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
Nádai published the article Lessons taught by China. 1 " Presumably, it was Vilmos Szilárd who drew the final conclusions of the Exhibition of Oriental art, 95 which, despite its high-quality material, was far less attended than the organizers intended. His words still apply: "Were she self-confident, Hungary could be a gate to the Orient... Presently, Oriental art is the art of future, which should be known by everyone who wants to proceed along with the world's development. Those who have ignored it so far, had better get acquainted with it now... Better late than never. Therefore, the collectors' association were right to arrange an exhibition of privately owned Oriental artefacts. The future will justify their efforts." 96 ' NOTES The study was written with the support of the Hungarian National Scientific Research Foundation (OTKA), project no. T 38316. 2 On the history of collecting pieces of Oriental arts in Hungary, see: Fajcsák, Györgyi: Keleti tágyak gyűjtése Magyarországon kitekintéssel Kínára a 19. század elejétől 1945-ig a Hopp Ferenc Kelet-Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum gyűjteményeinek tükrében. (Collecting of Oriental Art in Hungary with Special Regard to the Chinese Objects of Art from the Beginning of the 19 th Century to 1945 Reflecting in the Collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, Budapest) Ph. D. dissertation, Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, Budapest, 2004 (manuscript: publishing in English in process; hereinafter: Fajcsák 2004 manuscript). 1 Marosi, Ernő (Ed., trans.): Emlék márványhói vagy homokkőből: Öt évszázad írásai a művészettörténet történetéhői. Művészet és elmélet. Corvina Kiadó. Budapest. 1976,309. 4 Xántus, János. A közoktatási miniszter megbízásából 1869170-ben Keletázsiában országos költségen gyűjtött s a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeumban ideiglenesen kiállított népismei tárgyak leíró sorozata. Pest, 1871, 2. 5 Fajcsák, Györgyi: ,.A sárkányok országából." Európai Kína-kép a hosszú 19. században. In: Vigília [Vigil] 2004/7, 482-491. * Cf. the ideas of Edmond an Jules de Goncourt, and Charles Blanc. See: Charles Harrison-Paul Wood-Jason Gaiger (ed.): Art in Theory /#/5—1900. An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1998, 418, 619. 1 Particularly strong interest was shown in the objects of India's (at that time, a British royal colony) handicrafts; most products displayed in the World Exhibitions and in the shows of colonial products (arranged in the Crystall Palace, London in the second half of the 19'" century) came from India. England regarded India as a source of the renewal of English crafts; when estimating the products of other Asian countries, India's products served as a starting point. In the case of China, being a British colony, Hongkong served as the basis of English connections. Chinese products (actually, products coming via Hongkong) were the best-known ; and, although Hongkong was a port-town and a place for commercial distribution established by the English, not a place of production inhabited by Chinese people. China was still viewed via Hongkong. Nicky Leveli: Oriental Visions. Exhibition, Travel, and Collecting in the Victorian Age. In.: The Hornirnan Museum and Gardens. London, Museo Antropológico da Universidade de Coimbra. 2000. 8 S. Julien-A. Salvetat: Histoire et Fabrication de la Porcelaine Chinois. Paris, 1856; O. Du. Sartel: La Porcelaine de Chine. Paris, 188 1 , (in German: Zur Geschichte der chinesischen Keramik 1 885 ); Ernest Grandidier: La céramique chinoise. Paris, 1894; Ráth, György (ed.): Az iparművészet könyve. I-III. Alheneum, Budapest, 1902-1912. 9 Cf. Wartha, Vince: Agyagművesség. In: Az iparművészet könyve II. kötet, Ed. Ráth. György, Budapest, 1905, 507-628. See also: Julien-Salvetat 1856, Sartel 1881, Grandidier 1894. 10 Stein, A.: Sand-buried ruins of Khotan. Oxford, 1903; Ruins of Desert Cathay. Personal Narrative of explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China. Macmillan and Co.. London, 1912; From India to China: My Third Expedition to Inner Asia 1913-1916. On Stein's fidings in Hungarian, see: Homokba temetett városok. Magyar Földrajzi Társaság Könyvtára, Budapest, 1908; Romvárosok Ázsia sivatagjaiban. Magyar Földrajzi Társaság Könyvtára, Budapest, 1913; Indiából Kínába. Harmadik utam Belső-Ázsiába. 1913-1916. Atheneum, Budapest, 1923. " Paul Pelliot: Grottes de Touen-houang: Peintures et sculptures bouddhiques de époques Wei, T'ang, et Song. Paris, 1920-1924. 12 Härtel, H.-Yaldiz, M.: Die Seidenstrasse. Malereien und Plastiken aus buddhistischen Höhlentempeln. Aus der Sammlung des Museums für Indische Kunst Berlin, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin, 1987. 11 Okakura, Kakuzo: The Ideals of the East, 1903; The Awakening of Japan, 1904. His works were published in German as well. Die Ideale des Ostens. Insel Verlag, Leipzig, 1923; Die japanische Volksseele. C. W. Stern, Wien, Leipzig, 1906. 14 Josef Strzygowsky: Történelem, kutatás, időtelen összehasonlítás. In.: Magyar Művészet [Hungarian Art] 1931. 253-264. 15 Felvinczi Takács, Zoltán: J. Strzygowsky: Die bildende Kunst des Ostens. Ein Überblick über die für Europa bedeutungsvollsten Hauptströmungen. Leipzig 1916. Werner
