Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 28. (Budapest, 2012)
Diána RADVÁNYI: The Early Products and Brief History of the Porcelain Factory of Regéc
One may also presume that one of the motives was a noble intention to promote or improve domestic industrial development. The spirit of the Age of Reforms probably also put its imprint on Breczenheim. The family of a foreign lineage looked upon their Hungarian estates as their final abode and they did their best to become fully entitled citizens of this society, this "nation". A sign of this was Ferdinánd Breczenheim's and his brother Alfonz's (1805-1863) application for the Hungarian citizen status in 1827 which the Hungarian indigenatus - they received. 2 Contemporary recollections also emphasize their attachment to the Hungarian nation and embark in detail on the close relationship between the founder of the factory and the outstanding leader of the Hungarian Age of Reforms, Count István Széchenyi. The relationship is broadly covered by historical literature: they are mentioned as friends who were in frequent contact in the social circle they shared. Széchenyi's effort to help Hungarian industry to a take-off also included support of the first domestic porcelain factory. Proof of this is a letter of 1833 he wrote to the Locumtenentiale asking for the release of the thirtieth duty on the goods he had brought in from his trip to England, for "these diverse samples of earthenware for Prince Breczenheim" were imported with the goal in mind to provide "models in the named prince's workshops so that with their help his products could be improved." 3 Széchenyi's diary reveals that the idea of the duty-free import occurred to him during his travels in England. Shortly afterwards Breczenheim followed suite when he applied for the remittal of the thirtieth duty on the "antique vessels and plaster moulds" he had brought back from his Italian journey 4 of 1833-34. 5 It is probably this very social circle that accounts for the silence of the other decisive figure of the Age of Reforms Lajos Kossuth about the pioneer of Hungarian porcelain production. Although a political opponent to Széchenyi from the early 1840s, Kossuth remained a great admirer of the count, yet he never ever mentioned the first porcelain manufacture in Hungary. This is particularly strange and conspicuous because Kossuth made every effort to promote the Hungarian industry and decorative arts. He initiated the Védegylet for the protection of Hungarian industry, the Iparegyesület (another union for the promotion of Hungarian manufacturers) and the Industrial Exhibitions of Pest organized by the latter. It is conspicuous that during this time he often praised the products of Mór Fischer's Herend factory in enthusiastic terms. Unlike Ferdinánd Breczenheim, Fischer probably made great efforts to popularize his porcelain ware broadly, ascribing great importance to the exhibitions. 6 (He took part in the industrial exhibitions in Pest in 1842 and 1846 7 and in Vienna in 1845.) 8 By contrast, the Telkibánya factory first participated in events of this kind in 1846, then in two at the same time: in Pest and Kassa. 9 Sándor Mihalik opined that his absence from the early exhibitions was solely caused by Kossuth's antipathy or dislike for Breczenheim. 1 0 It is, however, more likely that the owner of the Telkibánya factory took longer to realize the importance of participation in exhibitions, or he thought that the quality and quantity of his ware had only reached the level worthy of showing to the public around 1845^46. 76
