SPRAWOZDANIE Z BADAŃ WYKOPALISKOWYCH PRZEPROWADZONYCH W 2002 R. W DYLEWIE , GM. GRUNWALD , WOJ. WARMIŃSKO-MAZURSKIE

Abstrakt

EXCAVATING THE RUINS OF VON ROSE FAMILY PALACE AT DYLEWO (FORMER DÖHLAU) IN 2002 , N E POLAND SUMMARY The aim of the 2 July - 10 August 2002 excavation carried out by the team of Professor Tomasz Mikocki at Dylewo (NE Poland) was to expose and fully document the foundations and cellars of the central area of the former palace, recover any moveable elements of the palace furnishings, such as fittings and household equipment, and, last but not least, salvage parts of the artistic collection of the von Rose family. In 1858 Döhlau (at present Dylewo) became the property of the Prussian von Rose family. After the death of the first owner, Ludwig von Rose, the property passed to his son, Franz, who soon became one of the most active art collectors in the region of Ostpreußen. Financial resources came from profits generated by the manor at Döhlau which was run on the most up-to-date principles. In 1894-1912 Franz von Rose extended his patronage to Adolf Wildt, sculptor from Milan, considered at present as one of the leading Italian artists of the modern age. So far Wildt's Döhlau period, his first and at the same time the most prolific, has remained largely obscure. This is because until July/August 2002 most of the artist's works from that period lay concealed in the palace ruins at Dylewo, after it collapsed in 1945 in a fire set by soldiers of the Soviet Red Army. Sixteen rooms of the palace cellar were cleared of rubble, excavated and documented. Most were situated on two sides of a passage running along the palace's EW axis. The rest were functionally associated with the palace veranda. Analysis of architecture helped to trace consecutive stages of development of the palace during the modern period, until the time between the two great wars of the 20t h c. The brief investigation made at Dylewo has led to a spectacular discovery of several of A. Wildt's sculptures, formerly considered by art historians as lost. Elements of palace furnishings and numerous objects of art recovered during the excavation help to shed new light on the art collecting activity of the von Rose family. The remainder of the archaeological material, particularly the nearly complete set of household equipment of the palace is an excellent source on everyday life in a typical aristocratic residence in Ostpreußen.