Polikarps Čerņavskis (8 May 1923 – 25 January 1997) was a Latgalian ceramicist. In 1996, he was awarded with the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

.Ordeņa virsnieks Polikarps Čerņavskis
- Latvijas Vēstnesis

Biography

Polikarps Čerņavskis was born at Jurīši village in

Silajāņi Parish Silajāņi Parish (, ) is an administrative unit of Preiļi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. At the beginning of 2014, the population of the parish was 456. The administrative center is village. Towns, villages and settlements of S ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

in 1923. He inherited the interest for

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

from his godfather, renowned Latgalian ceramicist

Polikarps Vilcāns Polikarps Vilcāns (26 January 1894 – 8 May 1969) was a Latvian and Latgale, Latgalian Ceramic art, ceramicist. One of the most renowned Latgalian ceramics, Latgalian ceramicists. In 1937, Vilcāns was awarded with a Gold Medal at the Exposition ...

, who became his mentor.Ordeņa virsnieks Polikarps Čerņavskis
- Latvijas Vēstnesis During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Čerņavskis was drafted into the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

army in 1943. After war, he was sent to

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

filtration camp in

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

and he returned to

in 1948. After his return, Čerņavskis worked in the workshop of his godfather

. He was one of the Latgalian ceramicists that was represented in 1957 Silajāņi ceramics exhibition in

Rīga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, organized by Jānis Pujāts. After this exhibition, his works were noticed and chosen for several international exhibitions, in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. In 1959, Čerņavskis became a member of Artist's Union of Latvia. In 1983, he moved to

Preiļi Preiļi (; Polish: ''Prele''; ; , previously also ''Прели'') is a town in Preiļi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It is also the administrative center of Preiļi Municipality. History Preiļi is one of the oldest settlements i ...

and opened his workshop there. In 1996, he was awarded with the

for his contributions and achievements in the Latgalian ceramics.Ordeņa virsnieks Polikarps Čerņavskis
- Latvijas Vēstnesis Čerņavskis died on 25 January 1997. He is buried in the

cemetery.

Honors

* 1983:

Andrejs Paulāns Andrejs Paulāns-Kraskevičs ( Latgalian: Andrivs Povulāns-Kraskevičs, 30 November 1896 – 29 November 1973) was a Latvian and Latgalian ceramicist. He is regarded as one of the greatest Latgalian ceramicists. In 1937, Paulāns was awarded ...

Medal * 1989: People's Artist of the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

* 1996:

References

External links

Works by Čerņavskis
@ Latgale Culture History Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Polikarps Čerņavskis 1923 births 1997 deaths People from Preiļi Municipality Latgalian ceramists 20th-century Latvian ceramists Soviet ceramists