CLOSED UNTIL TO 31 AUGUST 2022
Polish nobility’s love for all things oriental was shaped over the centuries by trade and military contact with the Middle East, which brought artworks from the Crimea, the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran. This enchant is presented at the exhibition Art of the Orient: Turkish Tents at Wawel Royal Castle. Spread over two storeys, the exhibition includes rugs, banners and tapestries, Turkish and Persian armour and Chinese and Japanese ceramics.
The centrepiece is trophies and memorabilia of King John III Sobieski and his victory in Vienna, including Turkish banners captured during the campaign and three tents. It is the first presentation of priceless 17th-century Turkish tents after a thirty-year break, and it promises the return of other items to a permanent exhibition. For now, we will see a huge, unique blue tent (following extensive renovation works, its interiors resemble a palace in paradise), a smaller and more typical red officer’s tent, and one donated by Prof. Karolina Lanckorońska from her family collection. (Dorota Dziunikowska, "Karnet" monthly)
