Antall József szerk.: Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 5. (Budapest, 1972)

Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts (Guide for the Exhibition)

us of wine-presses lead us to the conclusion that it was manufactured by a village craftsman. (Fig. 56.). Besides altar pieces ordered by the Church, rich citizens, too, gave orders to the masters. This leads us to the applied arts and the joiner's trade especially. At the beginning of the 19th century when sculptural arts flourished, carving on the level of craftsmanship did not suffice any more. The demand rose in the guilds to create pieces of art on artistic level in the real sense of the word instead of objects of fine craftsmanship. The balance with figura decoration made by an unknown master and deriving from the Lion Pharmacy at Gönc founded in 1835 is a good example of the above described development. The lower part is black and contains drawers. A small base is placed on it for the statue of Asclepios. He is represented with his symbol, a snake coiling up a stick. The anatomy of the statue is perfect, the fine execution of the folds of the toga and the delicate smile of the face of the figure suggest that it was made by an excellent master. The balance itself (not contemporary) is suspended on the back of the statue without spoiling its aesthetic effect (Fig. 57.).