Amber in the Narew River Basin
PLACE
UL. DWORNA 22C
The amber department at the museum was established in 1947 by Adam Chętnik, an ethnographer and regionalist. Thanks to his efforts, on April 10, 1950, the first exhibition in Poland dedicated to amber was opened at the Łomża museum. The current exhibition, inaugurated on December 19, 2015, continues — in a new and much richer form — the work of this outstanding promoter of the history, culture, and traditions of the Kurpie region.
It is Baltic amber,
which began to form from resin about 40 million years ago, but is much more diverse in terms of both forms and varieties. Its degree of weathering varies greatly, as do the color, transparency, and size of the pieces. It was found on the ground surface — in sands, meadows, pastures, rivers, and ponds — and later often during the digging of wells, ditches, or fieldwork. Frequent, though initially accidental, discoveries eventually led to the regular search for amber deposits.
The inhabitants of the Narew River region not only knew how to find amber but also how to work it. Initially, the processing was quite simple and done by hand. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the first primitive lathes appeared in amber workshops, mainly used for turning beads. Over time, a whole range of various lathes and processing tools was developed. It is believed that by the mid-19th century, the spinning wheel used for wool had been adapted in the Kurpie region for amber working.
Amber was a gift of nature that accompanied the people of Kurpie villages in both their joys and sorrows. It served as a substitute for gold or money, was offered as a sacrifice in temples, and was even placed in coffins with the deceased. A distinctive adornment of Kurpie women’s attire were strings of amber beads, passed down from mother to daughter, from generation to generation.
Necklaces containing beads with “wścibki”—as inclusions (such as insects or plant fragments trapped in amber) were called in the Kurpie region—were considered lucky charms. A characteristic feature of these necklaces were pendants or medallions carved with the image of Christ on the cross, or with a simple cross motif.
The exhibition presents raw amber material, traditional tools used for finding and processing amber, as well as both historical and contemporary amber products. The amber collection of the Museum in Łomża is a unique and the largest regional collection in Poland, documenting the centuries-old tradition of extracting, processing, and using amber in the Narew River basin.
