LA PORCELAINE DE HEREND HEREND PORCELAIN
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<strong>LA</strong> PORCE<strong>LA</strong>INE <strong>DE</strong> <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> PORCE<strong>LA</strong>IN
<strong>LA</strong> PORCE<strong>LA</strong>INE <strong>DE</strong> <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> PORCE<strong>LA</strong>IN
<strong>LA</strong> PORCE<strong>LA</strong>INE <strong>DE</strong> <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> PORCE<strong>LA</strong>IN<br />
Musée Ariana, Genève<br />
Ville de Genève, Département de la culture<br />
Musée Ariana, Geneva<br />
City of Geneva, Department of Culture
Roland Blaettler<br />
Conservateur du Musée Ariana<br />
Introduction<br />
Roland Blaettler<br />
Curator of the Musée Ariana<br />
Introduction<br />
La première impulsion qui allait donner naissance au<br />
présent projet nous est venue de la présidente de la<br />
Fondation Euro-Art, laquelle a déjà soutenu activement<br />
plusieurs échanges culturels entre la Hongrie et la Suisse,<br />
notamment les grandes expositions Giacometti et Hodler<br />
présentées au Musée des Beaux Arts de Budapest,<br />
respectivement en 2003 et 2008. Lorsque Monika<br />
Rudolf-Schmidt nous approcha avec l’idée d’organiser<br />
dans nos murs une exposition consacrée à la porcelaine<br />
de Herend, nous n’avons pas tardé à entrer en matière,<br />
et pour plusieurs raisons. D’abord parce que la manufacture<br />
hongroise, bien qu’elle soit de création relativement<br />
récente, occupe une place bien à elle dans l’histoire<br />
de la porcelaine européenne. Même si elle s’est forgé son<br />
savoir-faire et sa réputation d’abord en revisitant les<br />
grands classiques du XVIII e siècle, l’âge d’or de la porcelaine<br />
européenne, se situant ainsi aux avant-postes de<br />
l‘historicisme naissant, elle réussira à imposer sa propre<br />
identité et à se positionner d’emblée sur un marché<br />
international de haut de gamme.<br />
Nous en voulons pour preuve le fait que le Musée Ariana<br />
conserve aujourd’hui cent dix porcelaines de Herend,<br />
dont seize spécimens particulièrement intéressants (par<br />
exemple le service Watteau N° 7) qui furent acquis par<br />
le fondateur du musée lui-même, Gustave Revilliod<br />
(1817-1890). S’agissant de sa collection de céramique –<br />
qui ne constituait alors qu’un aspect parmi d’autres de<br />
son musée encyclopédique – l’ambition de Revilliod était<br />
clairement de rassembler un panorama aussi complet<br />
que possible de l’histoire de la céramique européenne.<br />
Herend est pratiquement la seule manufacture «moderne»<br />
à figurer dans son catalogue. En regard de la<br />
notice correspondant à un vase de type Wales (voir<br />
N° 33-35), on y lit une appréciation particulière, comme<br />
il n’y en a que peu dans ledit catalogue: «travail remarquable».<br />
Pour un amateur comme Revilliod, Herend<br />
comptait assurément parmi les meilleures productions<br />
de l’époque, d’autant plus que le style historiciste de ces<br />
porcelaines correspondait parfaitement à sa sensibilité,<br />
comme en témoignent les partis pris esthétiques qui se<br />
manifestent dans l’architecture de l’Ariana.<br />
Dans notre exposition nous avons ménagé une large<br />
place aux porcelaines inspirées de la Chine et du Japon,<br />
parce que nous y voyons l’une des contributions les plus<br />
originales et les plus stimulantes de Herend, mais également<br />
parce que cet aspect rejoint l’une des lignes de force<br />
de nos collections et de notre exposition permanente,<br />
l’histoire sans cesse renouvelée des échanges réciproques<br />
entre les cultures céramiques d’Orient et d’Occident.<br />
Que soient remerciées ici les personnes et les institutions<br />
qui ont permis la réalisation de cette exposition. Notre<br />
collègue Gabriella Balla, conservatrice au Musée des<br />
arts décoratifs de Budapest, pour sa contribution à la<br />
présente publication, mais également pour l‘ouvrage<br />
qu’elle publia en 2003, Herend Porcelain. A Hungarian<br />
institution, une remarquable histoire de la manufacture<br />
qui nous a guidés et inspirés tout au long de la conception<br />
de ce projet.<br />
The impetus for this project initially came from the<br />
President of the Euro-Art Foundation, who had already<br />
actively supported a number of cultural exchanges<br />
between Hungary and Switzerland, especially the major<br />
Giacometti and Hodler exhibitions held in Budapest Fine<br />
Art Museum in 2003 and 2008 respectively. When<br />
Monika Rudolf-Schmidt approached us with the idea of<br />
organising an exhibition of Herend porcelain in our<br />
museum, we wasted no time in following up the idea, for<br />
several reasons. The first was that this Hungarian porcelain<br />
manufacturer, although relatively recent, has a place<br />
all of its own in the history of European porcelain. Even<br />
if it first earned its knowhow and reputation by revisiting<br />
the great classics of the 18th century, the golden age of<br />
European porcelain, and thus was an early adopter of<br />
the then nascent historicism, it successfully imposed its<br />
own identity and occupied an upmarket international<br />
position from the start.<br />
Proof of that is provided by the fact that the Ariana<br />
Museum currently holds 110 pieces of Herend china,<br />
including 16 particularly interesting specimens (the<br />
Watteau service for example - No. 7) acquired by the<br />
museum’s founder, Gustave Revilliod (1817-1890).<br />
Revilliod’s ambition for his ceramics collection – which<br />
was only one of the many facets of his encyclopaedic<br />
museum – was clearly to collect as complete a panorama<br />
as possible of the history of European ceramics. Herend<br />
is practically the only “modern” porcelain factory in his<br />
catalogue. Opposite the entry for a Wales–type vase (see<br />
Nos. 33-35), we find a particular judgement that occurs<br />
only rarely in this catalogue: “remarkable work“. To a<br />
ceramics-lover like Revilliod, Herend was definitely one<br />
of the best producers of the period, especially as the<br />
historicist style of these pieces of china was perfectly in<br />
tune with his own sensibility, as is shown by the aesthetic<br />
bias in the architecture of the Musée Ariana.<br />
In our exhibition, we have given a good deal of space to<br />
China and Japan-inspired porcelain, because we consider<br />
them to be among Herend’s most original and stimula ting<br />
contributions, but also because that aspect fits in with<br />
one of the main themes of our collections and our perma -<br />
nent exhibition: the constantly renewed story of mutual<br />
exchanges between the ceramic cultures of East and West.<br />
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the people and<br />
institutions that enabled this exhibition to be mounted.<br />
Our colleague, Gabriella Balla, Curator at the Budapest<br />
Museum of Applied Arts, for her contribution to this<br />
publication, but also for the book she published in 2003,<br />
“Herend Porcelain. A Hungarian institution” – a remar -<br />
kable history of the factory that guided and inspired us<br />
throughout the creation of this project.<br />
This exhibition would not have been as dazzling without<br />
the high-quality pieces the Museum of Applied Arts in<br />
Budapest was kind enough to entrust to us temporarily.<br />
We are profoundly grateful to its director, Mrs Zsuszanna<br />
Renner, and to Mr Zsombor Jékely, who is in charge of<br />
research and exhibitions.<br />
5
Gabriella Balla<br />
Conservateur au Musée des arts<br />
appliqués, Budapest<br />
Gabriella Balla<br />
Curator at the Museum of Applied Arts,<br />
Budapest<br />
La Manufacture de Herend<br />
The Herend Manufactory<br />
6 Cette exposition n’aurait pas eu le même éclat sans les<br />
