The exhibition, located in the museum’s permanent display of ancient Belarusian art, presents two monumental altar statues. Acquired during a scientific expedition to Slonim, they entered the collection of the National Art Museum in 1969.
These 18th-century paired statues depict two holy bishops. One of them is Archbishop Ambrose of Milan (formerly Mediolanum), an early (4th century AD) Christian saint known as one of the great Latin Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church. The beehive in his right hand is a common attribute of the saint. Legend has it that the newborn Ambrose was once swarmed by bees that fed him honey and flew away without causing any harm to the baby. This episode is considered to bea symbol of the saint’s prominent oratorical skills, as the word of God was sweet as honey when he spoke. St Ambrose of Milan is venerated as the patron saint of beekeeping.
The other bishop is mostly likely St Adalbert of Prague (also known as St Wojciech), one of the most venerated saints in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the saint was martyred in 997 AD in Prussia, his holy relics were bought by the Polish king Bolesław I the Brave, who placed them in the cathedral in Gniezno (Poland), centre of the Archdiocese of Gniezno established by the monarch.
The statue of St Ambrose was restored in preparation for the exhibition of 17th–18th century Belarusian sculpture which took place at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus in 2024. The restoration of the statue of St Adalbert has been completed in 2025 by Olga Razumova, conservator-restorer.
The exhibition will be open until 2 March 2025.
Exhibition curator: Stanislau Chavus, senior researcher at the Department of Ancient Belarusian Art of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus
