Włoskie pierścienie biskupie z XIX i XX wieku w kulturze artystycznej Polski

Abstract

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century Italian bishops’ rings in the artistic culture of Poland

Jewellers ‘workshops in Rome and other Italian cities receive hundreds of commissions for rings for the hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church, starting with the Pope, and maintain a dominant position in Europe in this regard. Insignia of this kind have for centuries been one of the traditional papal gifts for bishops from around the world making their ad limina visit to the Apostolic see, and when taken back to their home countries they exert an impact on the artistic culture of these countries, both in the material sphere (constituting an important source of inspiration for pieces made locally which, over time, become gifts for museums and shrines), and in the spiritual (raising awareness of the context in which the gift took place – thereby becoming symbols of historical events and the participation of in them of specific individuals – and also the related ideological and political content). These objects are also related to cultural phenomena such as commercialization or functioning in mass culture. Examples of works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be cited in support of the above-mentioned thesis regarding the complex cultural role of rings.