Floral motifs in sacral architecture of Kiełczygłów Community and surroundings (Łódź Voivodeship) – selected objects

Interdisciplinary studies on the role of plants in culture are rare, that is why a rich plant ornamentation of the churches in Poland is little known. This article presents the first documentation of the plant ornaments in nine Roman Catholic churches of Kiełczygłów Community and surroundings in Łódź Voivodeship, which were built from the 16th into the 20th centuries. The first stage of work was to take 385 photographs, then to organize a basis with 505 records, one record containing one plant ornament. As a result of botanical analysis 39 taxa were determined, including 17 species, 18 genera, and 4 families. Some of the plant motifs could not be identified because of strong stylization. The most frequent taxa were the old useful plants popular in sacral art, originating in southern or south-eastern regions of Europe and in West Asia: bear’s-breech (Acanthus sp1.), rose (Rosa sp.), Madonna lily (Lilium candidum L.), and grape-vine (Vitis vinifera L.). Some ornaments present the plants occurring in wild in Poland or as field and meadow weeds, e.g. bellflower (Campanula sp.) or poppy (Papaver sp.). The greatest number of ornaments was identified in the neo-Gothic St. Casimir Church in Osjaków. Captivating in their colors and diversity of shapes, the plant ornaments serve not only decorative functions, but symbolic ones as well. This article hopes to contribute, at least to a small extent, to the reflection on the presence of plants in our culture and to raise the awareness of how important it is to protect local species that perish irretrievably due to anthropogenic activity.

Interdisciplinary studies on the role of plants in culture are rare, that is why a rich plant ornamentation of the churches in Poland is little known. This article presents the first documentation of the plant ornaments in nine Roman Catholic churches of Kiełczygłów Community and surroundings in Łódź Voivodeship, which were built from the 16th into the 20th centuries. The first stage of work was to take 385 photographs, then to organize a basis with 505 records, one record containing one plant ornament. As a result of botanical analysis 39 taxa were determined, including 17 species, 18 genera, and 4 families. Some of the plant motifs could not be identified because of strong stylization. The most frequent taxa were the old useful plants popular in sacral art, originating in southern or south-eastern regions of Europe and in West Asia: bear’s-breech (Acanthus sp1.), rose (Rosa sp.), Madonna lily (Lilium candidum L.), and grape-vine (Vitis vinifera L.). Some ornaments present the plants occurring in wild in Poland or as field and meadow weeds, e.g. bellflower (Campanula sp.) or poppy (Papaver sp.). The greatest number of ornaments was identified in the neo-Gothic St. Casimir Church in Osjaków. Captivating in their colors and diversity of shapes, the plant ornaments serve not only decorative functions, but symbolic ones as well. This article hopes to contribute, at least to a small extent, to the reflection on the presence of plants in our culture and to raise the awareness of how important it is to protect local species that perish irretrievably due to anthropogenic activity.