International exhibition „From Enemy to Ally. Lithuania and Poland, and the Ottoman Empire in the 14th–19th Centuries“

 

The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, along with the Wawel Royal Castle – State Art Collections (Zamek Królewski na Wawelu – Państwowe Zbiory Sztuki) and Polish Institute in Vilnius (Instytut Polski w Wilnie) present the international exhibition From Enemy to Ally. Lithuania and Poland, and the Ottoman Empire in the 14th–19th Centuries, and invites visitors to discover a distant and still to this day politically, culturally and historically little-known land, the southern neighbour of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland – the Ottoman Empire. The exhibition’s title reveals the more than five centuries of tumultuous relations between these states, expressed first and foremost in the spheres of warfare, diplomacy, culture and trade. The exhibition dedicates a great deal of attention to Lithuania’s and Poland’s battles against the Ottoman Empire. It embodies the exposition of a unique textile work for the first time ever in the history of Lithuanian museology – an impressive two-poled Turkish tent. 

 

The first interstate contact between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Ottoman Empire was established at the end of the 15th century, when the Crimean Khanate, located in present-day Ukraine’s territory, became a Turkish vassal. Even though territorial disputes arose between the states on numerous occasions, for a long time Lithuania and Poland conducted a policy of caution with the Ottomans, avoiding open and direct military conflict. The situation changed in the 17th century when wars lasting almost the whole century began between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. During this period, the joint Lithuanian-Polish army managed to win several crushing victories against the Turks near Khotyn. The main turning point in these interstate relations was to be the Battle of Vienna of 1683. During this battle, forces under the command of the ruler of Poland and Lithuania John Sobieski (1674–1696) liberated the city of Vienna from the Ottomans’ siege, cutting down the might of the Ottoman Empire. By the 18th century, we notice the first signs of a union between the Lithuanians, Poles and Turks, aimed against a common enemy – the state of Moscow. The Ottoman Empire was where the Bar confederates sought allies, and where participants in the uprisings of the 19th century sought refuge. Of particular importance is the fact that the Ottoman Empire never acknowledged the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and supported the aspirations of the Lithuanians and Poles to restore their state.

 

This international exhibition consists of seven thematic parts, each systematically revealing the long and complicated history of interstate relations between Lithuania, Poland and the Ottoman Empire. The first part, “Southern Neighbours”, invites visitors to look at the first active contact of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with its southern neighbours – the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire, which established itself there in the mid-15th century. “The Jagiellonian Sacrifices”, the second part of the exhibition, presents the tense geopolitical situation in Central and South Eastern Europe and the fates of two members of the Jagiellon dynasty, rulers of Lithuania and Poland, monarchs of Poland, Hungary and Bohemia, Lithuanian princes – Ladislaus of Varna (1434/1440–1444) and Louis (1516–1526) Jagiellons – in their most tragic battles against the Turks. The third part, “Ages of Instability”, reflects the policy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland (later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) regarding the Ottoman Empire – from the avoidance of direct conflict to seeking to undermine the Ottomans’ might in Europe. The fourth part of the exhibition, “Victories at Khotyn”, testifies to the crushing defeats imposed by the joint Lithuanian-Polish armies and their commanders – the Lithuanian grand hetmans Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (1560–1621) and Michal Kazimierz Pac (1624–1682) – who won against the threatening Ottoman forces. “The Liberation of Vienna”, the fifth and most important part of the exhibition, is dedicated to the Battle of Vienna of 1683, when the might of the Turks was crushed once and for all. The sixth part, “Peace and Alliance”, presents Lithuania’s and Poland’s peace with the Ottoman Empire, and their search for an alliance in the struggle against a common enemy – the aggressive state of Moscow. “Safe Refuge”, the seventh and final part of the exhibition, reveals the Ottoman policy regarding the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the uprisings that took place in Lithuania and Poland in the 19th century.

 

The exhibition’s historical narrative is illustrated by more than sixty authentic objects of value: paintings, textiles, gold-smithery and ceramic works, coins and medals, and weapons from the Wawel Royal Castle and the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania collections.

 

The exhibition’s axis and culmination is a unique oval two-poled Turkish tent, the only one of its kind in Europe, dating to the first half of the 17th century, which is believed to have belonged to the Ottoman Empire’s grand vizier Kara Mustafa (1634/1635–1683). This textile work found its way to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as war booty after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, after which the Turks lost their positions of power. Today, this priceless exhibit belongs to the collections of the exhibition’s co-coordinators, the Wawel Royal Castle, where it is one of the most significant treasures at this museum. Such unique and especially sensitive war trophies can only be found in Kraków and Dresden today, and are taken away for exhibiting very rarely, which makes the loan of this tent such a precious gift to Lithuania, which once had its own similar prized trophies marking military glory, yet they were either destroyed or looted.

 

This exhibition at the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania not only reveals the mutual discord between states and war-related problems – it also illustrates how, despite conflicts that existed in the past, despite disagreements or political, cultural or religious differences, unity can be achieved through the pursuance of common goals and fighting against shared external threats. This is particularly important in today’s geopolitical context as well, when the successors of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine) and Türkiye and other European states are once again facing the real danger of Russia’s aggression.

 

Vavelio karališkoji pilis – Valstybiniai meno rinkiniai (Zamek Królewski na Wawelu – Państwowe Zbiory Sztuki)

Nacionalinis muziejus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmai

Lenkijos institutas Vilniuje

 

Vavelio karališkoji pilis – Valstybiniai meno rinkiniai (Zamek Królewski na Wawelu – Państwowe Zbiory Sztuki)

Nacionalinis muziejus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmai

 

Library of Congress (United States of America)

Rijksmuseum (Nederland)

 

Prof. habil. dr. Andrzej Betlej, Marijus Uzorka

 

Dr. Vydas Dolinskas, Magdalena Ozga, Gabija Tubelevičiūtė, Marijus Uzorka

 

Gabija Tubelevičiūtė, Marijus Uzorka

 

Gabija Tubelevičiūtė

 

Dalius Avižinis, Andrius Kerulis, Živilė Mikailienė, Marijus Uzorka

 

Dalius Avižinis, Deimantė Baubaitė, dr. Rasa Gliebutė, Arūnas Kalėjus, dr. Irutė Kaminskaitė, Rita Lelekauskaitė-Karlienė, Ėrika Striškienė, dr. Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė

 

Deimantė Baubaitė, Sławomir Korzeniowski, Mantvidas Mieliauskas, Joanna Pasieka, Damian Pyznar, Dainius Šavelis

 

Dr. Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė, Eglė Nemeikaitė

 

Inga Bagaliūnienė, dr. Povilas Dikavičius, dr. Nijolė Nelija Kostinienė, Tomas Manusadžianas, Saulė Matulevičiūtė, Justina Mažonaitė, Agata Sadovska-Bumbul

 

Dr. Živilė Mikailienė, Gabija Tubelevičiūtė

 

Monika Grigūnienė

 

Albina Strunga

 

Asta Junevičienė, Monika Petrulienė, Mindaugas Egidijus Puidokas

 

Kęstutis Karla, Aurimas Ramelis, Saulius Marteckas, Gediminas Akelaitis, Lidia Mróz, Waldemar Dyrek, Marcin Kuciara, Piotr Ludwikowski, Kazimierz Szczygieł

 

LRT, TVP Wilno, Savaitė, „Lietuvos rytas“, lrytas.lt, Legendos, „JCDecaux“