Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 31. (Budapest, 2017)
Ildikó PANDUR: Restoration of Metalwork from the Esterházy Treasury in the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts: Past, Present and Future
restored in 2000, for example, was recovered from a box of clock parts. Mixed up among fragments of ivory covered cups was an ivory medallion of a ruined amber bowl and fragments of the ivory frames of medals. Repeated searches have also turned up some metallic components that had already been replaced in the course of restoration. 4. The selection of mixed broken items and fragments requires knowledge of each item of the treasury In order to identify individual fragments, it is therefore essential to deploy all records of the treasury, visual and written, and not just of the metalwork. For example, an emerald ornament of a ruined saddle was for a long time held among the jewellery.40 5. Most sources for the intact original condition of the artworks are written descriptions. Visual documentation is incomplete Where an archive photograph is found, it often represents the object in an exhibition, behind the glass of a display cabinet, from a distance, from one angle, and almost in silhouette. The primary sources are thus written descriptions, which give little to work from.41 6. There is hardly any documentation of earlier repairs or restorations Despite the rule formulated in 1967, there are sadly very few documents from the past, no doubt because museum photographers and restorers were too busy. We have no information at all about work on the treasury from any time before the war. We know from archive photographs and descriptions that some pieces were damaged or incomplete even at the time of deposit. For example, the gemstones were missing from several items of jewellery. There are several signs of earlier conservation work. On one lidded cup covered with tortoise10. Replacement of the scabbard of a Turkish sabre (E.60.9) before 1945. Photo by Gábor Juhász, 2016 81
