Bagi Gábor et al. (szerk.): Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 17. (Szolnok, 2008)
Történelem - G. Móró Csilla: Egy magyar köznemesi család, a Blaskovichok életkörülményei a XIX. század végén és a XX. század elején
CSILLA G. MORO THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE BLASKOVICHS, A HUNGARIAN LANDED GENTRY FAMILY, AT THE END OF THE NINETEENTH AND THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Although the Blaskovich Mansion in Tápiószele was built in the first decades of the twentieth century, some of its objects and its atmosphere reflect the housing conditions and culture of the landed gentries of the nineteenth century. The mansion’s furniture is a perfect example of the popularity of the biedermeier-style in the rural areas. As the Blaskovich Mansion suggests, this style became popular because it allows a comfortable and cosy living space. It introduced a wide range of new pieces of furniture; various small tables, cases and desks. In the Blaskovich Mansion we can see a piano, which can also be considered as part of the typical furniture of the period. This was the time when the iron stove also became widespread. In the mansion of Tápiószele one glazed tile stove and five iron stoves were used for heating. The tradition of the manor house met the housing culture of the urban upper-middle class in the second half of the nineteenth century. This is why we can find an overlap between the interior of the Blaskovich Mansion and that of the residences of the upper-middle class in Pest. The drawing-room, the dining-room and the study are similar to the ones we find in the upper middle class residences at the turn of the century. This similarity indicates that not only the urban upper middle class’s life-style and object culture were closely linked to the world of fashion and manners but also the life-style and object culture of the landed gentries living in the countryside. The aim of this paper is to look at the everyday life of the Blaskovich family in order to enhance our knowledge about the living conditions of the landed gentries and make subtler the received notion of the life-style of this specific class. The archive of the Blaskovich family, their furniture, and their everyday objects enabled me to analyse their habits and customs. Besides commemorating this prominent family, the neoclassic mansion in Tápiószele uniquely documents the object-culture of the landed gentries. 275
