Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)

MAROS Donka: Jegyajándék 1785-ből

DONKA MAROS A WEDDING GIFT FROM 1785: A NOTICE TO THE HISTORY OF LUXURY PRODUCTS IN BRATISLAVA Among the eighteenth century fancy-goods makers of Bratislava, the name of two fanmakers are known on the occasion of tragic family events, strokes of fate. One of them, Joseph Grünich lost his child in 1792, according to the mortality column of the Pressburger Zeitung? We have no other data about his activity and no objects have been attributed to him so far, but he is probably identical with the maker of a fan - now in the collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts -, which is signed by Joseph Grüner and was believed to have been made in Vienna.

2 The fan leaf has an upper border with garlands of roses tied with a ribbon. On the obverse a riverside scene is painted in light colours with a spacious, undulating country in the background. An oval medallion, showing a double escutcheon, is suspended on a garland, fixed by a bow of ribbon. An inscription Sancti Romani Imp: Aequites (sic!) = Knights of the Holy Roman Empire runs at the top of the inside rim of the medallion. There is a coronet of eight-points (sic!) underneath, uniting the two oval shields that are placed over a Neoclassical plinth. The right one displays the coat of arms of the Bohemian Schmidel von Schmiden, while the left one presents that of the Browne dc Camus family, Count of the Reich.

3 To the right, near the medallion, a lady dressed in pink and a young man dressed in a light-coloured uniform - with his hat in his hands and a sword tied to his waist - are depicted standing close to each other. Both faces display some individual features, as an attempt at a portrait-like representation. Slightly behind them, they are followed by a man who wears a white uniform. The other side, i.e. to the left, there is a third male figure and next to him a little boy is trying to catch a butterfly that is sitting on a flower. From a distance buildings appear in the background, while the foreground shows ducks swimming in the water, some of them flying. A boat is anchored nearby. The signature is on a scroll to the right, at the bottom: Zu finden bey Jos: Grüner I in der eißernen Thür. A. 1785. - to find by Jos. Grüner at the iron gate. A. 1785. The reverse of the fan is divided horizontally in to two parts by a straight line that runs from the highest point of the lower curve of the leaf. Below two small vignettes in the corners are surrounded with roses. Both of them show two naked children dancing, playing and making music outside. The upper part depicts an airy and imaginary interior. A young lady is seated at a table performing occupations suitable to her social position: she is holding a book and there are flowers and lcttcrs(?), and a pair of scissors on the table, with an embroidery frame beside her. The wall of the room is