The auction of a handwritten letter by Adam Mickiewicz is set to conclude on Wednesday shortly before 9 p.m. The authenticated manuscript is being sold by an art gallery in Leipzig, Germany. “Is the Ministry of Culture aware of this auction?” asked Michał Dworczyk on X.
The item has been listed on the European auction platform Catawiki. The auction description reads: “Autograph two-page letter by Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) in Polish, dated between 1840 and 1853, written on an old sheet of paper, containing references to Wincenty Pol and Bogusz Stęczyński, measuring 20.5 × 13.3 cm, in good condition.”
The listing further states that “the manuscript is of exceptional cultural significance, having been written by one of the greatest poets of European Romanticism and Poland’s national bard, Adam Mickiewicz.”
The letter is being sold by the Anabel Walter art gallery in Leipzig, Germany.
Eleven hours before the auction’s close, the highest bid stood at €6,500. The leading bidder is from the United Kingdom.
The auction was brought to public attention on X by Michał Dworczyk, a Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice (PiS). He addressed a series of questions to the Ministry of Culture, which has so far remained silent on the matter:
“Is the Ministry aware of this auction? Will it acquire or recover this item of such importance to Polish culture and national heritage? And has the Ministry determined – or is it determining – how a German citizen came into possession of Adam Mickiewicz’s manuscript?”