Filius vero unicus... Vaikiški Žygimanto Augusto šarvai: tarptautinės vieno šedevro parodos katalogas, 2022 04 08-06 05, Valdovų rūmų muziejus [Vilnius]
LTKrokuvos Vavelio karališkoji pilis - Valstybiniai meno rinkiniai (Lenkija) tik prieš gerus metus, 2021 m. vasarį, priėmė saugoti ypatingą istorinę relikviją - Lenkijos ir Lietuvos kronprinco Žygimanto Augusto vaikiškus šarvus, kuriuos Lenkijai padovanojo Vengrija. Kelis mėnesius šarvai eksponuoti Vavelio pilyje, o vėliau jie buvo nuodugniai tyrinėjami, kruopščiai restauruojami Vavelio ginklų ir šarvų specialistų bei restauratorių Kšyštofo Čyževskio (Krzysztof Czyżewski), Rafalo Ochenduško (Rafał Ochęduszko), Tomašo Piotro Galanto (Tomasz Piotr Galant) ir Danielio Bednarčyko (Daniel Bednarczyk). Prabėgus vos metams po Žygimanto Augusto šarvų atsiradimo Vavelyje ši ypatinga šarvų meistrystės, karybos meno ir istorijos vertybė atkeliavo) Vilnių, Lietuvos didžiųjų kunigaikščių rūmus. Tai didžiulė Vavelio karališkosios pilies ir šio muziejaus direktoriaus, profesoriaus Andžejaus Betlejaus (Andrzej Betlej), tikro Valdovų rūmų muziejaus bičiulio, dovana Vilniaus kultūrinei bendruomenei, jaunuomenei, moksleivijai ir Lietuvos sostinės svečiams. Visų tarptautinės vieno šedevro parodos „Filius vero unicus... Vaikiški Žygimanto Augusto šarvai“ lankytojų ir Valdovų rūmų muziejaus bendruomenės vardu nuo širdžiausiai tariu ačiū svarbiausiam ir ištikimiausiam tarptautiniam Valdovų rūmų muziejaus partneriui - Krokuvos Vavelio karališkajai piliai ir jos vadovui profesoriui Andžejui Betlejui, taip pat visiems šio nuostabaus muziejaus darbuotojams, prisidėjusiems prie parodinio projekto įgyvendinimo, už ypatingą bičiuliškumo bei kolegiškumo gestą ir didelę dovaną Vilniui, pasitinkančiam savo 700 metų sukaktį. Širdingai dėkoju ir kitam svarbiam parodos partneriui - Adomo Mickevičiaus institutui (Varšuva, Lenkija) bei jo vadovei Barbarai Schabovskai (Barbara Schabowska).Ne tik ši, bet ir kitos didžiausios parodos, priminusios Lietuvos ir Lenkijos rūpestį bendra istorija ir paveldu, buvo įgyvendintos būtent kartu su Adomo Mickevičiaus institutu. Unikalių vaikiškų Žygimanto Augusto šarvų eksponavimas atkurtuose Lietuvos didžiųjų kunigaikščių rūmuose ne tik patvirtina ypatingus Krokuvos Vavelio karališkosios pilies ir Valdovų rūmų muziejaus ryšius, bet ir turi ryškų istorinį kontekstą. Kaip liudija 1560 m. Šventojo Sosto nuncijaus Bernardo Bondžovanio (Bernardo Bongiovanni) pranešimas, Žygimantas Augustas, tapęs Lietuvos didžiuoju kunigaikščiu ir Lenkijos karaliumi, savo garsiąsias meno, brangenybių, retenybių kolekcijas ir biblioteką kaupė, saugojo būtent Vilniaus rūmuose. Čia buvo ir valdovo paradinių šarvų rinkinys, kurį sudarė net dvidešimt itin prabangių komplektų. Beje, vienus reprezentacinius šarvus puošė reljefai, vaizdavę Žygimanto Augusto ir jo protėvių pergales prieš maskolius. Žygimantas Augustas Lietuvoje buvo paveldimas valdovas, todėl čia galėjo nebijoti priekaištų dėl išlaidavimo prabangai. Jis baigė statyti ištaigingus renesansinius Vilniaus rūmus, kurie ilgiems dešimtmečiams buvo tapę pagrindine valdovo rezidencija. Lietuvos didžiųjų kunigaikščių rūmuose ilgesnį laiką gyveno, čia mirė ir Vilniaus katedroje buvo palaidota ir pirmoji Žygimanto Augusto žmona Elžbieta Habsburgaitė. O juk būtent jungtuvių su šia nuotaka proga ir buvo užsakyti vaikiški Žygimanto Augusto šarvai. Su šių šarvų paroda į jam taip mielą Vilnių tarsi sugrįžo pats Žygimantas Augustas.. [p. 12-13].
ENThe Lithuanian Gediminid-Jagiellon dynasty was one ofthe most renowned in Europe in the 15th-16th centuries. Testimony of this status lay in the many marriages to the offspring of some of the most influential foreign rulers. One such union, planned in earnest from 1527, was the marriage ofthe newly-born Elisabeth of Austria (Habsburg) to Sigismund Augustus, her second-degree uncle from her mother’s side. The marriage was arranged via representatives in 1533. In preparation for this ceremony, Elisabeth’s father Ferdinand I commissioned a suit of representational child armour for his 13-year-old son-in-law - a prestigious and highly valuable gift in medieval and early modern period Europe. The master commissioned to create the armour intended for Sigismund Augustus was not an ordinary weapon-maker but a representative of a famous dynasty of specialised artisans. The armour was created by Jorg Seusenhofer, who worked in the capital of Tyrol, Innsbruck (Austria), and was considered one of the most famous 16th-century German masters. The Seusenhofer workshop was founded by Jorg’s uncle Konrad (1460-1517), who had served the grandfather of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Konrad Seusenhofer created an innovative type of armour, the so-called Maximilian armour, with its distinguishing feature of having the surface divided up by raised strips. In around 1512, Konrad and his brother Hans (1470-1555), who worked with him, became the guardians ofthe emperor’s armour and the official palace armourers. The bestowment ofthese titles reflected the exceptionally high assessment ofthe Seusenhofer brothers’ master craftsmanship and the ruler’s trust in their skill. When K. Seusenhofer died, his brother Hans took over control of the workshop and gradually introduced his own son Jorg to the trade. By 1531-1532, J. Seusenhofer had created a suit ofchild armour for the future king of Spain and Portugal, Philip II, who was then agedjust four.Ferdinand I was very pleased with his nephew’s armour, so in 1533 he commissioned a suit for Sigismund Augustus. Even though the ruler granted a title of nobility to the Seusenhofer family, J. Seusenhofer continued to create armour for the emperor himself, as well as for his son Ferdinand and the King of France, Francis I. In the 16th century, a suit of knight’s armour was much more than just an assemblage protecting a person’s body from injury. The knightly culture was already fading, however representational ceremonies and those relating to knighthood and chivalry remained vibrant. In this context, knightly parade armour were seen as a costume, largely influenced by fashion trends rather than military technicalities. Armour came to imitate the folds and shape of clothing, being enhanced with various types of engraved, gold- and silver-plated details, heraldry and initials. Specific new techniques for creating different types of ornamentation were invented and were widely utilised. The armour of Sigismund Augustus is of particular value if only for the reason that child armour is rare in itself. In terms of their construction, a suit of adult or child armour were not that different, but the rarity of child armour came down to the fact that a child would quickly grow out of his suit of armour, thus it was more often given as a gift than serving any specifically practical purpose, and was mainly a way of establishing political and dynastic links. A suit of expensive child armour would rarely be given as a gift in fact. For example, the grandson of Emperor Maximilian I, the future emperor Charles V, simply outgrew the suit of armour his grandfather had commissioned for him before it had even been completed. A similar situation unfolded for Sigismund Augustus’ cousin, the King of Hungary and Bohemia Louis II Jagiellon.The master commissioned by the same Maximilian I did not manage to complete the armour before 1515, thus the emperor could not present it in time. The armour of Sigismund Augustus, created in 1533 for a 13-year-old boy, was already too small for the 23-year-old crown prince of Poland and Lithuania one decade later in 1543, when the wedding ceremony at the Kraków Cathedral finally took place. Thus, Emperor Ferdinand I never ended up giving the suit of armour to his son-in-law. Sigismund Augustus’ suit of child armour is characterised by a relief vegetal ornamentation framing separate elements, a style popular in 16th-century southern Germanic lands. Each shoulder piece has the initials of Sigismund Augustus and his wife Elisabeth engraved, which are combined into a joint “SE” composition on the breastplate. This is a reminder of the intended purpose why the armour was created in the first place - to commemorate the marriage of Sigismund Augustus (Sigismundus) and Elisabeth Habsburg (Elisabeth). This decision to incorporate the initials of the married couple was typical of 16th-17th-century gifts. The full suit of plate field armour of Sigismund Augustus was meant to cover the entire body. It notably features Renaissance stylistics, while the decoration and gold-plating highlights its representational nature. The plates of armour are designed as if resembling clothing sewn from a soft fabric, whose separate parts are discerned by polychromy and plastic modelling. Almost the whole surface of the armour is covered in a rhomboid pattern. The edges of the plates and the strips separating the rhombus shapes are engraved and gold-plated, while their texture contrasts with the even, silver-coloured polished background. The four-leafed clover repeating in the rhombus network is a symbol of good luck. This separation into rhombus shapes is absent only on the wider sabatons and the greaves. [...].
