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

Györgyi FAJCSÁK: Exibition of Oriental Arts, 1929 - Collecting Chinese artefacts in Hungary in the 1920s and 1930s

known group of objects to the foreground of attention;

81

' second, through his preference for Chinese funeral ceramics and monochrome porcelains, he directed Hungarian collectors' attention to a new aspect of collecting Chinese ceramics. Collectors were also fond of large-size works of plastic art, that is, Buddhist sculptures. The collections of Mór Kornfeld,

81 Emil Delmár

82 and Bertalan Hatvány

81 contained several pieces to exemplify this attachment; at the same time, they pointed out Zoltán Felvinczi Takács's often-quoted idea that Buddhism is a link between Asia's major cultures. József Fleissig's collecting activity was motivated by his interest in archaeology. His artefacts were displayed for the first time at the Exhibition of Oriental Art in 1929.

84 Out of his collection, ten tables of finds from the migration period (bronze horse fittings and strap ends) were exhibited by Zoltán Felvinczi Takács. The findings coming from the West of Hungary were displayed because of the interest Zoltán Felvinczi Takács took in Chinese bronzes from Ordos and in finds from the migration period. However, Fleissig's affection for archaeological artefacts was mirrored by other pieces of his collection as well.

85 In the 1930s, he purchased numerous works of art (funeral ceramics), which later came to the Hopp Ferenc Museum's Chinese collection. There was only one Oriental private collection displayed at the 1929 exhibition whose origins can be traced back to the mid-19

th century. The foundation of the Count Rafael Zichy 's (1877-1944) and his wife's collection was laid by his grandfather, Edmund Zichy (1811-1894) and his father Jenő Zichy (1837-1906), whose Oriental collection, along with other collections of theirs, became a public museum in Budapest. The museum opened in January, 1901 in Budapest; it was the first Oriental museum in Hungary. By will, Jenő Zichy

's collections came to the possession of the capital town, Budapest. After the foundation of the Hopp Museum he also housed artefacts from Jenő Zichy

's collection. The principal part of the collection was constituted of bronzes and small bronzes: bronze mirrors, ge-halberds, bronze coins of variegated shapes, metal fittings from Ordos and several late replicas of ancient bronze ceremonial vessels. Again, the majority of the Rafael Zichy 's and his wife's artefacts displayed in 1929 were Chinese metal objects and ceramics. Several enamelled (occasionally, painted) bowls and plates gave an insight into Chinese ceramics produced for export. One of the most valuable objects of the exhibition, a 7'

h-century fragment of a Kizil mural (a present by professor LeCoq), also came from their collection.

86 The last section of the exhibition consisted of Chinese paintings and books: the public had the opportunity to see albums of paintings edited in book format and some painted scrolls from Gyula Végh's (1870-1951) and his wife's collection. Gyula Vegh, director-general of the Museum of Applied Arts was fond of painting and studied painting at the Julien Academy in Paris; however, it was his wife the Countess Mária Wimpffen (1868-1930) who purchased the artefacts in the course of her visit to China in 1903. The majority of the pictures were figurai: a portrait of a woman, Zhong Kui, the demon queller, etc. A műgyűjtő [The Connoisseur], the official journal of the Association of Hungarian Collectors and Connoisseurs reported on the exhibition several times and discussed certain fields of Oriental art in related articles. In its announcing article, the journal encouraged the readers to visit the exhibition.

87 The same issue contained an article on Central Asian art by Zoltán Felvinczi Takács, which served as a historical introduction to the exhibition,

88 and an article on contemporary conditions of collecting Chinese works of art by László Havas, entitled Collecting Chinese Art. China Fever - the Yellow Peril.*

9 To contribute to a better orientation among foreign terms, Vilmos Szilárd

9

" published a reference booklet on Far-Eastern art.

91 Certain articles of the journal were illustrated with photos of numerous exhibited artefacts. Károly Csányi

's introduction to "chinoiserie"

92 and Rudolf Bedő's presentation of Japanese woodcuts

93 were published in later issues of A műgyűjtő. After the exhibition was closed, Pál