Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 24. (Budapest, 2006)

Magdolna LICHNER: The reception of electroplates in Hungary I. - Electroplates in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts 1873-1884

embossment of the shield comes from The Pilgrim Progress from this World to Which is to Come I—II, a work by a preacher, John Bunyan. The allegorical novel has been published several hundred times in the 18"' and 19

lh century and is still widely known in the English-speaking world; its first part was first published in 1678.

411 The catalogue of the reopened exhibition was written by Jenő Radisics; however, he did not name the maker of the two artefacts, either, albeit the Pilgrim Shield is marked and dated prominently. (Picture 4.) Jenő Radisics, just like Pulszky, did not lack qualification. He studied law and art history at the Technical University; he attended the courses of Gyula Pasteiner art historian and Károly Pulszky art historian between 1877 and 1880. Before Ágoston Trefort, the minister of education appointed him to the Museum of Applied Arts, he made a study-tour in Europe.

41 Was it that the shields were qualified as exquisite industrial products and therefore the question of the maker was not even raised? According to the inventory compiled at the end of the 1880s, the artefact purchased from Elkington in 1873 is an imitation of Flaxmann's (sic!) "Milton schield"; in case of the other shield (indicated as a donation of the Baron Mór Hirsch), the signature was recorded, although wrongly: "Morel la Deuil (sic!) inv. et fecit. 1878".

42 Flaxmann was never inspired by Milton's work. However, it is easy to understand that the person who compiled the inventory made a mistake. The relation of John Flaxmann and the Rundell, Bridge & Rundell dates back to 1797; Flaxmann designed and made several artefacts for the company. The most well-known product of their cooperation is the so-called 'Achilles Shield'. Its drawing was produced around 1810; the first reproduction was made in 1818, then several embossed silver reproductions were made. Finally, at the London world exhibition (1851), the electroplated reproduction of the Hunt & Roskell Company achieved great success among the collectors and the public alike.

4

' As for the Achilles Shield, it does not resemble the Milton Shield at all; most probably, the inventory maker did not see Flaxman's work but may have heard about it and this may lead him to a mistaken association. Is it that Károly Pulszky and his student, Jenő Radisics was indifferent to the identity of the maker of the shields? Or maybe the definition of "a work of industrial art" was but a theory that was not applied consistently in the everyday practice of museums? It is possible that there is another explanation. Electroplates as cultural relics It seems that Morel-Ladeuil's activity was known to several people in Hungary and that they appreciated his works, albeit in various ways. One of his admirers was the Count János Pálffy, an art collector, who purchased two of his originals works at the Vienna world exhibition in 1873: (1) an embossed silver plaquette entitled 'Ariel's Song' that illustrates Shakespeare's The Tempest (Act 2, Scene 11 ); (2) the counterpart of this plaquette, with Jolly the satyr as its main figure (Spencer: The Fairie Queene, Book 2, Song 6).

44 The Count Ödön Zichy was an art collector and a member of the board that supervised the Vienna Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie;

45 the name of the goldsmith did not escape his attention. As we have seen, he played a crucial role in the purchases in Paris; he was familiar with issues of applied arts and enriched the collections of several museums in the course of the world exhibition.

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'' It was him who selected a recent work of Morel-Ladeuil's, the Pilgrim Shield, for which the French government awarded the artist the Legion of Honour.

47 The painter Mihály Zichy also appreciated the MorelLadeuil's works, although he viewed the works from a highly different standpoint. Mihály Zichy, albeit he made donations to the Museum of Applied Arts, was rather sceptical about the notion that museums contributed to the refinement of taste and to the development of industry.

4

" Most probably, he got to know MorelLadeuil's works in England; during the Paris world exhibitions of 1874 and 1878 he certainly saw them.

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" The effects of the motifs of both shields are traceable in some of his works. However, it is also possible that all these works were inspired by the same source of composi-