Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 12. (Budapest, 1992)

PRÉKOPA Ágnes: Tarján (Huber) Oszkár szecessziós ékszerei

ÁGNES PRÉKOPA ART NOUVEAU JEWELS BY OSZKÁR TARJÁN (HUBER) The young Oszkár Huber

1

, a member of the Decorative Arts Association since 1897

2

, gained public attention at die 1900 Christmas exhibition. Contemporary cridcs mention his enamel experiments - which he developed in the workshop of Vince Wartha - describing in details the various new types of enamel. József Diner-Déncs, die writer of die article, however, stresses the imperfect design of Huber's works.

3 Huber's diverse technical interest is manifested in his etched copper dishes from 1901, published by die Hungarian Applied Arts magazine.

4 His Hungarian-style jewels, exhibited in die autumn of 1901 in Szeged, gain loud success.

5 The simplicity of die design and die application of plane motifs make these pieces fairly decorative: die dynamic circles of die filigree wire are filled with vivid enamel. (Filigree enamel recalls, a traditional Hungarian technique.) The most important source of die motifs was most likely Huszka's Magyar ornamentika (Hungarian Ornaments), published a few years earlier.

6 In the collection of die Budapest Museum of Applied Arts, there arc pieces using die typical flower motifs of the embroidery on the Hungarian shepherds' cloak called "szűr" (the pendant with Inv.No. 6820) or imitating the plaits of frogs and loops (die pendant with Inv.No.

6821). Each jewel consists of a separate, individual motif, which, repeated, decorate larger dishes (e.g. the edges of enamelled cups).

7 The state medal

8 from 1901 is also a representative of this successful scries. International acknowledgment, on the other hand, is brought to the young artist with the Torino world exhibition: Lalique himself buys some of his pieces

9 and he was awarded the golden medal by the jury. Strangely enough, die jury in Torino that Oszkár Huber "was more talented in designing than in enamel technique".

10 Yet their view is contradicted by the fact diat tiiis successful series is not followed by any other significant idea. Critics say about his Hungarian-style jewels exhibited at the Christmas exhibition in 1902 that "his ait has apparently improved"

11 but this statement needs further evidence. The jewels presented at the 1904 Christmas exhibition represent a new style. As László Éber remarked, "tiicy were produced under die influence of famous, similar pieces made by French goldsmiths".

12 He docs not explain this in detail, but contemporaries remembered die jewels by René Lalique, which can be taken as predecessors of Huber's pieces. One of Lalique's jewels was already in die collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts in those days. A pendant among the jewels reproduced in die Hungarian Applied Arts was a unit taken from Lalique's necklace with hop foliage motifs (Inv.No. 4541). The one with die peacock is almost totally identical widi Lalique's pendant published in die supplementation of die 1900 number of Art