Between 280[1] and 300[2] objects of fine and decorative art deemed to be of exceptional artistic or historical value, which became known collectively as Polish National Treasures or Polish Art Treasures (
Polish: Skarby Narodowe,[2]French: trésors polonais), were evacuated out of Poland at the onset of
World War II in Septemer 1939 and transported via Romania, France, and Britain to Canada. The bulk of the treasures came from the
Wawel Castle in
Kraków and included a rich collection of
Jagiellonian tapestries, as well as
Szczerbiec, the medieval coronation sword of Polish kings. Most of the rest of the evacuated objects were manuscripts from the
National Library in
Warsaw, including the earliest documents in the Polish language and
Fréderic Chopin's autograph sheet music. The treasures were complemented by works of art from the
Royal Castle of Warsaw and a
Gutenberg Bible from the library of the Catholic
Higher Seminary of
Pelplin.
142 Flemish tapestries,[3] including 132 tapestries (arrases) commissioned by Sigismund Augustus (
Flanders, mid-16th century)[4]
a tapestry depicting the legend of
Knight of the Swan commissioned by
Philip the Good (France, mid-15th century), on loan from the Augustinian monastery of Kraków[5][3]
a tapestry with the coats of arms of Poland the
Korczak noble clan, a gift from
Krzysztof Komorowski to Sigismund Augustus (before 1560)[5]
The Polish National Treasures constisted of objects which prior to their evacuation from Poland were located in the country's two major cities:
Warsaw and
Kraków, the nation's current and former capitals, respectively. The bulk of them – 264 items out of about 300 – were from Kraków. All of these were located in the
Wawel Castle, once a residence of Polish kings, and were either owned or loaned by the
Wawel branch of the National Art Collection. They became known as "Wawel Treasures", a name sometimes incorrectly extended to all of the evacuated objects.[2]
The Wawel Treasures included the few preserved royal insignia and other souvenirs connected with Polish kings and other historical figures, as well as works of arts, such as paintings, textiles, goldsmiths' work, and ornate armor and horse tack. The insignia and memorabilia included:
Szczerbiec, a 13th-century coronation sword of most Polish kings in the 14th–18th centuries;
Queen
Anna Jagiellonka's Italian altar cloth, embroidered with grotesque motifs,
Polish eagles and the queen's monograms;
an enameled golden jewellery chain retreived from King
Sigismund III Vasa's coffin;
a golden medallion with the bust of Sigismund III and arms of Poland,
Lithuania, Sweden and the
House of Vasa made in Danzig (
Gdańsk) in 1621;
Sigismund III's ornate clock made in Danzig in 1607;
The largest part of the Wawel treasures was a collection of high-quality Flemish tapestries known as
arrases commissioned by King
Sigismund Augustus to decorate the interior of the Wawel Castle. They are closely woven, using wool, silk and large amounts of silver and golden thread, and are characterized by their elaborate and subtly executed design.[15] The 132 arrases that were held in the castle in 1939 included 19 large tapestries with Biblical scenes, smaller tapestries, called verdures, with real-life and fantastic animals among lush forest scenery, as well as grotesque arrases with the king's monogram and the coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania. In addition to Sigismund Augustus's collection, the Wawel treasures included other tapestries of comparable quality, among them an arras with the White Eagle of Poland and the
Korczak coat of arms, a gift from
Krzysztof Komorowski to Sigismund Augustus;[2] and an tapestry depicting the legend of the
Knight of the Swan loaned to the Wawel Castle by the
Augustinian monks of Kraków.[1]
Custodians
Józef Krzywda-Polkowski (1888-1981) born in Płock; graduated in Architecture from the Moscow Academy of Architecture, Painting and Sculpture in 1911; began restoration work at Wawel in 1924;[16] Russian conservation school (restore original look, even using modern materials and techniques)[17]
Dr. Stanisław Świerz-Zaleski (1886-1951); PhD in Art History at Jagiellonian University; curator at the Wawel Castle since 1929, chief curator since 1939;[18] Austrian conservation school (use historical materials and techniques)[17]
Itinerary of the evacuation of the Wawel Treasures (in Europe)
First leg: Kraków — Bucharest (September 1939) Second leg: Bucharest — Aubusson (November 1939 – January 1940) Third leg: Aubusson — London (June 1940)
17 June 1941, Sikorski to Estreicher in
Libourne: "Ratuj pan skarbiec wawelski – ratuj pan, ja ratuję Rząd" (p. 187) or "Ratuj Pan sam [skarbiec wawelski;] ja muszę ratować Rząd Rzeczypospolitej." (p. 189) or "ratować Rząd i wojsko" (p. 191)
11 July, 3/4 of the way across the Atlantic, one of the Polish ships suffers engine trouble, leaves convoy escorted by the Bonaventure and heads for
St. John's; they are stopped on the way by dense fog and floating ice. Switky, citing Leland Stowe, The Secret Voyage of Britain's Treasure, identifies the damaged ship as the Batory, but also notes that W.S. Crawford, Journal for the Use of Mishipmen, "incorrectly" notes the Sobieski as the damaged ship, while Swoger, who based his information on Polkowski's account, claimes the damaged ship was the Piłsudski, which did not, in fact, participate in the convoy. Switky, p.214, notes 29–30.
Wooden Polish church at
Wilno, Ontario, considered, but rejected because of fire hazard
2 March 1945, smaller objects (inc. Szczerbiec and other regalia, books and manuscripts, coffee service and vessels) in two steamer trunks deposited at Bank of Montreal in Ottawa
June 1945, eight trunks (mostly military objects and a clock) hidden at the Convent of the Precious Blood in Ottawa (password: "Holy Virgin of Częstochowa")
A few less valuable objects left at the Experimental Farm
6 July 1945, Canadian recognition of the Communist government of Poland
23 May 1946, objects from Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré moved to the Augustinian convent at the
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec in
Quebec City
May 1946, treasures from Convent of the Precious Blood moved to St. Mary's Church in
Wilno, Ontario
20 August 1946, Zaleski and Prof. Edmund Semil (cultural attache at the Polish legation) write an inventory of objects at BoM
7 November 1946, Fiderkiewicz's press conference at BoM
29 January 1948, RCMP locates the treasures at Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
14 February 1948, Polish legation's formal request to the Augistinian convent to surrender the treasures
19 September 1948, Świerz-Zaleski returns to Poland with some of the treasures (incl. Oriental and Polish carpets; tapestries not part of SA's collection; Ottoman banner from Vienna)[22]
23-24 December 1956, review of the treasures at BoM
Piotrowski, Stanisław (1956). Sprawy polskie przed Międzynarodowym Trybunałem Wojennym w Norymberdze [Polish affairs at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg] (in Polish). Vol. I: Dziennik Hansa Franka [Hans Frank's Diary]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Prawnicze.
Rożek, Michał (1987). Polskie koronacje i korony [Polish coronations and crowns] (in Polish). Kraków: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza.
ISBN83-03-01913-9.
Szablowski, Jerzy (1960). Skarby wawelskie: Skarby kultury narodowej [Wawel Treasures: Treasures of national culture] (in Polish). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Artystyczno-Graficzne RSW "Prasa". All pages unnumbered.