“Given to Jan III Sobieski by the Chinese emperor, the 17th-century porcelain set returned home, to the museum in Łańcut. This is an example of the joint operation of the Polish museology and the Polish state”, said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Gliński at a press conference combined with the presentation of new acquisitions of the Castle Museum in Łańcut.

The Castle Museum in Łańcut has acquired extremely valuable works of art – four plates and one dish made of Chinese porcelain. They were a part of the former Łańcut collection, as evidenced by the pre-war signatures of the Łańcut Castle. The set from the Kang-xi period (1662-1723) was a gift from the Emperor of China to King Jan III Sobieski. The king gave them to the Czartoryski family, and it was brought to Łańcut in the second half of the 18th century by its owner at the time – Izabella Lubomirska née Czartoryska.

The set consisted of over one hundred pieces. Before the war, it was exhibited in glass wardrobes standing in the Northern Corridor of the first floor, called the White Hall. Some of the large platters and plates were hung on the walls of the Great Dining Room, right next to the Ballroom presenting the knight horseraces in front of the Mikado throne. It was believed that none of the richest collections in Europe had a similar set.

“Plates and a platter from this collection were purchased at an auction in a Gallery in London. If only other items from this collection appear on the market, we will buy them so that they can be regained as soon as possible”, declared Deputy Prime Minister Gliński.

The purchase of elements of the Chinese set was co-financed from the state budget in the amount of over PLN 399.6 thousand.

Adrian Andrzejewski