In Warsaw’s Kordegarda, the gallery of the National Cultural Centre, visitors can see the exhibition ‘Woman Liberated. Polish art déco in ceramics’. They can admire pre-war ceramic figurines of women made in the art déco style. The exhibits originate from one of the most important ceramic centres in Poland in the 1920s and 1930s – the Polish Faience Factory in Pacyków, which operated in the eastern territories of the Second Republic of Poland.

In the space of Warsaw’s Kordegarda Gallery, 13 faience figurines from the 1920s are on display, including 10 by Austrian sculptor Wilhelm Thomasch. Nine of the figurines were designed for the factory in Pacykowo, while one was created for the famous Austrian Friedrich Goldscheider factory in Vienna.

The aim of the exhibition is to popularise the little-known achievements of Polish pre-war design and, at the same time, to show the new role of women in the art déco style. The figurines from Pacyków have become symbols of modernity and luxury. They show modern and liberated women who work, read, relax, play, and enjoy life.

The objects on display include the ‘Young Lady’, depicting an awake woman in pyjamas, which was featured on posters to mark the anniversary of Poland’s entry into the European Union. Visitors can also view such figurines as “Woman with a dog”, “Bust of a woman with flowers” and “Woman with a tambourine”, created by Stanisław Czapek – sculptor, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and first artistic director of the factory in Pacyków.

The Polish Faience Factory in Pacyków was founded in 1912 and operated until the start of the Second World War. Along with Ćmielów, it was one of the most important ceramic centres of the 20th century in Poland.

Bearing in mind the blind and visually impaired, the exhibition also features a contemporary copy of one of the original objects, printed in 3D technology, which can be touched. The figurine has been enhanced with an audiodescription.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński