieras (Casimir) and
Aleksandras (Alexander). A particularly rich collection presents
the Renaissance and Early Baroque (16th and early 17th c.) tiles
most often decorated with parti-colored glaze. Quite a number
of them bear heraldic figures and the initials of Lithuania's
sovereigns as well as prominent noblemen. Beside
- the heraldic
symbols and initials of Zygimantas Senasis (Sigismund the Old),
Bona Sforza and Zygimantas Augustas (Sigismund Augustus) on
renaissance tiles, the 17th c. examples show not only the state
heraldic symbols of Lithuania and Poland as well as that of the
ruling Vasa dynasty but also of Leonas Sapiega (Sapieha),
Chancellor of the GDL, the Radvilas and other famous families of
the nobles. Other tiles are often decorated with relief
compositions on religious, allegorical, mythological or domestic
subjects, stylized with plant or geometric polychrome and
embossed ornamentation. Alongside the restored collection of
tiles traced to the time of Bona Sforza, a model of the restored
renaissance stove from the Royal Palace is put on display. The
exhibits of household ceramics present rather fragile,
therefore, fully or partially restored and recreated 13th-17th
c. table wear used in everyday life -jugs, cups, bowls, plates,
goblets, etc. Among these artifacts the frying-pans distinguish
themselves in the originality of their forms.
- The
architectural details, the elements and their fragments cut from
various kinds of stone (for example, the profiled window
casings, cornices, windowsills, fine architectural elements,
the floor panels, etc.) exhibited from the Royal Palace are of
great importance and provide valuable information sources for
the recreation of the decor of the exteriors and interiors of
Lithuanian grand dukes' residence as well us unfold the most
characteristic features of the palace's architecture in the 16th
and the first half of the 17th c. The earliest stone details are
thought to reach the Renaissance epoch (during the Gothic
period, ceramics seem to have satisfied the needs). During the
reign of the last rulers of the Gediminas-Jogaila dynasty, local
sandstone came to be widely used for the embellishment of the
palace; in the interiors - marble was used as well. At the time
of the Vasa dynasty, instead of rather rough local sandstone,
the Swedish kind was more often preferred, and in the interiors
- marble and granite even more abundantly. The exposition
- parison of
results with written historical sources and typologically and
chronologically analogous material of other close European
residencies will create conditions for an exact and grounded
realization of the programs set for the restoration of the Royal
Palace and the arrangement of interiors and expositions, as well
as facilitate to dispel the doubts and unfounded phobias of the
skeptics and opponents of the restoration of the palace.
- The
exhibition places a particular emphasis on its educational goal.
Therefore, specialists of the Lithuanian Art Museum Centre for
Art Education and the Applied Art Museum have prepared several
educational programs for schoolchildren (A Journey from the Old
Arsenal of the Vilnius Lower Castle to the Royal Palace, The
Royal Palace of Lithuania: Prosperity and Points of Interest in
Lifestyle and The Palace of the Lower Castle - the Centre for
Arts and Crafts). There are plans to prepare for the new school
year some more thematic educational programs to be carried out
by the pupils themselves. The intention of educational projects,
the participation in which is stimulated by the Ministry of
Education and Science, is to comprehensively familiarize
Lithuanian schoolchildren, other members of cultural public and
the visitors to Vilnius not only with the past of the Royal
Palace but also to promote the principle project included in the
Millennium program of Lithuania - the
restoration of the Royal Palace. In the exhibition one can also
see several documentaries by Prof. Vytautas Urbonavicius about
the investigations on the site of the Royal Palace and that of
the entire Lower Castle.
- The
long-lasting exhibition will serve the realization of
national and international scientific projects (conferences,
seminars, discussions) associated with historical functions of
the Royal Palace and their restoration as well as the programs
set for the propagation of the artistic heritage (music,
theatre, literature, architecture and art) of the palace.
Alongside the exposition in the exhibition hall of the Applied
Art Museum featuring the artifacts from the Royal Palace, it is
intended to organize national and international exhibitions up
to 2009, related to the restoration of the Royal Palace, its
future expositions, to the historical interiors of Grand Dukes'
residence planned for restoration. Beside the artifacts,
architectural plans and drawings of the restorations of the
Royal Palace are also put on display.
Organizers of the
exhibition
Artifacts from the
Royal Palace of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:
- Lithuanian Art Museum
(Director Romualdas Budrys).
- Castle Research Centre Lietuvos pilys
(Director Eduardas Kauklys).
- Royal Palace Restoration Foundation
(Chairman of the Board Edmundas Kulikauskas,
Director Indre Jovaisaite) .
- The organizers of the exhibition were
assisted by a group of architects from the Architectural Design
and Restoration Institute, who prepared the architectural plans
for the restoration of the Royal Palace (Head Rimas Grigas), and
the Directorate of the Vilnius Castles (Director Saulius
Andrasunas).
- Original concept of the exposition by
Romualdas Budrys, Director of the Lithuanian Art Museum.
- Exhibition consultants: Dr. Napalys
Kitkauskas, Prof. Vytautas Urbonavicius, Dr. Gintautas Rackevicius,
Gintautas Striska, Eduardas Remecas.
- Exhibition curators: Erika Striskiene, Dr.
Vydas Dolinskas
- Exposition presents collections from the
Castle Research Centre Lietuvos pilys, Lithuanian Art Museum,
Lithuanian National Museum, Architectural Design and Restoration
Institute
- Virtual exhibition www.muziejai.lt.
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
The present exhibition is one of the major
events included in the program dedicated to the millennium of
Lithuania. Its organizers - The Lithuanian Art Museum, responsible
for the creation of interiors and expositions, the Castle Research
Centre Lietuvos pilys, which researches and collects the
artifacts from the Royal Palace, and the Royal Palace Restoration
Foundation. A group of architects from the Architectural Design
and Restoration Institute also has contributed to this event. The
present exhibition heralds the very beginning of the Royal Palace
Restoration Program approved by the Government.
Over 300 000 artifacts have been accumulated up to the present
time. Some of them were found and restored between 1987-2004
during continuing archeological and architectural investigations,
others - at the time of the earlier studies. Among them -stone
architecture fragments, details, ceramic, metal, wood, leather,
textile, bone, glass and other articles, jewelery and numismatic
findings. Examples presented at this exposition show the
importance of the residence of Grand Dukes' of Lithuania -the
Royal Palace as the centre of the state's political, legal,
administrative, military and cultural life in the first half of
the 14th-17th century. These artifacts reveal much about the
rulers and their surroundings, everyday life and hobbies. The
exhibition will serve as an important educational project and
offer interesting themes for workshops and excursions.
I hope that this exposition will be of interest not only to the
public at large, but will also serve for a better historical
understanding of the Royal Palace. The exhibition will continue
until the very end of the restoration of the Royal Palace. Every
year, commemorating the Statehood Day, it will be augmented by new
artifacts, and visitors will be familiarized with the results of
the newest investigations. Thus, this project will facilitate to
dispel the skeptics' unfounded doubts about the restoration of the
Royal Palace.
Publication editor and author of the
text Vydas Dolinskas
Translator Laimute Zabuliene
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