Vilnius university seals

Muzeum Archeologiczne w Wilnie / Musee Archéologique a Wilno, Paris: impr. Lemercier, 1858–1863.

The closure of Vilnius University in 1832 was a painful blow to Lithuanian society, which lost a major centre of science and culture. It broke the entire historical tradition of the main Lithuanian educational institution going back to the times of Stephen Bathory. The second half of the 19th century was marked by efforts to rekindle memories of the school, and hopes of reviving it were always high.
The lithograph shows seals of the Collegiums of Physics and Mathematics at Vilnius University. Vytis, the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is depicted in the centre, but the knight’s shield shows portraits of rectors. The coat of arms, surrounded by drapery and crowned with the cap of a grand duke, with a rector’s cap over it, is a symbol of the university’s autonomy. This plate comes from Muzeum Archeologiczne w Wilnie / Musee Archéologique à Wilno (Vilnius Archaeological Museum), a very rare publication published in Paris by Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński between 1858 and 1863. It was formed from lithographs of exhibits that were in the Museum of Antiquities of the Vilnius Archaeological Commission, founded in 1855 by Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz. The museum was closed in 1863, and most of the exhibits were taken to Russia, so that important historical relics disappeared from Lithuanian cultural life. However, some of the original seals depicted in these lithographs still exist in the collections of Lithuanian art museums. A comparison of the original seals and the lithograph shows that the seals are depicted in precise detail. Unfortunately, it is not known who prepared the drawings for the lithograph.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė

Muzeum Archeologiczne w Wilnie / Musee Archéologique a Wilno, Paris: impr. Lemercier, 1858–1863.

The closure of Vilnius University in 1832 was a painful blow to Lithuanian society, which lost a major centre of science and culture. It broke the entire historical tradition of the main Lithuanian educational institution going back to the times of Stephen Bathory. The second half of the 19th century was marked by efforts to rekindle memories of the school, and hopes of reviving it were always high.
The lithograph shows seals of the Collegiums of Physics and Mathematics at Vilnius University. Vytis, the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is depicted in the centre, but the knight’s shield shows portraits of rectors. The coat of arms, surrounded by drapery and crowned with the cap of a grand duke, with a rector’s cap over it, is a symbol of the university’s autonomy. This plate comes from Muzeum Archeologiczne w Wilnie / Musee Archéologique à Wilno (Vilnius Archaeological Museum), a very rare publication published in Paris by Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński between 1858 and 1863. It was formed from lithographs of exhibits that were in the Museum of Antiquities of the Vilnius Archaeological Commission, founded in 1855 by Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz. The museum was closed in 1863, and most of the exhibits were taken to Russia, so that important historical relics disappeared from Lithuanian cultural life. However, some of the original seals depicted in these lithographs still exist in the collections of Lithuanian art museums. A comparison of the original seals and the lithograph shows that the seals are depicted in precise detail. Unfortunately, it is not known who prepared the drawings for the lithograph.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė