This publication accompanies the exhibition held at the Asia and Pacific Museum in 2026, showcasing nearly 500 Asian artefacts donated to the Museum by the collector Krzysztof Findziński.

Conceived as a ‘Cabinet of Memories’, both the exhibition and the catalogue shift the focus from purely material culture to the intangible stories, emotions, and memories bound up with the objects. Through close collaboration between the curator and the collector, the publication offers a unique, dual perspective: combining an anthropological insight into the cultural meanings of the artefacts with personal, vivid recollections of the collector himself.

The structure of the catalogue reflects the visitor’s route through the exhibition and is divided into several sections:

• The Protagonist and his Roots: An introduction to Krzysztof Findziński (b. 1948) and his parents, diplomat Tadeusz Findziński and pianist Krystyna Findzińska, whose own passions and art collections shaped his sensibility.

• Childhood and Adolescence: A look into his formative years spent in Romania, the Netherlands, and Vietnam, supplemented by extensive excerpts from an interview with the collector.

• The Nucleus of the Collection: The story of Findziński’s milestone journey to Vietnam and China in 1962, where he acquired his very first Asian objects.

• Objects and Histories: The most extensive section, featuring ten selected objects accompanied by the collector’s memories and expert curatorial commentaries on their cultural contexts.

• The Collector’s Room: A presentation of more than 170 objects displayed in a space faithfully reconstructed from photographs of Krzysztof Findziński’s original apartment.

More than just a presentation of an intriguing collection, this catalogue is an invitation to reflect on the practice of collecting and the role objects play in our lives. It aims to foster openness, tolerance, and curiosity towards less familiar Asian traditions, beliefs, and aesthetics.

Text author: Maria Szymańska-Ilnata, PhD
Curatorial collaboration: Krzysztof Findziński
Consultants: Barbara Banasik, PhD; Magdalena Ginter-Frołow, PhD; Joanna Karmasz; Krzysztof Morawski, PhD; Izabella Wichniarz
Object conservators: Agnieszka Kalbarczyk; Ewa Soszko-Dziwisińska; Jacek Tomaszewski, PhD; Aleksandra Trochimowicz, PhD; Magdalena Żero
Project coordinator: Zofia Modzelewska
Copyediting: Anna Kaniewska
English translations: Tomasz Zymer
Catalogue graphic design and typesetting: Studio Temperówka
Object photographs: Łukasz Brodowicz
Archival materials digitisation: Syaiful Bahri

Publisher: The Andrzej Wawrzyniak Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw

 

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