Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 28. (Budapest, 2012)

Diána RADVÁNYI: The Early Products and Brief History of the Porcelain Factory of Regéc

DIÁNA RADVÁNYI THE EARLY PRODUCTS AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PORCELAIN FACTORY OF REGÉC One of the little known centres of Hungarian ceramic art is Regéc, or by its later name Telkibánya porcelain and majolica factory. The dual name derives from the fact that the factory is in the area of Telkibánya but it used to belong to the Regéc manorial estate and used this name as its trademark in the first two decades of its activity. This first manufacture in Hungary is a significant station in the history of industrial production where porcelain vessels were made nearly a decade before the start of the Herend manufacture believed commonly to be the first Hungarian porcelain factory. The history of this factory affords a good insight into the situation of ceramic production in Hungary in the 19th century. Telkibánya is a mining town in the northeast of Hungary, 25 km away from Kassa (now Kosice, Slovakia). Its natural endowments - kaolin in the depleted galleries of the one-time precious ore mines, quartz found in the vicinity and fire wood available in the surrounding extensive forests - provided the conditions for a ceramic factory. The porcelain factory was founded by a scion of a historic German aristocratic family, Ferdinánd Breczenheim (1801-1855). Earlier they owned estates along the upper Rhine and later came into possession of the Rákóczi estates in Hungary. When Ferdinánd took over his inheritance in 1823, at the age of 22, the financial situation of the estates was rather poor. This is clearly illustrated by his last will of 1840 in which he explains how decrepit the estate was when he received it - the estate was a leasehold for a long time before coming into the family's hands: "It is common knowledge that the estates of Sáros Patak and Regécz were truly among the most neglected and unproductive estates when complying with the testament of my father of blessed memory, I took them over in the year 1823... It is also known that I took over the named estates under the condition of paying liabilities well in excess of the income of 30,000 pengő florins ... there were no buildings that could be used for economic purposes

... It is important to explore what Ferdinánd Breczenheim's motives were to found a porcelain factory under such conditions. Why porcelain, of all things? Why did he launch a business whose success chances were most uncertain? Besides, it was practically forbidden. It was probably a logical step to try and exploit the still available natural resources, particularly the important kaolin in the estate. Although the composition of the porcelain body was already "open secret" at that time, in each location a different ratio of the components from different sources was to be worked out which needed time-consuming experimentation and trained specialists. When, however, the undertaking succeeded, products greatly in demand could be turned out and sold on a sure market. 75