Showcase 32. Ambassadorial gifts. Poland

The showcase contains ambassadorial gifts from Poland, i.e. silverware and domestic utensils executed by Polish and German craftsmen during the flowering of the baroque style in Europe. Diplomatic missions, sent to Russia by Poland in the XVIIth century had varied purposes. An assortment of massive decorative silver objects, including jugs and a dish by the Gdansk makers in the mid-XVIIth century, was part of the treasure brought by the "Grand Embassy" of 1668, which came to Moscow to discuss the prospects of the election to the Polish throne either of Tsar Alexis or his son.

The collection includes articles by silversmiths of Poland's centers of goldsmithery, such as Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Torun etc. Decorative arts of the country, as well as many other European countries, was developed under the influence of the German applied arts and goldsmithery in particular. Polish makers used the chasing, gilding, pouncing as principal ornamental methods. The surface of the items is richly decorated with gilded figurative decor, baroque knorpelwerk, ornament of acanthus leaves and pendants of fruits, which form a delicate combination of engraved relief and smooth metal background.