H. Kolba Judit szerk.: Historical Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum Guide 2 - From the Foundation of the State until the Expulsion of the Ottomans - The history of Hungary in the 11th to 17th centuries (Budapest, 2005)
ROOM 2 - The Age of the Anjou Kings (14th century) (Júlia Kovalovszki)
16. Stove tile with the representation of a mermaid, Pomáz, 14th century the "treasure hoards", the collections hidden in the ground which bear witness to the financial state of their one-time owners (the Körmend find and the Kunfehértó find: the treasure of Master S inka, 14th century). Also placed here are outstanding products of bronze casting: aquamaniles, mortars and candlesticks. Implements and products of some other branches of town handicrafts follow. In the 14th century, craftsmen in the same trade begun to form groups in order to defend their interests. From these groups there developed the guilds. A guild brought together a number of crafts which were related to each other - for example, the smiths' guild embraced not only toolmakers and farriers, but also such specialists as locksmiths, armourers and cutlers. The iron implements and tools also tell us about specializations within the craft and about other important trades (carpenters, coopers, stonecarvers, etc.) Pottery was an indispensable branch of handicrafts. The products of brickmakers, potters and stove-makers - floor tiles, roofing tiles, different kinds of pottery, simple and decorated glazed stove tiles (Fig. 16)were essential in the everyday life of royal courts, aristocratic palaces, homes of town burghers, and also of country households. In front of the part of the wall above the windows of the room, individual handicrafts objects of artistic value are exhibited, the first being the so-called Trencsén herm. The copper-gilt head reliquary may have been made for a relic of St. Ladislas in the late 14th century. Next to the bronze baptismal font cast in several pieces and decorated with foliation and rows of inscriptions running round it (Liptótepla [Liptovská Teplá], 14th century) is the covering slab of the tomb of Zsuzsanna Kompolti, embellished with a delicately carved cross ending in a lily (Margaret Island, late 14th century). On the wall, two pages from an illuminated hymn-book are displayed, with painted scenes from the Bible and angels playing an instrument (15th century). Two carved and painted tabernacles belonged among the furniture and fittings of churches (Hervartó [Hervartov] and Malompatak [Mlynica]), as did two wroughtiron candlesticks (15th century). The timbered dower chest with painted decoration (Nagyszeben [Sibiu], 15th century) was a piece of furniture found in the houses of burghers. The series of objects on display is brought to an end by the "Győr herm", the reliquary bust of St. Ladislas, the paragon of the Anjou monarchs. This is a masterpiece of Hungarian goldsmith's art, and also preserves traditions from the age of the Árpád kings. The herm was originally made C.1400 for Várad Cathedral, the burialplace of the Saint. The object exhibited is a copy of the head part of the herm, without the shoulder part, which is decorated with wire enamel, and without the later, 17thcentury, crown. (The original herm is kept in Győr Cathedral.) Over the herm a copy of a mural painting represents the single combat between St. Ladislas and a Cuman warrior. (Detail of the Legend of St. Ladislas [1419] in the church of Székelyderzs (Dirjiu).
