Chronicle Summer 2023

43 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Siren Call Last term, a new Shell History of Art competition was launched as part of the Super-Curriculum. Charlotte Schofield, History of Art Teacher, explains: ‘We wanted to promote interest in this fascinating subject in the Lower School so we asked the Shell to choose a work of art that interested them, and to write a piece to convey their interest to a wider audience’. You can enjoy the winning piece by Antoni Kedzior below.

The Mermaid of Warsaw By Antoni Kedzior I come from Warsaw, a city of many landmarks and statues as well as famous buildings. But there is one that stands out: the Mermaid. It is a symbol of Warsaw dating back to the 14th century where it originated from a myth of two fishermen who abducted her. In fact, it was so famous and well-known that Warsaw was called ‘The Mermaid Garden’ and Varsovians (people from Warsaw) were called ‘Sirenians’. Sirens are closely connected to mermaids. She holds a meter-long sword as well as a shield that, I assume, was meant to protect our nation in times of invasion. The Siren has a long ‘fin’, that has small

Antoni Kedzior

fact of her being placed in a metal ‘form’, suggesting water, to make it appear as if she is floating and therefore guarding the nation with her shield and sword. The Siren is also placed in two main locations around Warsaw. One being in the centre of the old town, and the other being on the riverbank of the Vistula River that flows through Warsaw. They seem very similar and indeed in reality they are, but if you have the chance to visit Warsaw to see them both you will see that they differ in detail and size, and the faces are not the same. The one in the old town looks a bit defensive as her ‘knees’ are slightly bent, but her shield has nothing on it, whereas the one on the riverbank has less detail overall but her shield Is covered

with symbols, and the statue overall is older. Finally, both sculptures represent the same mermaid, who features on Warsaw’s coat of arms. And even though the mermaid might seem irrelevant in a foreigner’s eyes, it is a true symbol of Warsaw. There is a myth that this mermaid gave hope to all the soldiers that later fought and won wars against invading countries. But the Siren isn’t only on the Varsovian coat of arms, it is also visible in the tax book from 1659 as it was one of the main sculptures that represented Warsaw and essentially Poland in that century. This emphasizes my point about the importance of it in Poland’s history. Designed by Constanty Hegel, cast in bronze 1855, original now in the Warsaw Museum. Cast located in Old Town Square, Warsaw.

scales that are lined up on the fin that leads into the sea. Which brings me onto the