œuvres de qualité que le Musée des arts décoratifs de<br />
Budapest a bien voulu nous confier temporairement,<br />
nous en sommes profondément reconnaissants à sa<br />
directrice, M me Zsuzsanna Renner, ainsi qu’à M. Zsombor<br />
Jékely, responsable de la recherche et des expositions.<br />
La majorité des œuvres nous ont été généreusement<br />
prêtées par le Musée de la porcelaine de Herend et par<br />
la Manufacture de Herend, laquelle nous a également<br />
fourni un appréciable soutien logistique. Notre vive reconnaissance<br />
va à MM. Attila Simon, directeur général<br />
de la Manufacture de Herend; László Szesztay, directeur<br />
commercial; Endre Körös, président du Conseil de la<br />
fondation du Musée de la porcelaine de Herend, ainsi<br />
qu’à leurs collaborateurs.<br />
Nous remercions chaleureusement M. László Szathmáry,<br />
de la Manufacture de Herend, qui a assumé avec compétence<br />
et enthousiasme la lourde tâche de coordinateur<br />
en Hongrie pour l’organisation de l’exposition et pour la<br />
production du présent ouvrage. Un merci tout particulier<br />
également à Monika Rudolf-Schmidt. Sans son initiative<br />
et sans son assistance efficace et amicale, Herend n’aurait<br />
peut-être pas trouvé le chemin de Genève!<br />
The majority of the pieces have been generously lent to<br />
us by the Herend Porcelain Museum and by the Herend<br />
Porcelain Manufactory, which also gave us appreciable<br />
logistic support. Deep gratitude is due to Mr Attila<br />
Simon, the General Director of the Manufactory; Mr<br />
László Szesztay, the Commercial Director; Mr Endre<br />
Körös, President of the Foundation of the Herend Porcelain<br />
Museum, and their colleagues.<br />
We warmly thank Mr László Szathmáry of the Herend<br />
Manufactory, who with skill and enthusiasm undertook<br />
the heavy task of coordinator in Hungary for the organisation<br />
of the exhibition and the production of this book.<br />
Very particular thanks also go to Monika Rudolf-Schmidt.<br />
Without her initiative and her efficient and friendly<br />
assistance, Herend might not have found the way to<br />
Geneva!<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
Chapters from the history of Hungarian ceramic<br />
The medieval kingdom of Hungary – in the time of the<br />
Árpád kings, Robert Charles, Louis the Great, Sigismund<br />
of Luxembourg and Matthias – was a major power in<br />
Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages, the kingdom<br />
maintained extensive commercial and cultural contacts<br />
with both western and eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.<br />
In this period and during the Renaissance, the<br />
stock of luxurious household goods owned by the court<br />
almost certainly included a few examples of fine cera -<br />
mics. A new technique in the art of ceramics, tin glazing,<br />
emerged in Italy in the 15 th century, and later in the<br />
hands of Italian potters it developed into a much admired<br />
art. The Hungarian royal couple – Matthias Corvinus and<br />
his wife, Beatrice of Aragon, were among the first European<br />
rulers to receive decorative platters adorned with<br />
their coat of arms, allegorical depictions, and figural and<br />
ornamental painting. Once thought to have been made<br />
in Faenza, these dishes – parts of the Corvinus-service –<br />
were most likely presented by the prince of Pesaro,<br />
Costanzo Sforza, and his wife, Camille of Aragon. The<br />
court of Matthias Corvinus was thus one of the first<br />
recipients of Italian majolica beyond the Alps. Under the<br />
direction of Italian masters, majolica workshops even<br />
operated in Buda. The tin-glazed floor tiles painted with<br />
the emblems of Matthias and the house of Aragon were<br />
used primarily to decorate the rooms of the royal palace<br />
in Buda. Art of the Matthias period continued to impact<br />
Hungarian art and culture for centuries. The centralized<br />
power of the Hungarian Kingdom, however, crumbled<br />
several decades after Matthias’ death as a result of<br />
repeated attacks by the conquering Ottoman Turkish<br />
forces. The Hungarian troops suffered serious losses at<br />
the battle of Mohács (1526), and later with the fall of<br />
Buda (1541) the country was divided into three parts.<br />
The eastern part comprised the independent principality<br />
of Transylvania, the central region was under Turkish rule,<br />
while the north-western area remained as the surviving<br />
Kingdom of Hungary under Habsburg rule. Turkish occupation<br />
lasted a century and a half, and the towns and<br />
villages of the central region were depopulated. Never -<br />
theless, the ceramic art of this period was rich, and<br />
exported Turkish ware – especially the art of Iznik – had<br />
a powerful influence on the repertoire of motifs used in<br />
Hungary. A Turkish-Persian element in the decoration of<br />
17 th century Haban pottery, which at first relied mainly<br />
on Faentine motifs, became increasingly common. The<br />
Hungarian aristocracy highly regarded this white dishware,<br />
the so-called bianchi di Faenza, and numerous<br />
inventories list this kind of dishware along with Turkish<br />
rugs and silverworks. The Haban workshops produced<br />
not only gallantly simple tableware (teapots, lids, bottles,<br />
platters, bowls and fingerbowls) painted with cobalt,<br />
antimony, bronze oxide and manganese, displaying the<br />
year, the patron’s monogram and occasionally his name,<br />
but also stove tiles used to build large columnar stoves<br />
with decorative mouldings. Porcelain appeared less<br />
frequently on stock lists in 17 th century Hungary than in<br />
European territories west of the River Leitha. Rare Chinese<br />
porcelains set in precious metals were considered<br />
7
8 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
treasury goods. At present there are no precise data<br />
on how much early European-made porcelain was purchased<br />
by the Hungarian aristocracy; but the family<br />
inventories of the Esterházy princes, for example, mention<br />
Viennese Du Paquier porcelain. In the second half of<br />
he 18 th century Hungarian demand for finely painted,<br />
quality tableware and toiletry goods was met by faience<br />
manufacturers in Hungary and porcelain manufacturers,<br />
protected by imperial and royal monopolies, in Vienna.<br />
The most important and best known Hungarian ceramics<br />
factory was established in Holics by Emperor Francis of<br />
Lorraine on an estate purchased from the Czobor family.<br />
Employing numerous skilled craftsmen from abroad,<br />
the works at Holics had already achieved significant<br />
levels of production by 1743. Like Herend products a<br />
century later, the goods made in Holics draw upon forms<br />
and patterns used in European faience manufacturing,<br />
relying in particular on the decorative schemes used in<br />
Strasbourg, which also belonged to Emperor Francis’s<br />
pro perty in Alsace Lorraine. But manufacturers in Mous -<br />
tiers, Rouen, Castelli and Durlach also exerted influence.<br />
A particularly valuable ensemble from the faience works<br />
of Holics are the finely sculpted trompe l’oeil tableware<br />
decorated with an assortment of elements from nature –<br />
roses, cabbage, bundles of asparagus, pineapples,<br />
pheasants, capons, and parrots. Also interesting are the<br />
sculptures frequently modelled on original prototypes<br />
from Meissen. The most important sculptor at work in<br />
Holics was Antal Schweiger. The faience ceramics works<br />
in Tata and the one in Buda established by Domokos<br />
Kuny also deserve mention.<br />
Towards the end of the 18 th century, stoneware, a cheaper<br />
type of ceramics based on an English model, appeared in<br />
Hungary. Typically faience manufacturers began produ -<br />
cing this type of ceramics first. By the middle of the 19 th<br />
century, several dozen stoneware works or factories had<br />
been set up in Hungary. This period, the Reform era in<br />
Hungary, saw the rise of the Hungarian middle class, the<br />
development of a national identity, and a ripening desire<br />
for autonomy. The economic expansion following the<br />
Napoleonic Wars awakened the progressive-minded,<br />
well-educated upper and middle nobility to the futility of<br />
the obsolete feudal system of land tenure. They recognized<br />
that only credit worthiness could ensure economic<br />
and social development and modernization. In Hungary<br />
feudal conditions had prevented the formation of any<br />
sizeable social stratum of industrialists and merchants.<br />
Proponents of a middle class came from impoverished<br />
members of the lower nobility as well as the sons of<br />
craftsmen, traders and peasants who had risen to the<br />
ranks of public officials. In the first decades of the 19 th<br />
century, the Hungarian Age of Reform brought significant<br />
changes. Between 1815 and 1846 the number of craftsmen<br />
and artisans tripled. Development took place<br />
primarily in agriculture, but the iron and textile industries<br />
also experienced considerable expansion. By the<br />
middle of the century the capital, Pest, had transformed<br />
into a large city of 110,000. Economic development in<br />
Hungary, however, was only relative, as the economic<br />
policies of the Habsburg Monarchy checked the growth<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
of Hungarian industry and commerce. During this period,<br />
today’s world-famous Herend porcelain factory was<br />
founded, although it was not the first. In 1823, Ferdinánd<br />
Bretzenheim had founded a porcelain factory on his<br />
estate, Regéc, in Telkibánya, and based on Bohemian<br />
examples, produced tableware and decorative objects.<br />
His products include several particularly impressive<br />
pitchers and tobacco cases.<br />
The early years of the Herend Ceramics Works<br />
(1829-1839) – Vince Stingl’s factory<br />
Vince Stingl (1796 - after 1865) founded Herend’s first<br />
ceramics factory. The earliest relevant documentation<br />
dates to 1826.<br />
The Stingl family moved from Bohemia to Sopron in<br />
1744, where the head of the family worked as a coppersmith.<br />
Vince lost his parents at the early age of eleven<br />
and with his brother learned the art of playing-card<br />
painting in Pápa, and later they established their own<br />
factory. The most frequent type of playing cards they<br />
produced was the “German” type, a 32-card deck, which<br />
they printed with a wooden block and hand painted. This<br />
profitable craft was practice by many in Transdanubia.<br />
Rather early on, however, Stingl turned to another trade.<br />
In 1819 he was employed in a faience factory in Tata in<br />
1919, entrusted with the production of the new, cheaply<br />
produced stoneware. Presumably when he was allocated<br />
this task, he had been at the factory for several years. He<br />
spent six years in Tata, and during this time his brother<br />
Nepomuk Johann also gained employment in the same<br />
factory. In 1824 Vince Stingl and Mózes Áron Fischer<br />
jointly set up a ceramics factory. The owners, however,<br />
soon had a falling out, and Stingl left his fortune behind<br />
in Táta. In 1825 he received a significant loan from the<br />
parish priest of Kislôd, twelve kilometres from Herend.<br />
Investing this sum, Stingl founded a ceramics works at<br />
Herend, at the foot of the Bakony hills. The most important<br />
raw materials could be found in the area: sand and<br />
“fat earth”, that is clay, came from around Kislôd and<br />
Városlôd, and the firewood needed to keep the kilns<br />
burning came from the surrounding forests. A contemporary<br />
report appearing in 1837 in the entertainment<br />
journal Hasznos Mulatságok [Useful Entertainment] tells<br />
us the owner experimented with porcelain production.<br />
The story, whose title, “Porcelain was discovered by a<br />
Hungarian in Hungary” reveals both bias and ignorance,<br />
contains an animated report claiming that if Vince<br />
Stingl’s enterprise were adequately funded, he would<br />
be able to build a new kiln and thus produce porcelain<br />
of great quality. Presumably this article aroused Mór<br />
Fischer’s interest in Herend. At the time Fischer was the<br />
leaseholder of the stoneware factory in Pápa (thirty-five<br />
kilometres from Herend, also in Veszprém County), but<br />
his lease terminated in 1839. In that same year, János<br />
György Mayer, who also had interests in Pápa, became a<br />
co-lessee of the Herend ceramics factory with Stingl, and<br />
between autumn 1839 and the end of 1840 Mayer<br />
offered financial support totalling 4970 forints. With the<br />
factory under new leadership, Vince Stingl’s role was<br />
9
10 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracytoday it is<br />
kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle<br />
of the richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like<br />
a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and redscaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green<br />
clouds; the back and the front panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
haped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintindragons appear<br />
amongst turquoise and green clouds; tscaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
relegated to production manager, and in 1841 he left<br />
Herend, later taking up work in the Városlôd stoneware<br />
factory. Stingl’s activities in Herend are documented by<br />
only a few stoneware objects; nevertheless the factory’s<br />
first attempts at porcelain production can be linked with<br />
his name.<br />
The birth and success of Herend porcelain – the era<br />
of Mór Fischer (1839-1876)<br />
The Fischer family of Tata played a significant role in the<br />
19 th century history of Hungarian ceramics. Mózes Áron<br />
Fischer had established a stoneware factory with Vince<br />
Stingl in Tata, while his nephew, Mór Fischer was the<br />
true founder of the Herend Porcelain Works. The next<br />
generation, Mózes Áron’s two sons, Károly and Ignác,<br />
headed the ceramics factory first in Tata and later set one<br />
up in Pest in 1864. All of Mór Fischer’s children were<br />
connected to the Herend factory, and like the third generation,<br />
Jenô [Fischer] Farkasházy or Emil Fischer, were<br />
recognized experts in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy<br />
for their extensive work in the ceramics industry.<br />
Born in Tata, Mór Fischer (1799-1880) settled in Pápa<br />
at the age of twenty, marrying Maria Salzer and produ -<br />
cing eleven children. He was an enterprising youth,<br />
mentioned as a leaseholder of a manorial pub, and a<br />
horse and gall trader. From 1837 to 1839 he leased a<br />
ceramics factory in Pápa. In 1839, he was for all intents<br />
and purposes the owner of Vince Stingl’s ceramics factory,<br />
but because of his Jewish heritage, this was legally<br />
sanctioned only in 1840 with the passage of article XXIX,<br />
eliminating discrimination against Jews and allowing free<br />
settlement and the founding of commercial and indust rial<br />
enterprises. Fischer’s first records (1839) concerning the<br />
factory analyze its expenditures in comparison to Vince<br />
Stingl’s earlier expenses; in other words in that year<br />
Fischer had already taken over direction of Herend. Later<br />
Fischer declared himself the founder of the Herend factory,<br />
which is in a sense true, since regular production of<br />
porcelain was not carried out in Stingl’s time.<br />
Mór Fischer developed the small works into a factory,<br />
employing fifty-four people by 1841. The two-storey factory<br />
building, which now houses the Herend Porcelain<br />
Museum, was built in 1840-1842.<br />
Herend’s situation was quite unusual, because the most<br />
important raw material in porcelain production, kaolin,<br />
could only be obtained abroad for a considerable sum.<br />
Fischer, nevertheless, had a passion for this material.<br />
Early Herend porcelain is characterized by the exploration<br />
of possibilities. Contemporary Bohemian porcelain,<br />
especially the forms and decoration employed in<br />
pieces from Elbogen (today Loket, Czech Republic) and<br />
Schlaggenwald (today Horní Slavkov, Czech Republic),<br />
was followed faithfully, and simple functional wares using<br />
so-called Viennese border designs were also made at<br />
Herend. The production of stoneware also continued for<br />
the first few years. In 1841 Mór Fischer applied for a<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fightinggilded<br />
handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintindragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; tscaled<br />
s; the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
certificate of royal appointment for his factory, and was<br />
finally granted the title “Imperial and Royal Chartered<br />
Porcelain Factory” at the end of the year.<br />
The first public display of Herend products took place at<br />
the first Hungarian Industrial Exhibit in 1842. Between<br />
25 August and 21 September there were 14,425 visitors<br />
to the exhibit, which displayed nearly 300 works from<br />
213 industrialists. A report on the exhibit compiled by<br />
Lajos Kossuth (who would later prove an exceptionally<br />
talented politician and statesman and leading figure in<br />
the 1848 Hungarian War for Independence) provides<br />
some information about the Herend objects exhibited:<br />
“in addition to dishes and plates appropriately decorated<br />
for a princely table with richly gilt and intricately painted<br />
borders, there were two exquisite flower holders and a<br />
29-inch-long, gilt fish platter, a true masterpiece for the<br />
serving of delicious pike from nearby Lake Balaton.” The<br />
account also mentions several lithophane portraits.<br />
Encouraged by this recognition, Fischer set about expanding<br />
his operations, purchasing more property and<br />
building a new kiln. At the end of March 1843, fire broke<br />
out in the factory, and arson was suspected. Despite the<br />
significant damage, development of the factory conti -<br />
nued. The next year proved a turning point in the life of<br />
Herend, altering the future history of the operation. The<br />
wife of Count Károly Esterházy, an important patron of<br />
the industrialist, requested additions to her Meissen<br />
dinner service. This represented the first serious professional<br />
challenge Fischer had encountered. He had to<br />
reproduce the fineness, the whiteness, the shining glaze<br />
and the superb quality of the paint, and this required a<br />
series of experiments. Fischer’s efforts were successful,<br />
and led to a surge in orders, as numerous Hungarian<br />
aristocrats approached him with similar requests. The<br />
idea of directing his attention toward the production of<br />
luxury articles and not medium-quality porcelain can<br />
thus be attributed to his customers.<br />
The first international show of Fischer’s products was in<br />
Vienna in 1845, and resulted in a commission. That year<br />
he had taken out a considerable loan from the Rothschild<br />
bank, and Károly Esterházy had agreed to guarantee it.<br />
With the money he mechanized the factory, developing<br />
it further with grinding mills. He published a detailed<br />
product catalogue in 1848-49 entitled “Price list of<br />
the Móricz Fischer Royal Chartered Herend Porcelain<br />
Factory.” In his listing he offers sculpturally decorated<br />
porcelain in Batthyányi, Károlyi, Eszterházy, Zay, and<br />
Csekonics patterns, and the prices of the services were<br />
determined by the colour, richness and gilding of the<br />
decorations. Fischer hoped that naming the patterns<br />
after important Hungarian aristocratic patrons would<br />
result in further orders, and he was not disappointed.<br />
The most valuable of the decorative pieces were two<br />
copies of the nearly 70-centimetre-tall decorative vases<br />
Water and Air, from the Meissen series The Four Elements<br />
created by Johann Joachim Kaendler in 1741. The<br />
originals were loaned to Fischer by Count Kázmér<br />
Batthyány. Among the toiletry pieces appearing in the<br />
11
12 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
price list under Various Implements, we find items no<br />
longer, or very rarely, used today, such as “soap and<br />
brush box”, “hair ointment jar”, “sponge case”, “ice dish”,<br />
“candle snuffer”, figural ink containers, paper weights,<br />
light deflectors, cigar ashtrays, a liquor flask in the shape<br />
of a book, and pipes and jars. The price list ends with a<br />
statement typical of Mór Fischer’s business policies: “This<br />
factory accepts all kinds of commissions, including replacements<br />
of pieces from foreign sets, and we promise<br />
quick and accurate service.” By the end of the 1840s,<br />
Herend was prepared to accept orders for copies or<br />
additions to old porcelain services on a regular basis.<br />
During the Hungarian War for Independence (1848-<br />
1849) the porcelain factory operated continuously. The<br />
crushing of the revolution and the later reprisals hampered<br />
the development of the middle class, but Herend’s<br />
earlier dominance and achievements in the market<br />
ensured the factory’s success even in these years. The<br />
eldest sons in the Fischer family had participated in the<br />
war for independence at Kossuth’s behest, but in the<br />
hope of continued recognition for his factory Fischer<br />
sought contacts with the court in Vienna. The owner of<br />
the Herend factory had realized in time that the exhibition<br />
of his wares, in other words, publicity – in fact as<br />
much publicity as possible – would increase the number<br />
of patrons and customers. Between 1851 and 1873<br />
Herend participated in every World’s Fair, and this<br />
twenty-two-year period can be considered the golden era<br />
of Herend porcelain. It was the age of historicism and the<br />
rise of Europe’s talented middle class, with the new<br />
moneyed aristocracy in search of the right environment<br />
to present itself. The first world’s fair in London was the<br />
stage for scientific, technical and artistic innovations,<br />
with the support of Queen Victoria and especially her<br />
husband, Albert. Just two years after the War for Independence,<br />
Hungary could not appear as an independent<br />
country; thus Mór Fischer, like others, successfully exhi -<br />
bited his goods in the space reserved for Austria.<br />
Fischer invested the profits of his successes in his factory,<br />
financing newer and newer experiments, which resulted<br />
in perpetual financial woes, as his porcelain factory failed<br />
to become a predictable source of income. Fischer’s products<br />
were unique, hand-crafted goods, and preparing and<br />
cutting the reticulated ornaments and borders required<br />
a lot of time. While the show in London concentrated on<br />
industrial innovations and technical triumphs, the 1855<br />
Parisian World’s Fair focused on artistry. Fisher was<br />
awarded a grand medal for his copies of Chinese and<br />
Japanese porcelain, although it should be noted that<br />
more than half the participants in the exhibition received<br />
some kind of recognition. Interestingly, Emperor Francis<br />
Joseph II purchased Hungarian porcelain at the exhibit<br />
for his mother, Archduchess Sophie. Fischer’s success<br />
was reported in Hungarian newspapers, and once again<br />
Fischer was granted a loan. At that time his factory had<br />
sixty employees, and one-third of them were painters. In<br />
1858 Fischer built a new kiln in Herend, of the type used<br />
in Meissen. The following years proved to be Fischer’s<br />
most productive, with the majority of the factory’s dated,<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
high quality, meticulously painted porcelain wares executed<br />
at this time. Among these a particularly outstanding<br />
example is the Balatonfüred service.<br />
At the 1862 World’s Fair, again in London, Mór Fischer<br />
exhibited his huge, 90-centimetre decorative platter with<br />
a reticulated rim, depicting the 1741 Diet of Pozsony.<br />
The scene shows Maria Theresa presenting her son,<br />
Joseph II, to the Hungarian nobility in a call for their support,<br />
loyalty and acceptance of the pragmatica sanctio,<br />
succession to the throne along the Habsburg family’s female<br />
line. The Hungarian nobility stood as one beside<br />
the young queen.<br />
Following Fischer’s success at the world’s fair, the Herend<br />
industrialist was knighted by Francis Joseph, and was<br />
personally presented to the emperor at the Burg in Vienna.<br />
The factory prospered as it never had before.<br />
In 1867 the Austrian-Hungarian Compromise was<br />
reached, creating conditions conducive to the modernization<br />
and development of a middle class in Hungary.<br />
On 8 June 1867, Francis Joseph and his wife Elizabeth<br />
were crowned king and queen consort of Hungary. In that<br />
same year, Mór Fischer saw his social status considerably<br />
elevated when Francis Joseph bestowed upon him<br />
and his children a noble rank and granted them the distinguished<br />
surname Farkasházi.<br />
In these years Fischer prepared a report for the Chamber<br />
of Commerce and Industry 1 , which provides an accurate<br />
picture of the factory’s state at that time:<br />
For the processing and refinement of raw materials, we<br />
have one grinding mill, which drives one cylinder and<br />
fourteen millstones with the help of horses. Twenty potter’s<br />
wheels are used for working the raw material, and<br />
three kilns of French construction, each three storeys tall,<br />
are used to fire the goods. Three large and three smaller<br />
muffle kilns have been installed for firing colours. The<br />
large French-style kilns are lit once a week, and the muffle<br />
kilns once a day. Nine throwers, twenty-two painters,<br />
five clay workers, eight firers, and four men in the mill<br />
and the paste room, ten gold-polishing and burnishing<br />
women and twenty-five woodcutters and day labourers<br />
are employed in the factory. Work is carried on 300 days<br />
of the year, from seven in the morning to seven at night.<br />
Average weekly pay is 300 forints (in Austrian currency).<br />
Quartz and finer clays come from northern Hungary; the<br />
rest of the clay for the cases, bricks, etc. can be found at<br />
the factory site itself or within an hour’s distance.<br />
In 1867, the World’s Fair was organized in Paris in the<br />
Champ de Mars. Nearly ten million visitors came to view<br />
items displayed by more than fifty thousand exhibitors.<br />
Among the many attractive items, several deserve special<br />
mention. The Baccarat factory erected a sevenmetre-tall<br />
fountain of “crystal glass” while Belgium sent<br />
samples of rare lace, Canada wood carvings and totem<br />
poles, and Russia malachite plates, mosaic works, quality<br />
silver goods and Crimean minerals. The industry’s<br />
13
14 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
greatest novelty was Otto and Lange’s gas-fuelled engine,<br />
Siemens and Halske’s first dynamo, and the Siemens-<br />
Martin furnace. The world’s first bicycle and hydraulic lift<br />
were also on display there. The exhibit paid special<br />
attention to the importance of education and the role of<br />
schools in shaping the future. Hungarian exhibitors were<br />
awarded gold medals for five steam mills, some famous<br />
Hungarian wines, and Hungarian wool. The printer<br />
Gusztáv Emrich, porcelain-maker Mór Fischer, engineer<br />
István Vidács, and the Óbuda ship-building factory<br />
were awarded silver medals, while bronze medals went<br />
to piano maker Lajos Beregszászy, decorative albummaker<br />
Lajos K. Posner, and Ábrahám Ganz. Mór Fischer<br />
shipped thirty-five cases of porcelain to Paris, and<br />
brought only seven home. Two tears later the factory had<br />
a warehouse in Pest. 2<br />
The years following the Compromise laid the foundations<br />
for Vilmos Zsolnay’s ceramics factory in Pécs, which<br />
would soon achieve world fame for its extraordinary<br />
products. A similarity in the way Fischer and Zsolnay<br />
operated their factories was their reliance on family<br />
resources. Zsolnay’s later trademark even included the<br />
first initials of his children’s names – Zsolnay TJM (Teréz,<br />
Júlia and Miklós). Fischer, however, received less assistance<br />
from his children. His sons wanted to increase the<br />
profitability of the factory by expanding operations and<br />
production, but their attempts to obtain a loan of<br />
150,000 forints failed. Circumstances further deteriorated<br />
when the construction of the Veszprém-Herend-<br />
Városlôd railway line commenced and numerous skilled<br />
labourers were lured away from the factory by the higher<br />
pay. Fischer turned to the king for state support and<br />
commissions. The court subsequently ordered services<br />
for the royal palace in Buda and Gödöllô castle. On 27<br />
March 1872 he was granted the title of court purveyor<br />
and received a substantial loan from the Hungarian<br />
General Land Credit Company. Mór Fischer used this<br />
money to ensure his successful participation in the 1873<br />
Viennese Word’s Fair.<br />
Jacob von Falke, an expert in ceramics at the Museum of<br />
Applied Arts in Vienna, offered an accurate analysis of<br />
the Herend factory during the period of Mór Fischer:<br />
…. the Hungarian factory of Mór Fischer, with its unique<br />
characteristics, continues to hold its own. From the very<br />
beginning, before it had ever occurred to anyone else<br />
and when porcelain was viewed as a repository of bad<br />
taste, this factory strove to revive old porcelain – porcelain<br />
that today is a quite deservedly a favourite of every<br />
art connoisseur and collector.<br />
Mór Fischer did not confine himself to just one famous<br />
factory or a certain type of porcelain. He was satisfied<br />
with anything with a name or reputation, be it the soft<br />
paste porcelain of Sevres, the hard porcelains of Meissen,<br />
Vienna or Berlin, or the tinted porcelain of Japan or<br />
China, since a faithful reproduction is not just about<br />
colour, form and painting, but about the unique paste<br />
itself, whose appearance has crucial significance in the<br />
eyes of experts. In these respects, there are no obstacles<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
or questions that the Herend factory cannot deal with.<br />
Fischer has never veered significantly from his goal of<br />
reviving old porcelain, giving no thoughts to moder ni -<br />
zation. Although we would not like to recommend<br />
his point of view as one generally accepted, nevertheless<br />
it is something different – a specialty of the factory<br />
which has brought it much fame and glory. It has become<br />
a defining feature, just as Wedgewood has always remained<br />
Wedgewood with its own characteristics in spite<br />
of changing times.<br />
But there is yet another side to Fischer. He is an art<br />
innovator too, a modern Palissy, delighting in setting and<br />
solving technical problems, and at every exhibit – just as<br />
now – he presents us with new puzzles to confound the<br />
