Vezető a Déri Múzeum kiállításaihoz (Debrecen, 1978)

English Summary

Kajikawa family, with the figure of a poet standing in front of a fountain. The gold-lacquered cabinet-wardrobe applied with bone is the example of the Japanese export lac-works having got to European countries. In the second Japanese lac-vitrine there are cups, pipes and food-keeping set having several parts. The outstanding piece here is a square suzuribako (to keep writing utensils in it) made about 1800 A. D., depicting the Shinto shrine of Sumiyoshi. A representative metal work is the big and pierced bronze thurible with fantastic animal figures on its top. The root-carving (standing open) represents an immortal Taoist resting on his crutch. Among the oriental weapons the characteristic weapon types of the Asian countries can be seen: gilded and silvered Turkish, Persian and Indian swords, sabres, poniards and daggers from the 17th

—19th centuries. The ornamented Persian armour is of excellent quality. The bone-inlaid wooden saddle is of Central-Asian origin. Besides the excellently worked, forged helmets, bows, guns and armours we have long katana swords and short wakizashi swords as well. The Japanese swords are the most perfectly forged ones of the world. The swords are decorated with masterly wrought gold and silver inlaid belongings out of which the most important are the hilt defensive tsuba and kozuka knife-handles. WEAPONS OF THE DÉRI COLLECTION On the exhibition of the weapons of the Déri collection, the swords, these typical cutting weapons became first. Between the swords the Romanesqueage sword used in the XI

—XIII century is the oldest one. Pommel of it is reserved boat-formed, the hilt is short, guard of it is four-angled and the broad, channel groove runs through on the blade. The Gothic swords are visibly differ from the Romanesque-age ones. Their guards are to be gradually stretched, their hilt became longer and also their blade got longer and grew narrow. The form of the pommel changed too, the conefrustum type and the disk-shaped ones are the best-known. This double-edged, straight sword started to change at the beginning of the XVI. century. Defencering was soldered on the two side to the straight guard, the hand-shield installation started to develop with this. In addition to also the transformation of the blade continued. The heavy broadsword being suitable both for cutting and stab, respectively foil which is suitable only for stab developed from the cutting weapons. Besides the straigth double-edged swords the sabre of East origin appeared, which is single-edge and blade of that is leniently arched. The oriental motifs changed shortly and typical, well-known all over Europe weapons were converted with the Hungarian light horses and hussars. The East origin „karabella" was an interesting weapon often acting in the XVIII- century. The karabella was considered the national weapon of the Poles, but it was wellknown also with us. The blade of our sample is decorated with the picture of János Sobieski. The German and the Italian in411