The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, along with the Wawel Royal Castle – State Art Collections in Kraków (Poland) and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Warsaw, Poland), our closest and most loyal partners, continue this tradition with the presentation of one, exceptional masterpiece – the children’s suit of armour of the Lithuanian and Polish crown prince, Sigismund Augustus (1520–1572) – a work of astounding master craftsmanship notable for its particularly complicated history. The child armour of Sigismund Augustus was commissioned by the King of Rome, Germany, Hungary and Bohemia, later – the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I from the House of Habsburg (1503/1526/1558–1564). In 1533 Ferdinand I planned to give this armour as a gift to his future son-in-law Sigismund Augustus. The representational armour was created for the imperial family by the famous Innsbruck court master Jörg Seusenhofer (1516–1580). For the last few centuries, this suit of armour of Sigismund Augustus had been mistakenly associated with his cousin, Louis II Jagiellon, the King of Hungary and Bohemia. Another legend related to the armour but not based on any real facts also says it could have been commissioned by Sigismund Augustus’ parents for his raising ceremony to the title of Lithuanian grand duke in Vilnius in 1529.
Sigismund Augustus’ child armour tells of the colourful life story of the prince and then ruler, while also reminding us that in his times, the Lithuanian capital Vilnius had become a significant centre of politics, diplomacy, economy, culture and art in the whole European region, an important Renaissance city flourishing in the greatest period of its existence. The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania constructed at the behest of the rulers was where the collection of jewellery, rarities, artworks and library of European renown was kept. In addition, the Vilnius palace was also the place where Sigismund Augustus had amassed his highly valuable and impressive collection of representational armour and weapons. This is why this exhibition of the child armour of Sigismund Augustus, turning the spotlight on Vilnius’ Golden Age, highlighting its status as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and reminding us of the historic collections of the rulers once kept here, is dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the city of Vilnius.
Besides Sigismund Augustus’ child armour today kept at the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków and here in Vilnius at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania for the exhibition, another particularly impressive and valuable suit of armour belonging to this ruler, plus a set of matching horse armour, still exists today and is kept at the Livsrustkammaren in Stockholm (Sweden). This particular armour was created in 1557 by the famous Nürnberg master Kunz Lochner (1510–1567), and ended up in Sweden in 1574 when Anna Jagiellon (1523–1596), Sigismund Augustus’ sister and heir to his wealth, gifted it to her sister’s husband, the King of Sweden John III Vasa (1537/1569–1592). It could be that this armour, currently in Sweden and considered one of the most valuable in all of Europe, was kept in the Vilnius palace at some time in the past.
The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania planned to present Sigismund Augustus’ child armour in Vilnius several years ago already, but the pandemic, then the Hungarian government’s decision to transfer this relic to Poland, interfered with these intentions. Yet in fact, the armour’s transfer to the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków has served to simplify its journey to the Lithuanian capital. The suit of armour is important for our learning about Lithuania’s history and heritage not just for the high European level of craftsmanship, or the rarity of children’s suits of armour in principle, but primarily because it is one of the most impressive historical relics to have survived in excellent condition testifying to the contexts of the Gediminid-Jagiellon dynasty’s European relations and because it is directly associated with one of the most famous Lithuanian grand dukes and Polish kings, who fundamentally changed the course of the state and its capital, and remained alive in the historical memory of society. The romantic or even mythical image Sigismund Augustus holds in the Lithuanian consciousness was significantly strengthened by the story of his love for and marriage to Duchess Barbara Radziwiłł.
