Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 26. (Budapest, 2008)

Ildikó PANDUR: Variations on a Sculpture. Questions and Answers Concerning the 'Ironworker' Sculpture Formerly in the Jungfer Collection

statue as a model. A plinth was made for it and it was later placed in the hall of Administration Building I. (Before this it was kept provisionally in Administration Building II, a structure which had been declared a historical monument. As a consequence of the privatisation launched after the political and economic changeover in Hungary in 1989-90, the sculpture passed into the possession of Ózd Steelworks Ltd, where today it stands in the hall of the administration building.

60 'In this ironwork genre no masterpieces of enduring value were made.'

61 Thus wrote Károly Pereházy, a researcher into the history of wrought-iron art. Although the group of artefacts is not large, sculptures of repoussé copper occur at different points on a broad scale from independent representational works through huge monuments to embellishments for buildings. The ironworker figure made to a sculptor's designs does not just raise an impressive monument to a particular craft; it is in a broader connection an allegory of active man, of creation. It was as such that it could achieve prominence at the Hungarian pavilion at a number of world fairs and international exhibitions. The other examples of beaten copper work mentioned above are first and foremost embellishments for buildings and are not commensurate with independent sculptures for public spaces, with works of fine art. Their designers cannot be identified in every case, but the works themselves can add to our knowledge of the architecture and sculpture of the period. NOTES 1 Bronze is known in a number of different compositions. 'The copper, tin and zinc alloy used for casting sculptures is so-called sculpture bronze, to which lead, too, is often added.' See Edvi Illés, Aladár: 'A fémek szerepe az iparművészetben' [The Role of Metals in the Applied Arts]. In: Ráth, György (ed.): Az iparművészet könyve [Book of Applied Arts], vol. III. Budapest, 1912 (hereinafter Rath 1912), pp. 2-30; (hereinafter Edvi 1912), p. 7. 2 Edvi Illés, Aladár: 'A vasművesség az ezredéves országos kiállításon' [Smith's Work at the National Millennial Exhibition]. Magyar Mérnök és Építész Egylet Közlönye 1897 (hereinafter Edvi 1897), pp. 180-91, 224-37, p. 237. 3 It was made by the Armbruster brothers in Frankurt am Main. See Edvi Illés, Aladár: 'A vasművesség a párisi világkiállításon' [Smith's Work at the Paris World Exposition]. Magyar Mérnök és Építész Egylet Közlönye 1900, pp. 460-78 (published under the title 'A vasművesség a párisi nemzetközi kiállításon' [Smith's Work at the Paris International Exhibition]. Magyar Iparművészet (hereinafter MI) 1900/6, pp. 305-18) (hereinafter Edvi 1900a), p. 475 and fig. 30, also Pereházy, Károly: 'A kovácsoltvasművesség technikája és eredményei a plasztika műfajában' [The Technique and Results of Wrought-Iron Work in Sculpture]. Technikatörténeti Szemle XIX, 1992, pp. 43-61 (hereinafter Pereházy 1992), p. 51. 4 'The Germans featured at the exhibition with an enormous eagle; this, however, attested more to their technical skill than to anything else.' Csányi, Károly: 'A vasművesség' [Smith's Work]. In: Ráth 1912, pp. 197-252 (hereinafter Csányi 1912), p. 239. 5 Edvi 1900a, p. 475. 6 Edvi 1897, p. 237. 7 Endre Liber mentions altogether two such works in Budapest (both in Buda Castle): a decorative sculpture (György Vastagh the Younger: 'Horseherd') and a decorative fountain (Károly Senyéi: 'Woman Giving Drink to a Child'). See Liber, Endre: Budapest szobrai és emléktáblái [The Sculptures and Commemorative Plaques of Budapest |. Budapest, n. d. [1934]. The section on materials (pp. 24-25) in a work by Attila Déry on architectural sculpture (Budapest eklektikus épületszobrászata [Eclectic Architectural Sculpture in Budapest]. Budapest, 1991) does not mention them. 8 See St. Nicholas, July 1884. (Cléquin, Agnès: Les Carnets. La statue de la Liberté. Paris, Musée des arts et métiers. Paris, 2004.) 9 After its completion, it could for quite a time be seen by anyone taking a walk to the atelier at Rue de