Towards a Systematisation of Polish Folk Jewellery of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries: Proposals for Classification

Abstract

This article attempts to systematise the phenomenon of Polish folk jewellery from the 19th and early 20th centuries, highlighting its complex and heterogeneous nature. The discussion begins with an analysis of an advertisement for “Polish silver peasant jewellery” found in a London shop run by Madame Alexandra Pogosky, revealing the connections between folk art and the international art market. The author distinguishes four main categories of jewellery used in rural communities: traditional pieces made locally by village craftsmen; jewellery produced in urban workshops specifically for peasant buyers; stylised designs created by intellectuals and artists within national revival projects; and mass-market jewellery sold at fairs, pilgrimages, and through itinerant trade networks. The article emphasises the cultural processes – adaptation, diffusion, and commercialisation – that shaped what is today referred to as “folk jewellery,” and points to the need for further research into its origins, functions, and circulation.

Keywords:

folk jewellery, systematisation of folk jewellery, international trade in folk jewellery, Stanisław Wyspiański, Marcin Jarra, Henryk Grunwald, Alexandra Pogosky



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Roczniki Humanistyczne · ISSN 0035-7707 | eISSN 2544-5200 | DOI: 10.18290/rh
© The Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin & The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

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