A new exhibition opens this Tuesday at the Czartoryski Museum, famed home of Leonardo's 'Lady with an Ermine' and a hoard of treasures relating to Poland's history.
'Given-Returned' celebrates 15 years of the Foundation of the Czartoryski Princes, marking a fresh era in the development of Poland's oldest museum.
The exhibition presents a selection of paintings and artefacts that have been donated to the museum over the last decade and a half. Many of these pieces are family heirlooms donated by the current Prince, Adam Karol, and his cousin Adam Zamoyski, President of the foundation.
Although affiliated to the National Museum, the Czartoryski Museum survives as one of very few private museums in Poland. After the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Prince Adam Karol returned from exile and regained the collection. He donated the museum to the nation, so that it might continue under the joint supervision of the foundation and the National Museum.
There has been some friction of late as regards the raising of funds for a thorough renovation of the museum's properties. One of the main bones of contention is whether items from the museum's archives might be sold so as to improve the overall state of the museum. Adam Zamoyski, a historian, is pushing for more freedom in relation to the museum's archives. Today, he endeavoured to ensure journalists that 'a private institution can be a positive thing.'
He added: ' The main objective of the Foundation is to ensure that the three historic branches of the collection continue to be shown in a manner that is true to the spirit of the founders.'
No final decisions have been made yet about how the renovation is to be achieved, and it is hoped that the Foundation and the National Museum will reach a satisfactory joint resolution.
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