experts. And although the solutions to these problems<br />
are not always of immediate artistic significance, they<br />
set a new far-reaching direction for this industry, just as<br />
the work of the great scientist and thinker, the longsuffering<br />
Bernard Palissy, paved the way for the entire<br />
modern faience industry.” 3<br />
The commercial hopes pinned to the World’s Fair were<br />
crushed by the first stock market crash in the Austro-<br />
Hungarian Monarchy. Between 9 May and 15 May<br />
1873, twelve companies went bankrupt. The country’s<br />
economic situation further deteriorated because of poor<br />
harvests, flooding along the Danube, and destabilization<br />
of the state budget.<br />
Mór Fischer’s factory was shaken, and despite the greatest<br />
moral recognition the factory had ever received at the<br />
Viennese World’s Fair, it could not survive. Fishcer was<br />
attacked by his own sons, who felt their father’s ambitions<br />
had undermined operations. Fischer eventually<br />
moved into his father’s house in Tata, where he ran a<br />
porcelain-painting workshop with a handful of em ployees<br />
for a couple of years before passing away on 15 Feb ruary<br />
1880.<br />
Commissioned works, items admired by famous customers,<br />
gifts from the factory owner himself, and copies<br />
of far-Eastern porcelains accumulated to form a vast<br />
treasury of handmade porcelain patterns during Mór<br />
Fischer’s era, and later resulted in further innovations,<br />
new forms and a wealth of decorative variations. Patterns<br />
which have become synonymous with Herend, such as<br />
Esterházy, Miramare, Waldstein, Wales, and Gödöllô to<br />
name a few are all products of the factory’s glory days.<br />
The Herend Porcelain Factory in the days after Mór<br />
Fischer (1876-1896)<br />
A half year after the Herend factory announced its bankruptcy,<br />
Mór Fischer’s sons, Leó, Sámuel, Géza, Vilmos,<br />
and Béla, in order to obtain supporters wrote a detailed<br />
description of Herend’s activities and history, entitled a<br />
Memorandum Concerning Maintenance of the Herend<br />
Porcelain Factory, in which they emphasized their role<br />
and contribution in running the operation, criticized their<br />
father’s leadership, and outlined their plan for renovating<br />
15
16 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
and maintaining the factory. The narrative presents the<br />
factory as a family enterprise from the start, but under<br />
the absolute direction of their father, Mór Fischer.<br />
Another memoir by Dr. Hugo Farkasházy, son of Géza<br />
Fischer, relates the activities of the seven Fischer bro -<br />
thers in relation to the factory. The eldest, Leó, graduated<br />
from the technical university in Vienna and<br />
represented the factory in London and Paris. Dezsô was<br />
involved in the financial direction of the factory, while<br />
Samuel represented Herend’s interests in Vienna, and<br />
Géza, with his technical knowledge, supervised the<br />
preparation of glazes and paints as well as the firing of<br />
the goods. The fifth brother, Zsigmond, oversaw the<br />
purchase of materials and records of the workers and<br />
their jobs. The sixth brother, Vilmos, was in charge of<br />
porcelain and gold painting, while the youngest brother,<br />
Béla, was a specialist in enamel painting and the production<br />
of new paint materials.<br />
Years of stifled anger over the factory’s 1874 bankruptcy<br />
came to the surface as the younger generation challen -<br />
ged their father, and differences in commercial interests<br />
among family members became clear. The aging Fischer<br />
brothers had many children and had invested their wives’<br />
dowries in the factory. Now they were having increasing<br />
difficulties in living off their incomes and they wished to<br />
see Herend increase its profitability. After the factory was<br />
relieved from its bankruptcy in 1876, Samuel took over<br />
directorship.<br />
The porcelain factory continued to produce its cus tomary<br />
artistic hand-painted porcelain. It introduced new pro -<br />
ducts such as works modelled after Neo-Rococo forms<br />
with decoration on a cobalt-blue ground in the style of<br />
Sevres, and even still-lifes by François Boucher were<br />
readily reproduced on Herend vases. Another innovation<br />
was the gold-brocade surface decoration.<br />
Although Herend’s exhibit at the Philadelphia World’s<br />
Fair in 1876 was a success, the next few years proved<br />
difficult. The greatest struggles arose in the manufacture<br />
of whiteware, as suggested by the factory’s purchase of<br />
unpainted porcelain from Bohemia, which it painted with<br />
its own patterns. The Czech manufacturer’s mark was<br />
sanded off and replaced by Herend’s own. A report made<br />
in the 1880s register’s the gravity of the situation as<br />
it urgently “calls upon the high government to save this<br />
old company, a jewel of Hungarian industry.” In 1885<br />
Herend was nationalized and at the same time the<br />
Herend Porcelain Factory Corporation was established<br />
with the aid of Count Pál Széchenyi, the minister of agriculture,<br />
industry and commerce, and his state secretary.<br />
Hungarian aristocrats also made contributions and the<br />
state gave a loan amounting to 150,000 forints. Ferenc<br />
Hippman was called from Bohemia to run the company.<br />
His new methods – for example paying the porcelainpainters<br />
not per item but per day – brought the company<br />
to the brink of financial ruin again. His successor and<br />
compatriot, Gruss, was then followed by a well-known,<br />
experienced Hungarian ceramics-making expert, János<br />
Örley. Örley, however, wanted to introduce stone ware<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
production in place of Herend’s traditional hand-crafted<br />
porcelain. These mass-produced toiletry sets, tea and<br />
coffee services, ornamental pitchers and vases, all decorated<br />
with transfer prints, could not compete even on the<br />
Hungarian market.<br />
In 1892, an attic at the Herend factory collapsed under<br />
the weight of the raw quartz stored there, and production<br />
ceased for a long period of time. Jenô Farkasházy<br />
Fischer, the grandson of Mór Fischer, attempted to buy<br />
the factory. In order to save their assets of 125,000<br />
forints, however, the shareholders sold Herend to the<br />
United Hungarian Glassware Companies instead, which<br />
extended the demise of the company by two years, until<br />
it finally shut its doors in 1896.<br />
The turn of the century – the era of Jenô Farkasházy<br />
Fischer (1896-1926)<br />
Occasioned by the celebrations marking the 1000 th<br />
anniversary of the Hungarian Conquest, intellectual and<br />
artistic life in Hungary burgeoned. A national decorative<br />
style appeared, increasing the country’s sense of national<br />
awareness. These national motifs were born of archaeological<br />
and ethnographic elements. The highly stylized<br />
carnation, pomegranate and tulip decorations were<br />
employed to create unique and valuable patterns, known<br />
among the repertoire of Herend designs as Motifs Hongrois.<br />
In 1893 Jenô Farkasházy Fischer 4 (1861-1926) offered<br />
to buy the company, and in 1896 he was taken up on his<br />
offer by the current owners who were unable to cope with<br />
the job. Farkasházy, who was the artistic director of the<br />
Ungvár Porcelain and Pottery Company at the time,<br />
outlined his ideas in a detailed plan for the factory. Mór<br />
Fischer’s grandson had studied ceramics at the Ecole des<br />
Beaux Arts in Paris, and later expanded on his knowledge<br />
in England and Germany. In his writing on art he<br />
examined classic figures in the field of ceramics, such as<br />
Bernard Palissy, 5 whom he wrote a monograph on in<br />
1887. His attention was drawn to this French craftsman<br />
