Marek Buika
Prace Historyczne, Numer 134, 2007, s. 81 - 90
The Vilnius Collectors of Objects of Art and Historical Mementos at the Turn of the 19th century
The present publication is devoted to private collections of art and historical mementos in Vilnius at the turn of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. In the article, the author presents the silhouettes of a number of lovers of antiquity who represent various social strata of contemporary Vilnius; he also takes into consideration the collectors’ biographies and the character of their collectors’ passion. He also describes the content of the collections preserved by them.
In spite of the repressive policy of the tsarist authorities, following the suppression of the January insurrection, the Polish community of Vilnius cultivated the historical memory, among others, by collecting mementos of the past. It was at this time, that a great number of big and small art collections came into existence, side by side with collections of archeological excavations, books, manuscripts, religious objects, as well as mementos of outstanding historical personages. Among the best known Vilnius art collectors, one finds names such as: Lucjan Moraczewski, Albert Zasztoft, Bolesław Szulski, Tadeusz Stanisław Wróblewski, Antoni Szutinas and many others. It was thanks to the activity of those people that many precious monuments of material culture have been preserved until the present day.