On 9 May 2001 the Castle Museum in Pszczyna opened a permanent exhibition to its visitors which significantly differs in character from the other museum exhibitions of historical interiors – the subject of this notable exhibition is one of just a few miniature collections in Poland.
The name of “Miniature Room” refers to former collector’s rooms. This particular collection consists of over two hundred miniatures, figures and bas relieves. The exhibition gave an opportunity to display a group of small portraits of different provenance which were earlier stored in a museum storehouse.
Especially interesting are: A portrait of a man in a beret, painted by Aleksander Orłowski (1777-1832), several interesting albeit not so effective sketches of Jan Ksawery Kaniewski (1805-1867) created during author’s holiday journeys to Ukraine, as well as portraits originating from Pszczyna and Książ castles, among them a likeness of Jan Henryk XV Hochberg created in 1918, in the German army main war quarters in Pszczyna.
The miniatures collection can be presented mainly thanks to a collecting passion of Leon Dietz d’Arm, an architect from Zabrze, who for his entire life collected those small works of art with a great competency and passion, purchasing them at Kraków, Warszawa and Poznań antique shops.
In 1969 the collection was bought by the Museum in Pszczyna and expanded by almost 100 new objects, which enabled the presentation of changes of style and diversity of Polish and foreign miniatures within over three hundred years of their history. The Miniatures Room is situated on the 2nd floor, in the western wing, just next to 18th century wooden stairs, with an entrance from the Hunting Room.
