Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)
MAROS Donka: Jegyajándék 1785-ből
well-proportioned by high windows and painted panels with flower-filled vases. In front of it there are coffee service on the tables that are place, between two chairs, two settees stand somewhat further away. The sticks are painted with flowers; a female gardener or shepherdess figure appears on the guard. On the basis of the coats of arms it seems to be certain that the fan was intended for a wedding. However, we have no detailed information about the couple, Baroness Schmidel von Schmiden and Count Browne. The former belongs to a Silezian family, the name of wich was first mentioned in sixteenth-century documents. A data from 1808 - Baron Karl Schmidel lived in Bratislava as a retired colonel - can be the starting-point of a research for the Schmidels' relation to the city, but this gives no more than mere speculations as to the persons on the fan. 4 The Irish Catholic ancestors of Count Browne emigrated after 1690, following the fall of James II, King of England. Several members of the family had remarkable carreers in the armies on the Continent; the fiance was probably a descendant (a son?) of Philipp Georg Browne (1727-1803), lieutenant-general of the Imperial and Royal Army. 5 The portrait of the young man on the fan, inspite of being vaguely painted, shows his characteristic profile. We gain some more information from the clothing - a red vest under the white coat with red lining and cuffs, yellow breeches, black high boots -, which suggest that he served in the Prince Albert of Saxe-Teschen regiment of cuirassier. 6 The ornamental motifs derive from the circle of emblems of love, which had a long tradition by that time. The roses are flowers of Venus, while the river banks recall the idea of the island of Cythcra. The boat at her moorings means the human lot that come into port after the adventures. The butterfly is also a symbol of love. The design for the decoration is very likely not the invention of the fanmaker but was made probably after different, as yet unknown prints, which were possibly edited in Vienna 7 . The portraits of the couple were perhaps painted, though with not much success, after miniatures. The place of making can be found in the signature: in der eißernen Thür. This name is often encountered in the archives of Bratislava, referring usually to the ghetto. From 1599 on, the Jewish population of Bratislava was allowed to live at the foot of the so-called Castle-ground, and later the settlement was also extended into the Castle-ground. 8 The area was closed from the city with an iron gate; behind it stood Joseph Grüner (or Grünich?) 's workshop where the fan, a wedding gift, of the Bohemian baroness was painted. Notes 1 Csatkai, E.: „Pozsonyi képzőművészek és iparművészek 1750 és 1850 között" (Artists and Artisans in Bratislava between 1750 and 1850) In. Művészettörténeti Értesítő 12/1 1963, p. 28. 2 Budapest Museum of Applied Arts, Inv.No. 57.875. Double paper leaf painted in watercolour, supported by seventeen pierced, carved, turned and painted bone sticks. The sticks are fixed with a brass rivet. Restored by Mrs. Karácsonyi in 1961. One of the guards is replaced. Length: 26.3 cm, Width: 48.5 cm. Purchased from Aurél Salamon in 1957. Published: XVIII. századi legyezők (Eighteenth century fans). An exhibition in the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts, 1967. Organized and catalogue by Eva Sz. Koroknay. Budapest, 1967, No. 22 and ill.; Maros, Sz.: Elabellum és esmouchoire (Flabcllum and esmouchoire). Múzsák (Muses, a periodical) 1978, Nv.3, ill. on p. 24.
