The 6th International Academic Congress: ‘The State of Research into the Multicultural Heritage of the Former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’, Kraków, 17–19 October 2024
A fragment of a sundial decoration depicting the sun on a semicircular dial and a partially preserved inscription on the rim, prior to conservation work, 2023, photo: M. Myślicka
From 16 to 19 October 2024, the 6th International Academic Congress entitled ‘The State of Research into the Multicultural Heritage of the Former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’ took place at Wawel Royal Castle, co-organised by the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute for Research on the Multicultural Heritage of Europe, the Institute of Art History at the Jagiellonian University, and Wawel Royal Castle.
On 18 October, a lecture entitled ‘A painted compass with an index’ was delivered. The 17th-century sundial from the façade of the kitchen wing of the royal castle in Żółkiew. Research and conservation work presenting the results of historical and conservation research, as well as restoration work on fragments of polychrome depicting a sundial from the Royal Castle in Żółkiew. The presentation was prepared by Małgorzata Myślicka, Sylwia Svorová Pawełkowicz and Michał Witkowski. The project concerning the decoration was carried out in 2023 by the Association for the Support of Research and Conservation Initiatives, thanks to funding granted by the POLONIKA National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad under the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage’s programme ‘Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad’.
The material analysis was carried out by the Conservation Laboratory of Sylwia Krystyna Svorová Pawełkowicz. The conservation work on the polychrome decoration was carried out by Magdalena Skarżyńska and Dawid Szymański. Archival research and historical analysis were carried out by Małgorzata Myślicka and Michał Witkowski. The research and conservation work were carried out in collaboration with the management of the “Żółkiew Castle” Museum-Reserve, a branch of the B. Woźnicki National Art Gallery in Lviv.
The results of the material analysis have confirmed the conclusions drawn from source research regarding the creation of the painted decoration on the clock on the façade of the castle’s west wing in the final decades of the 17th century, during the reign of King John III. The surviving sundial was one of several gnomonic instruments in existence in Żółkiew at that time. The castle sundial was constructed on a specially prepared substrate, and the original polychrome decoration was painted using the fresco technique. During the conservation work, the plaster structure was reinforced and the paint layers of the decoration were secured, which will enable the preparation of a painting study, retouching and the reconstruction of missing fragments in the future.
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