Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 18. (Budapest, 1999)

Zsuzsanna LOVAY: Endre Thék and the Design of the Prime Minister's Study in the Hungarian Parliament

embroidery on the cloaks traditionally worn by Hungarian shepherds -, was executed in relief embroidery using coloured thread. The chairs were made by the firm Miksa Gelb and Sons, and the work was directed by Manó Gyömrői, a part-owner, and József Petényi. The three-seat sofa (fig. 6), the two Bergère-type armchairs (fig. 7) and the two low club chairs followed contemporary English models. The meeting of the massive, latheturned front legs, which are on castors, was emphasized by a rim, and the supporting consoles by majolica inlays in the form of hearts and flowers. The leather-covered edge was surrounded by a series of embroidered motifs consisting of stylized running dogs; similarly the upper sides of the wooden arms were also embroidered, with stylized leaf-and-flower patterns. On the back, stylized flower embroidery arranged in circles recalls the appliqué embellishments on the traditional Hungarian shepherd's cloak. The design of the armchairs and the club chairs is similar. The seat of the armchair (fig. 8) behind the writing desk is supported by four latheturned, cylindrical fluted legs which taper towards the bottom, in the Louis XVI style. The back of the chair, with crescent openwork, begins from the curved, leathercovered seat; the carved supports for the wooden arms repeat the curved supporting section of the top of the writing-desk and of the middle section of the cupboard. The embroidered leaf-and-flower ornamentation arranged in circles on the back-support corresponds with the pattern on the back of the sofa. The Art Nouveau character of the sofa and chairs stems from the neutral, simple embellishments used on them, embellishments which are above and beyond styles. In the Historicism mahogany furniture made for the Prime Minister's Study according to " modern style" English designs,

4 Art Nouveau embellishments already appear, eclectically blending elements of the two styles. The overall picture, the design and arrangement of the furniture in the room, followed the pattern for gentlemen's studies during this period. The key pieces of furniture were as follows: a writing-desk, a chair for the writing-desk, a wardrobe, bookcase or bookshelves, a low table and seating around it, and, often, a washstand. As a near analogy we could mention the consulting room furniture (fig. 9) of the medical practitioner Dr. Károly Lechner; this was made at Endre Thék's furniture factory in 1888-90 and is preserved in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts. Although the furniture in the two studies is different (Lechner's pieces were made of walnut and oak, while the Prime Minister's were made of mahogany), both suites are almost the same in terms of type. According to an invoice from the Endre Thék factory preserved at the Museum's Documentation Department, it was a "gentleman's study in the English style".

5 Later analogies of this type of furniture are a gentleman's study designed by Pál Horti and executed by Izidor König,

0 a gentleman's study designed by Pál Horti and executed by Imre Mahunka,

7 and a gentleman's study designed by Ödön Faragó and executed by the Bútorcsarnok Cooperative.

8 Thék's furniture factory often worked to designs drawn up by architects who engaged in the revival and reworking of old styles, but it also employed the very best furniture designers, including the very best applied artists: Ferenc Tattay, Ödön Faragó and Pál Horti. But we consider the most direct analogy to be the gentleman's study furniture (III. 10) designed by Ernő Foerk in 1898/99 and executed at the State Training School for Industry.

9 Some elements of clumsy, NeoRenaissance-style pieces of furniture (the