Warsaw mermaid brooch, designed by Henryk Grunwald, realized by Stefan Chmielecki 1945-1955

Silver pr. 3, Warsaw Assay Office hallmark, HG monogram, SC incisors in rhombus, engraved "Made in Poland" dimensions: 5.3 x 5.3 cm, weight:15 g

Henryk Grunwald

Born 14.01.1904 in Lazy near Warsaw, died 21.03.1958 in Warsaw. Participant of the Warsaw Uprising. Draughtsman, metalworker, painter, poet, goldsmith. Pioneer of unique jewelry. Since 1935 known mainly as a creator of ornamental forms in metal.

He made jewelry in silver, copper and brass, elaborate vessels of a decorative and utilitarian nature. He was also the author of unique works of artistic blacksmithing, which decorated public buildings. After 1945, he designed interior design elements (grilles, balustrades, radiator housings, candlesticks, sconces) for government buildings, the National Philharmonic Hall of the Polish embassies in Berlin and Beijing. He is the author of the design for the grilles in the arcades of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.

He presented his first jewelry designs in 1938 at the Institute of Art Propaganda. Between 1945 and 1955, he created jewelry works with nautical themes, as well as referring to the art of the highlanders of Podhale, folk and literary motifs (Lajkonik, Pan Twardowski) or Warsaw legends. He was a pioneer of the use of non-costly materials in jewelry.

After 1945, his designs were realized by engravers Stefan Chmielecki and Wojciech Jurkowski. From 1946, he was an associate of the Bureau for the Supervision of Production Aesthetics, as well as a juror and consultant for the Orno cooperative. In the 1950s, the recipients of his works were Cepelia and embassies. These were products of a souvenir nature. Grunwald's designs are characterized by graphicality, the use of simple workshop techniques, folk ornamentation and styling appropriate to the Art Déco style. The representations in the jewelry allude to folk-bait and literary themes. Henry Grunwald was a proponent of combining artistic craftsmanship with art.