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

István SIMONYI: Questions and answers. An attempt at defining the so-called „Bethlen-Násfa"

NOTES 1 Hungary or Transylvania, 1626. Silver-gilt, diamond, ruby, emerald, champlevé painted and ronde-bosse enamel; height: 88 mm, width: 75 mm. Inv. no.: 53.4738. Cf. Periods of European Decorative Art. Renaissance and Mannerism. Eds.: Péter. Márta - Bardoly, István. Exibition catalogue. Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, 1988. pp. 126-127, Nr. 327. 2 Szilárdfy, Zoltán: Bethlen Gábor esküvői násfái [The wedding násfas of Gábor Bethlen). In: Confessio 4 (1980)/2,pp. 35-39. (hereinafter Szilárdfy 1980) 1 A magyar történeti ötvösmű-kiállítás lajstroma. Megnyittatott 1884. év február hó 17-én [Catalogue of the exhibition of Hungarian historical goldsmith's works. Opened on 17 February 1884]. Eds.: Pulszky, Károly - Radisics, Jenő. Budapest, 1884. Room III, showcase V, nos 11-15, pp. 89-91. 4 In: Magyarország történeti emlékei az 1896. évi ezredéves kiállításon [Historical relics of Hungary at the Millenary Exhibition in 1896]. II. (Ed.: Szalay, Imre) Budapest, 1902-1903, pp. 305-306, fig. 352, and plate LXXVII (p. 410). Unfortunately, the latter is ill suited for the precise identification of the jewels. 1 Hungarian National Museum, Documentation Department, fonds 25. The card contains this piece with the above information among various other data. It is simply designated as 'násfa' and certainly erroneously dated as '18

th century'

. In the tradition of the family with close pro-Habsburg ties the derivation from the Bethlens was omitted, although the formal characteristics confirm its belonging to among the "Bethlen-«i7.y/às" earlier. As no date is indicated on the card, the photo is only datable after count Henrik Apponyi's lifetime (1885*-1936t). I am indebted to Ildikó Pandúr, an associate of the Museum of Applied Arts, for pointing this card out to me. 6 Héjj-Détári. Angéla: Régi magyar ékszerek [Hungarian Jewellery of the Past]. Budapest, 1976, pp. 51-52. 7 Kiss, Erika: VII-2 la. Függő [Pendant] - description In: Történelem - Kép. Szemelvények múlt és művészet kapcsolatából Magyarországon. [History-View. Excerptions from the Connections of the Past and Art in Hungary.] Exibition catalogue. Hungarian National Gallery. Eds.: Mikó, Árpád - Sinkó, Katalin. Budapest, 2000, pp. 446-447. 8 Kemény János önéletírása és válogatott levelei [Autobiography and selected letters of János Kemény]. Critical edition. ed. and pref. by Windisch, Eva. Budapest, 1959, p. 108. (Engagement, preparations, reception of princess Catherine, and further details of the nuptials: pp. 107-119) cf.: "...it was proclaimed that only the prince was allowed to wear velvet in summer." In: Apor, Péter: Metamorphosis Transylvaniae. (1736). Ed.: Wildner, Ödön - Sugár, Jenő. Budapest, 1927, article V. Red was the colour of the privileged, hence the expression of rank at that time. Brandenburgi Katalin fejedelem-asszonynak Kassára való bevitele s menyegzőjekor való szertartásoknak rende. [Schedule of the reception of princess Catherine of Brandenburg in Kassa and of the ceremonies] 1626 In: Radvánszky. Béla: Bethlen Gábor fejedelem udvartartása. Budapest, 1888. pp. 218-223, and further references in the work; Bevásárlás a híres kassai lakodalomra [Purchases for the famous wedding in Kassa] (pp. 243-247), Udvari szállítója, Csanádi Anted [Purveyor to the court Antal Csanádi] (pp. 252-256) Bel- és külföldi ötvösművek [Goldsmith's works from Hungary and abroad] (pp. 269-272) In: dr. Kerekes, György: Bethlen Gábor fejedelem Kassán, 1619-1629. Kassa, 1943. (hereinafter Kerekes 1943) 10 Germany (?), beginning of 17

1

'' century. Gold, diamond, cloisonné and ronde-bosse enamel; height: 89 mm, width: 76 mm. Inv. No. VIII 288. Further information in publications of the Grünes Gewölbe. Das Neue Grüne Gewölbe. (CD-ROM) Interaktive Besichtigung der Sammlung, hg. von Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, ESB mediencollege GmbH und die 'geheime Mitte", Dresden 2005/'Anhänger mit geflügeltem Herz' (Christine Nagel). I herewith express my thanks to Christine Nagel, associate of the Grünes Gewölbe, for calling my attention to the jewel and supplying me with relevant material and information. " Verpfändungsliste (Specification) 1706, fol. 39v, Nr. 53. 12 Pretioseninventar 1725, fol. 70r. 11 May I respectfully contradict Erika Kiss on this point, as she identified item number 11 with the object kept in the Hungarian National Museum. In: Kiss 2000, p. 447. The identification of the two jewels is possible with great certainty from the descriptions. 14

1 had the opportunity to be present at the latter action, for which I owe my thanks to Péter Varga, the chief goldsmith-restorer of the Museum. By removing the supplemental back and through his observations he has largely contributed to the clarification of the questions. 13 Hungary, mid19"' century. Silver-gilt, diamond, ruby, emerald, champlevé, painted and ronde-bosse enamel; height: 107 mm (with drop), width: 78 mm. Inv. no.: 1887.41.13. Most regrettably, I had no possibility to examine the jewel, although I had made every effort to do so. For lack of personal observations, I must resort to photos, oral and published information when creating an opinion of this násfa. As for the latter source, I take Erika Kiss' description of the object as the guide Kiss 2000 (See note 7!) Consequently. I confine myself to the presentation of the contradictions I discovered and some assumptions, the verification, or confutation, of which is left to the staff of the Museum. 16 See note 5! The description by József Mihalik mistakenly took the material of the jewel for gold and the enamelled serpent around the anchor for a rope. '

1 See note 15 ! '* Further readings to the theme: Simonyi István: Násfatörténet [Násfa-story], (dissertation) ELTE Művészettörténet Tanszék, Budapest, 2005. " "Hungarian, 1626. Gold, enamel, garnet, rock crystal; height: 97 mm [with pendants], width: 75 mm." Kon. Musea vor Kunst en Geschiedenis / Hartenmuseum Boyadjian.