Vida Gabriella: A miskolci fazekasság a 16-19. században (Officina Musei 8. Miskolc, 1999)
THE POTTERY OF MISKOLC
The Middle Tisza ceramic art hitherto judged to be uniform by Hungarian ceramic research is really the replacement of two distinct styles both in time and space during the last 500 years. The earlier Italian Renaissance and eastern motif usage especially Hungarian (flowery, leafy, flower bunch, green-red-brown painted on white background) was slowly replaced by the southwardly expanding and about 200 years younger ceramic artistic style, created by mixed Hungarian and Slavish population, and probably Haban influence too. The exchanging of the two styles was not completed because of the death of the lead glazed pottery craft. Mezőcsát was not reached at all and Debrecen was only touched lightly. It also only brushed past Tiszafiired's ceramic industry. Its composition rules and motifs affected the Heves potters, in Ónod the pots were equally decorated by Mezőcsát and Sárospatak style. The Miskolc pottery school was completely under the influence of the Gömör glazed ceramic style, but the effect of the Ungvár style via Sárospatak can be recognised too. The decoration style of Sárospatak points towards north-east. During the middle of the 19 th century as a result of the rapid decline of the large town pottery craft some of the masters moved to smaller towns and villages. In Miskolc for example in 1830 a stoneware factory started production. Even the lower middle classes put porcelain and glassware in their glass cabinets, their every day pots were stoneware or copper ware. The major customers of lead glazed pottery were the peasantry and during the second half of the 19 th century the demand grew for earthenware pots. This change founded the pottery industry in Mezőkeresztes, Ónod, Somolya, Mezőkövesd. After the demise of the guild's quality control the only controlling factor was the clients' demand. It became much easier to become a master. All of these factors lead to the rapid decline in pottery craft. The small centres lacked individualism, their decoration styles were copied from the surrounding larger centres' styles. The largest and best late centre of decoration was Mezőkeresztes, where well developed Heves style pots were produced. The green glazed drinking vessels were very special. There were often scratched flower motifs (a bunch of reeds, leafed flowers) under the green glazing. Similar flower motifs were placed by the Mezőkövesd potters under their green glazing of the drinking pots. The Szomolya drinking pots are also similar in structure and elements, but their colouring is different. In Ónod they copied Mezőcsát and the northern styles. They preferred figurative products. The rules of motif migration can be observed well on their pots. These smaller pottery centers were founded well after the golden era of the pothry of Miskolc. The ceramic art of the center of the county influenced only the masters of Ónod.
