Armenian Art in Warsaw (18th and 19th Centuries)
Armenian Art in Warsaw (18th and 19th Centuries)

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the Armenian art in Warsaw from 18th to 19th Century, in the capital city established in 1596 by Sigismund III Waza, where was inhabited mainly by merchants who conducted various sorts of economic activity between Gdansk to Lviv. The earliest traces of Armenian presence in Warsaw and neighbouring towns can be found in catholic churches. The first Armenian monuments we cans see in the catholic churches from 17th and 18th Century. In the second part of article author presents many elements of the polish national dress. Many such noble persons came to Warsaw for the proceedings of the Sejm. When they purchased new clothes, they required elements that would indicate their noble origins as well as their wealth. These elements included silk sashes made usually by Armenian craftsmen. By the end of the 18th century, the demand for oriental cloth sank. This was caused not only by new trends in fashion, but also by the downfall of the Polish state. Armenians closed their workshops near Warsaw. However, regardless of the changing fashion, some Polish noble houses remained faithful to the most substantial elements of the noble’s attire: the headpiece, orders and the sash. In the 19th century Armenians in Warsaw got involved in the Poles’ patriotic undertakings aimed at liberating the country from Russian rule. Painters of Armenian descent were active in Warsaw, including Jan Klemens Minasowicz and Rafał Hadziewicz.

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