perhaps because of a comment made by Jacob von Falke<br />
that Mór Fischer was a modern-day Palissy. In another<br />
important work Farkasházy explored the history of the<br />
della Robbia family of Florence. 6 His studies, travels and<br />
experience in the Ungvár factory provided him with the<br />
necessary grounding to head the Herend factory; and<br />
moreover, he had his father’s knowledge to rely on.<br />
In April 1897, the stoves at Herend were re-lit, and the<br />
factory resumed production of “classic” Herend goods.<br />
One of the bigger commissions was the expansion of and<br />
replacement of pieces from the various services be lon -<br />
ging to the Buda Royal Palace. Completing the 1899<br />
order required the cooperation of the painting workshop<br />
in Ungvár and the Hüllt porcelain factory in Budapest.<br />
By 1900, Farkasházy was already making pieces, although<br />
not many, conceived in the new style, Art Nouveau.<br />
He used special glazing techniques, such as a hot,<br />
17
18 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
poured glaze (coulé) to coat his decorative vases. Soft<br />
porcelain glazes also captured his interest, as did celadon<br />
glazes with their lustrous potential and crystal glazes.<br />
Using the pâte sur pâte technique he made not only<br />
vases but plaquettes. These works were introduced at<br />
the 1900 World’s Fair, which focused on Art Nouveau,<br />
and earned him a gold medal. Another great success<br />
for Hungarian ceramics in Paris was the exhibition of<br />
Zsolnay ceramics, painted with a special eosin glaze and<br />
shown alongside the best examples of French Art Nouveau<br />
and German Jugendstil.<br />
Although Farkasházy’s efforts were rewarded in Paris,<br />
this did not lead to a boom in business. His wide-range<br />
of interests – as industrialist, porcelain designer, technologist,<br />
collector of art and books, music and dance<br />
connoisseur, world traveller, socialite, and fan of good<br />
cigars – often distracted him from his porcelain factory,<br />
and he frequenly spent weeks or months away from<br />
Herend. In order to finance his hobbies, he even sold<br />
some factory equipment, but would later return to<br />
Herend full of new ideas. Inspired by similar Wedgewood<br />
designs, in 1905 he began producing small series of plaquettes<br />
depicting saints, rulers, artists and politicians. In<br />
1907 he advertised a competition in the journal Magyar<br />
Iparmûvészet [Hungarian Applied Arts], for designs for<br />
tableware for a middle-class market. Later he tried delicately<br />
painted accessories such as walking stick handles<br />
and knobs, and curtain weights, using one of the most<br />
popular patterns, Rothschild. At the 1911 World’s Fair in<br />
Turin, Farkasházy displayed earlier Herend porcelain<br />
pieces.<br />
When Farkasházy first purchased the factory the state<br />
gave him a twelve-year tax break; nevertheless his debts<br />
continued to accumulate. Later, Farkasházy became gra -<br />
vely ill, spending time in a sanatorium. His debilitation<br />
left him unable to oversee the workings of the factory and<br />
eventually he was forced to auction off even his personal<br />
belongings. During World War I he found his workers<br />
conscripted into the army and raw materials impossible<br />
to obtain; thus he had no choice but to close his doors.<br />
Following the First World War, the triumphant Entente<br />
powers and their allies redrew the map of Europe, and<br />
two-thirds of Hungary’s territory were annexed to the<br />
newly formed nation states bordering Hungary, and onethird<br />
of its Hungarian-speaking population also found<br />
itself outside the country’s borders. Hungary faced great<br />
hardship in the 1920s, since significant sources of raw<br />
materials and important markets were lost along with<br />
the territories. Following the war, Herend had difficulty<br />
resuming production. At the advice of his friends, Farkas -<br />
házy transformed the business into a share company in<br />
1923 with the substantial assistance of the Lloyd and<br />
Mobil banks. He retained a majority of the shares in the<br />
company, and continued as head and artistic director of<br />
the factory. The production manager was István György,<br />
and the managing director Dr. Gyula Gulden. Herend was<br />
reborn: new worker’s quarters were built, a tile stove<br />
works established, and an apprentice program initiated,<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
with forty-four painters and throwers beginning their<br />
training in 1925. One new profile of the company was<br />
small display-case items, animals and especially birds,<br />
designed by Sándor Kelety and the younger György<br />
Vastagh. A particularly important sculptural work was<br />
Vastagh’s allegorical statue ensemble entitled First<br />
Cable, to commemorate the first communication cable<br />
link between London, Vienna, Budapest and Constantinople.<br />
Above the allegories of the countries rises the<br />
figure of News (Fama) in the form of a spirit spreading<br />
its wings. The Felten-Guillaume company intended the<br />
porcelain sets as gifts to those countries across which<br />
the cable stretched. The ensemble was such a success<br />
that seventy more sculptures were ordered by Felten-<br />
Guillaume. Herend also made versions in glazed porcelain<br />
bisque with colourful overpainting. Numerous forms<br />
were revived, and the selection of products was expan -<br />
ded with various accessories such as bon-bonnieres,<br />
ashtrays and cigarette snuffs.<br />
Herend won a gold medal at the 1926 World’s Fair in<br />
Philadelphia. This was Jenô Farkasházy’s final triumph.<br />
He died that year, and was buried next to his grandfather,<br />
Mór Fischer in Tata.<br />
Herend between the Worlds Wars (1926 - 1948)<br />
When Herend became a share company, Farkasházy –<br />
who also acted as artistic director – invited important<br />
figures in Hungarian cultural and scholarly life, including<br />
Elek Petrovics, director of the National Museum of Fine<br />
Arts; Henrik Marczali, professor at Péter Pázmány University,<br />
Károly Layer, head of the ceramics department<br />
and later director of the Hungarian National Museum of<br />
Applied Arts, and Jenô Hubay, director of the Academy<br />
of Music to serve on the board. They were active supporters<br />
of Herend’s operations, as was evidenced in the<br />
type of products offered. After Farkasházy’s death, István<br />
György was named artistic director, while the excep -<br />
tionally talented Dr. Gyula Gulden (1898-1971) served<br />
as head and commercial manager. After several years<br />
at Herend, Gulden clearly discerned Herend’s weaknesses,<br />
and devised a plan for the artistic direction of<br />
the company. He wrote in 1927 to one of the members<br />
of the governing board of the share company, Zsigmond<br />
Farkasházy:<br />
“today, almost without exception, every art factory works<br />
in two directions. Reproduction of old, classic models<br />
brings them their daily bread. At the same time, artists<br />
in their employment are constantly producing new<br />
models, which ensure artistic success for the companies.<br />
These new pieces are what we find on view at exhibits,<br />
and they are what ensure the survival of these companies’<br />
reputations. (…) and also the continued interest of<br />
traders and collectors. Even if Herend had wanted to<br />
participate in the 1925 Paris World’s Fair, it would have<br />
been unable to, because one requirement was that<br />
the objects be new models, representations of today’s<br />
applied arts (…) Lest I should be misunderstood, I must<br />
19
20 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
emphasize that by new models I do not mean Expressionist<br />
