Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 31. (Budapest, 2017)

Diána RADVÁNYI: Changes in the Critical Reception of Haban Ceramics: A Brief History of Research with a Discussion of Some Prominent Viewpoints

In their book, the Horváth-Krisztinko- vich couple devotes a uniquely detailed chapter to the most important collectors of Haban ceramics: Alfred Walcher von Molthein (1867-1928), Rudolf Just (1895— 1972), Hugo Vavrecka (1880-1952), Béla Krisztinkovich (1887-1969) and Walter C. Koerner (1898-1995). The biographies, which are rich in often personal documents, are thorough, although subjective, accounts of collecting histories—as the title of their book suggests: Private View.

After the Second World War, the official point of view toward private collectors was tangible not only with respect to Haban material: when objects were inventoried and placed, no consideration was given to keeping collections together, despite the added value of a unified collection.

The ‘treatment’ of objects remaining in private collections, their examination by experts, was not without problems or friction. A stark example is what happened to Rudolf Just’s collection: in 1962, to prevent the collector from selling objects in small batches abroad, the state placed his collection under its supervision, and this arrangement continued until Rudolf Just’s death in 1972. After his death, however, the collection disappeared. For some time the collection’s whereabouts were unknown, until

the nearly complete collection was discovered in 2001 in the possession of Just’s daughter-in-law in Bratislava. In that year the collection was auctioned at Sotheby’s.34 The various interpretations of this story shed light on the difference in attitudes and diverging priorities of collectors and the museums.

A great value of the Horváth-Krisztin- kovich couple’s book is that before them, no one had assembled such thorough biographies of the great collectors and first researchers of Haban ceramics or provided a detailed survey of the achievements in Haban research.

In Hungary in 2007, the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts’ exhibition Haban Myth opened in the spirit of ‘rebuilding’ the connection between the museum and collectors. The exhibition contained works from several important private collections; the curator and author of the catalogue was László Réti. The names of the eight private collectors were included on the object labels, highlighting the belief of today’s researchers that the earlier conflict between the state and private collectors had ended and expressing hope that complex scholarly examination of the objects could now proceed unhindered by questions of borders and ownership.

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