Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 30. (Budapest, 2016)
Szilveszter TERDIK: “Athonite” Miniature Carvings at the Museum of Applied Arts
tral composition is probably a scene of My- rophoros (the Myrrhbearers), while the Resurrection can be made out on the right. On the other side of the cross, the Baptism of Christ is the central scene, with half-length angels on the shorter part of the shaft and another - unidentifiable - figure. At the top of the upright shaft a depiction of the Annunciation can be vaguely discerned, but the scene at the bottom is undecipherable. The arms of the cross bear a series of saints carved in half-length, although they cannot be identified more closely than being prophets or apostles. It is not easy to date the object, but it might have been made at the beginning of the nineteenth century in a monastery somewhere in the Balkans, in imitation of an Athonite carving. Such a late dating for this object is supported not only by its rough finishing, but also by the westernised composition, in particular the figure of Christ on the cross. Pieces in a similar style are kept in the National Museum in Krakow17 and in the Greek Catholic church in Makó (southeast Hungary). The openwork carvings on the latter are more intricately finished, and the piece can be dated with the help of an inscription on the silver base, stating that it was given to the community in 1844 by Vasile Erdélyi, Bishop of Nagyvárad (now Oradea, Romania).18 In 1936 a large altar cross was transferred to the Museum of Applied Arts from the Hungarian National Museum.19 (Fig. 1) From the centre of the round, convex base rises a cylindrical shaft, with a node in the middle; the shaft supports a glass-fronted metal case in the shape of a Latin cross which houses the boxwood carving. On the side panels of the cross-shaped central section - as on the other parts of the object are leaves shaped from gilt silver filigree. The corners of the cross are held in place by screws decorated with mounted pieces of polished glass. The regularly coiled filigree shapes were embellished even further with small eight-pointed stars. 1. Altar cross. Carving: Balkans, nineteenth century; silverwork: Nikolics workshop, South Hungary, first half of nineteenth century. Boxwood, gilt silver, rhinestones. Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, inv. no: 19124 57
