Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 30. (Budapest, 2016)

Kornélia HAJTÓ: Zsolnay Pyrogranite: Tradition and Fact

KORNÉLIA HAJTÓ

ZSOLNAY PYROGRANITE:' TRADITION AND FACT

Introduction

There is a long history of ceramic ornamentation in architecture. In Hungary, the museum of Visegrad Palace holds some pieces that graced buildings dating from the time of King Matthias. These include roof tiles - in yellow, brown and green - that probably made up a pattern on the palace chapel roof and a three-piece, ball-shaped ceramic ornament, 177 cm high, thought to have graced the roof of the baths.2 (Fig. 1) The second half of the nineteenth century saw resurgence in architectural ceramics. Ornamental pieces that would previously have been carved from stone were increasingly made of terracotta (unglazed fired clay). The lack of suitable raw material and the high price of stonework encouraged owners and developers to find a more accessible, cheaper alternative. The development of brick factories at this time created the technology needed to make architectural elements of many different kinds. In Pécs, the Zsolnay family first started producing architectural ornaments during the period of Ignác Zsolnay (1854-1865). Several buildings in the city are still adorned by terracotta products from this early period. The company came to true prominence, however, under Ignác’s younger brother Vilmos, who took over the family business when it was on the brink of insolvency in 1865. Vilmos immediately embarked upon ambitious new developments for which he

realized the need for thorough scientific experimentation. He surveyed and tested all of the clay quarried from the locality, investigating more than eighty clay deposit sites around Pécs in 1866 alone. A perpetual student, he also learned all about the

1. Matthias-era roof ornament found during excavation of the Royal Palace of Visegrad, restored and reconstructed by Imre Tavas. Photo by Gergely Búzás

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