Poniatowski became a knight of the White Eagle on December 8, 1773. Very well educated and particularly interested in the finances and economy of the country as well as in the arts, Poniatowski was not popular amongst szlachta (the Polish nobility), who found him arrogant and competitive.
Frontispiece of Poniatowski's catalog, showing Minerva[2]
Poniatowski commissioned about 2500 engraved gems from a group of gem-engravers in Rome who turned to classical literature for inspiration. In 1830, Poniatowski published a summary catalogue of his gems, Catalogue des Pierres Gravees Antiques de S.A. le Prince Stanislas Poniatowski, which contained elaborate descriptions. The collection of Poniatowski gems was sold at a Christie's auction in 1839 and has been dispersed ever since.[3]
Following the partitions of Poland, Poniatowski emigrated to Italy, living first in Rome, then in Florence. He is the ancestor of the present members of the Poniatowski family bearing the title of Fürst Poniatowski or Principe Poniatowski di Monterotondo.
While some sources state that he married Cassandra Luci (Rome, 1785 - Florence, 1863) in 1806,[4] it is unlikely because she was already married to Vicenzo Venturini Benloch. Together, Cassandra and Stanisław were the parents of:
Isabella Luci (Rome, 1806 - Florence, 1896), married firstly in January/February 1821 to Count Prospero Bentivoglio (- 1821), without children, and secondly in 1822 to Count Zanobi di Ricci (- October 16, 1844), their daughter was Marie-Anne Walewska. Then, she married Marquess Filippo De Piccolellis.
Carlo Luci (Rome, 1808 - Florence, 1887), later Poniatowski, legitimized in 1847, made Conte di Monterotondo by the Grand Duke of Tuscany on November 20, 1847, Principe di Monterotondo by the Grand Duke of Tuscany and Prince Poniatowski by the Emperor of Austria both on November 19, 1850 (Rome, August 4, 1808 - San Pancrazio, July 23, 1887), married in Florence, September 21, 1831 to Elisa Napoleone Montecatini (Lucca, November 4, 1808 - Lucca, April 18, 1893), without children.
Costanza Luci (Rome, 1811 - Florence, 1851), married to Count Daniele Zappi.
Giuseppe Michele Saverio Francesco Giovanni Luci[5][better source needed](Rome, February 21, 1816 - London, July 4, 1873), later known as Józef Michał Poniatowski, legitimized in 1847, made Conte di Monterotondo by the Grand Duke of Tuscany on November 20, 1847, Principe di Monterotondo by the Grand Duke of Tuscany and Prince Poniatowski by the Emperor of Austria both on November 19, 1850.[6] He was a composer and a singer, and was sent to Paris as plenipotentiary by Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II. In 1834, he married Countess Matilda Perotti (1814 - February 1875) in Florence, and they had one son, Stanislaus August Friedrich Joseph Telemach Luci.
AA.VV, Polonia-Italia: relazioni artistiche dal medioevo al XVIII secolo, Polska Akademia Nauk Stacja Naukowa w Rzymie, Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, 1979
The Encyclopædia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature and general information, Vol. 22, 1911, p. 61.
Jerzy Jan Lerski; Piotr Wróbel; Richard J. Kozicki (1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945. Greenwood Publishing. p. 464.
