Editing Szczerbiec (section)

=== In foreign hands ===
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| footer    = Rough sketches of the obverse (left, by S. Smolikowski) and reverse (by [[Sebastiano Ciampi]]) sides of the hilt
| width1    = 170
| image1    = Szczerbiec.jpg
| alt1      = Obverse of the hilt
| width2    = 172
| image2    = Rękojeść Szczerbca.jpg
| alt2      = Reverse of the hilt }}

In 1794, during the failed [[Kościuszko Uprising]] which led to the [[Third Partition of Poland|final partition of Poland]] a year later, [[Prussia]]n troops captured Kraków. In the following year, on King [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]]'s orders, the treasure vault of the Wawel Castle was looted and the crown jewels taken to Breslau (now [[Wrocław]] in Poland), then to [[Berlin]], and finally to Königsberg (now [[Kaliningrad]] in Russia). Between 1809 and 1811 most of the jewels were melted down, but some, including Szczerbiec, were put up for sale.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|pp=70–72, 138–141|ps=}} The coronation sword was acquired by the future Russian minister of justice, Prince [[Dmitry Lobanov-Rostovsky]], who probably hoped to resell it to one of Polish aristocrats. In 1819, he approached General [[Wincenty Krasiński]], speaker of the [[Sejm of the Republic of Poland|Sejm]] (parliament) of the [[Congress Poland|"Congress" Kingdom of Poland]]. The prince did not disclose the actual source of the sword and claimed to have bought it in [[Moscow]] from an Armenian merchant who had found the weapon somewhere between [[Belgrade]] and Rusçuk (now [[Ruse, Bulgaria|Ruse]] in Bulgaria) during the recent [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)|Russo-Turkish War]]. Krasiński, who was a known antique  weapon collector, suspected it could be Szczerbiec, but asked Prof. [[Sebastiano Ciampi]], a historian of the [[Warsaw University]], for opinion. Ciampi examined the [[lithography]] Krasiński had had made of the sword, but was unsure whether it was the actual Szczerbiec. As a consequence, Krasiński declined Lobanov-Rostovsky's offer.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|pp=72–74|ps=}}

Lobanov-Rostovsky ultimately sold Szczerbiec to Prince [[Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato|Anatoly Demidov]], who kept it together with the rest of the [[Demidov collection]] in his [[Villa San Donato]] near [[Florence]]. In 1870, the sword was bought for 20,000 [[French franc]]s by [[Alexander Basilevsky]], Russian ambassador to France and great art collector. In 1878, he displayed Szczerbiec at the [[Exposition Universelle (1878)|World's Fair]] in [[Paris]]. By that time, the scabbard had been lost and the sword itself was presented as of [[Teutonic Knights|Teutonic]] origin. It was seen by several Polish visitors who speculated whether it could be the Polish coronation sword. In 1884, the entire Basilevsky collection was purchased by Emperor [[Alexander III of Russia]] for the [[Hermitage Museum]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. Both Polish and other experts at the time expressed doubts as to the authenticity of Szczerbiec held in Russia's largest museum ''(see [[#Historical replicas|Historical replicas]] below)''. An international museum congress held in Saint Petersburg in 1913 pronounced the sword a 17th-century replica.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|p=74|ps=}}

In 1917, as a result of the [[October Revolution]], Russia became a communist state. In the aftermath of [[World War I]], Poland reemerged as an independent country in the following year. From 1919 to 1921, the two states fought the [[Polish–Soviet War]] which was concluded with the [[Peace of Riga]]. Article 11 of the peace treaty required that the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] side return all culturally significant collections and items that had been removed from Poland since the [[First Partition of Poland|First Partition]] in 1772. A special bilateral committee was set up to carry out the restitution of cultural goods.{{sfnp|Wójcik|1997|ps=}} In 1928, the committee's efforts resulted in the return to Poland of, among other national treasures, Szczerbiec,{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|p=75|ps=}} which, after 133 years, was deposited back in the Wawel Castle.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|p=70|ps=}}