From Constantinople to Warsaw: A Byzantine Amphora from the National Museum in Warsaw
Katarzyna de Lellis-Danys
| Pages | 83—104 |
|---|---|
| DOI | 10.37520/anpm.2026.004 |
| Keywords | Byzantine pottery – amphorae – Constantinople – trade – Semerau-Siemianowski collection |
| Type of Article | Materialia |
| Citation | LELLIS-DANYS, Katarzyna de. From Constantinople to Warsaw: A Byzantine Amphora from the National Museum in Warsaw. Annals of the Náprstek Museum. Prague: National Museum, 2026, 47(1), 83—104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/anpm.2026.004. ISSN 0231-844X (print), 2533-5685 (online). Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/annals-of-the-naprstek-museum/47-1/from-constantinople-to-warsaw-a-byzantine-amphora-from-the-national-museum-in-warsaw |
This paper discusses a late Byzantine transport container, known as a Günsenin III type amphora, currently housed in the National Museum in Warsaw. Donated in 1921 by Władysław Semerau-Siemianowski, the vessel was originally discovered in the ruins of Constantinople. This paper examines the provenance of the amphora in the historical context of early Polish scholars’ interest in Byzantine studies, as well as the fate of the museum collection during the Second World War. It explores the debate over the amphora’s origins between Chalcis and northern Anatolia and traces their distribution across the Black Sea region, Poland, and Scandinavia during the 12th and 13th centuries CE.