Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 8. (Budapest, 1984)

VARGA, Vera: Art Nouveau art glasses

collection. Radisics continued extensive correspondance with the leading designers and art dealers of the age, Samuel Bing, Walter Crane, Emile Gallé, Louis Comfort Tiffany. (These documents are preserved at the archives of the Museum of Applied Arts.) According to the evidence of his letters we know that he wasn't able to realize many of his plans, in spite of that the purchasing of the collection continued systematically with the buying of art glasses at the Exhibition in Paris in 1900. To these fundamental objects was the Fettick collection added in 1952. The pieces of that legacy-collection had some from purchases at the great exhibitions, as well and contained mainly pieces of the significant French masters and factories such as Émile Gallé, René Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany, the Daum brothers, the Pantin factory. Some other outstanding Art Nouveau art glasses were purchased in the 1950—60-ies, these are significant because of their outstanding quality, but not their quantity. Most part of the collection consists of decorative glassware, produced in smaller or larger series or experimenting pieces and some functional glass objects: tableware and other glasses of use and glass windows complete our collection. Comparing to the big glass collections of the world's significant museums, our collection is not especially rich, but it is remarkably manysided, because it contains the outstanding works, designed by the most important artists of the period. NOTES 1 In 1863, in France an organization was established by a group of ,,artistes et fabriquants", the final name of it became L'Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. Their most important efforts were, the founding of libraries and museums, the publishing of a magazine and the organizing of regular exhibitions. The magazine: La Revue des Arts Décoratifs was first published in 1880. 2 As the concrete reason of Gallé's interest in Japanese art, the drawings of the Japanese Takacyma, one student of the École Forestière Nancy, made between 1882—-85 are usually referred to. It is true, that the drawings were highly esteemed, but in Gallé's case the influence of his London trip, in 1871 is much more probable. In the artistic circles of London the enthusiams for Japanese art was already widespread, Whistler and Godwin designed their homes according to Japanese taste. In 1862 the South Kensington Museum organized an exhibition of Janapese ceramic wares.