or Cubist art, but beautiful, original models by<br />
top artists. What style the new models should take –<br />
classical, modern, or hyper-modern – is an entirely diffe -<br />
rent question, which should play a role in the selection of<br />
artistic adviser.<br />
His ideas were decisive in the future of Herend, and<br />
as main shareholder, he had influence in all decisions<br />
running the company as managing director. He kept a<br />
close eye on the acquirement of raw materials, the<br />
development of new technologies, and the instruction of<br />
a new generation of skilled workers. The expansion of the<br />
factory is clear from the rise in the number of em ployees.<br />
In 1923 there were fifteen workers in the factory, and in<br />
1938 there were 448.<br />
Another grandson of Mór Fischer, Emil Fischer (1863-<br />
1937) also contributed significantly to Herend’s success<br />
in the 1930s. He had graduated from the Teplice School<br />
of Ceramics in 1881, and made study trips to England<br />
and probably America too. In 1890 he founded his own<br />
business in Budapest; he was also involved in the trade<br />
of porcelain and glass, and assisted several Hungarian<br />
ceramics factories. In 1929 he came to work at Herend<br />
as technical advisers.<br />
In the time of Gyula Gulden and Emil Fischer, initiatives<br />
were made at Herend that were not typical of earlier<br />
methods. First of all, the factory’s products were organi -<br />
zed. Dishware, decorative porcelain and new sculptural<br />
works were supplied with code numbers. The letter codes<br />
used today to classify the various decorations originated<br />
from this period too. [The letter codes were presumably<br />
created from the first letter of the client and/or the<br />
French naming of the decoration, for example VBO –<br />
Victoria avec Bord en Or (Victoria pattern painted with<br />
a gold edge) or MHG – Motifs Hongrois (Hungarian motifs)].<br />
A painter’s pattern book was prepared even for the<br />
traditional ornamentation used at Herend; flat or raised<br />
drawings of dishware with braided rims showed the exact<br />
proportions of the patterns. Product catalogues and<br />
price lists were assembled to make ordering easier, and<br />
a list of Herend’s old, important customers was created<br />
from old records to bolster Herend’s reputation. After<br />
personally studying the porcelain collection at the<br />
Museum of Applied Art, Gulden suggested reviving<br />
quality works from the days of Mór Fischer. Although the<br />
production of small sculptures had not been typical of<br />
Herend, the new management ordered the design and<br />
production of such works. Among the first statues were<br />
Miklós Izsó’s peasant figures, which Kata Gácser refa -<br />
shioned for porcelain.<br />
The changes that occurred in the structure of Hungarian<br />
society between the two World Wars affected artists<br />
too – hundreds of thousands of mainly well-educated<br />
people, public officials and university graduates, flooded<br />
across the borders from the annexed territories into Hungary,<br />
where frequently an uncertain existence awaited<br />
them. The numbers of artists grew and they thronged<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
social institutions. Between 1920 and 1933, more than<br />
eleven societies, unions and associations were formed<br />
with large memberships. Artists worked under strained<br />
financial circumstances, and exhibited their works in<br />
the National Salon, private galleries and exhibit halls.<br />
Especially successful were the thematic shows, such as<br />
the exhibition of nudes at the Hall of Art (Mûcsarnok)<br />
which attracted 120,000 visitors. Herend purchased<br />
several nudes figures by Elek Lux, and the subsequent<br />
porce lain nudes the company produced were much<br />
sought after. These modest displays of the mysteries<br />
of the female body attracted a male audience, and<br />
were favourite ornaments in “gentlemen’s studies”. The<br />
company leadership embarked on the regular policy of<br />
visiting exhibits at the National Salon and the Hall of Art<br />
and purchasing works they considered producible in<br />
porcelain. The most frequently chosen works were by<br />
representatives of “Baroque” neo-classical academism:<br />
Zsigmond Kisfaludi Stróbl, Elek Lux, Ede Telcs, and<br />
György Vastagh the younger. The factory hired its first<br />
porcelain designer, István Lôrincz, in 1938. His task was<br />
to modernize existing models, minimize technical errors<br />
and instruct in sculpture production.<br />
The 1930s was the period in Herend’s history when the<br />
company’s best known sculptures, ones that would be<br />
produced for years, were made, including Miklós Ligeti’s<br />
Mme Déry, Elek Lux’s Ludas Matyi and Matyó Madonna,<br />
Kisfaludi’s Hussar examining his sword, and Károly Csapváry’s<br />
Matyó wedding. There were numerous inte resting<br />
entries in the 1938 design competition marking the<br />
900th anniversary of St Stephen’s death and the 1940<br />
sport’s statue competition, which resulted in several<br />
important additions to the Herend sculpture repertoire.<br />
Although small sculpture significantly increased Herend’s<br />
income, the majority of purchases were dinner, tea and<br />
coffee services and the ever more popular decorative<br />
porcelains. Some vase forms were re-shaped into lamp<br />
forms, for which Malagola Cappi designed lampshades<br />
embroidered with motifs based on Herend ornamentation.<br />
Herend was also the frequent producer of state and<br />
diplomatic gifts. The most important destination of<br />
Herend export goods in the 1930s were Switzerland,<br />
France, Belgium, Holland, and the United States of<br />
America. About thirty percent of the porcelain factory’s<br />
products were sold abroad.<br />
An exhibition commemorating one hundred years of<br />
Herend, based on the date of Mór Fischer’s establishment<br />
of the factory, was organized in 1939. More than<br />
600 works were put on display, including pieces from the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts and private collectors. Visitors<br />
also had an opportunity to see demonstrations of porcelain<br />
painting and free-hand modelling of flowers. One of<br />
the foremost art critics of the period, however, declared<br />
Herend goods “numerically too plentiful in colour and<br />
form”, and encouraged instead the development of individual<br />
character as an artistic goal. In reality, he was cri -<br />
ticizing the shallow, parvenu consumers with poor taste.<br />
21
22 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
During the Second World War through 1944 the factory<br />
managed to continue operation, although obtaining<br />
raw materials presented problems. In 1942, the factory<br />
had 750 employees. The war caused a supply deficit in<br />
raw iron, which led to a reduction in the production of<br />
wrought iron stoves, and Herend, seizing the opportunity,<br />
increased its production of tiles and tile stoves. In<br />
order to support foreign trade Gulden accepted a foreign<br />
service job, heading the Hungarian Consulate in Por -<br />
tugal. During the war, export to England, France and<br />
America essentially ceased, and Germany, Switzerland,<br />
Portugal, Italy, Slovakia and Belgium became the main<br />
the importers. In 1944 the factory was officially registered<br />
as a munitions factory, which prevented workers<br />
from being conscripted.<br />
The Nationalized Porcelain Factory (1948-1991)<br />
The consequences of the Second World War – the millions<br />
who lost their lives; the eight to nine hundred<br />
thousand Hungarian soldiers taken as prisoners of war,<br />
many never returning home; the destruction of industrial,<br />
agricultural, and transportation installations – had a<br />
paralyzing effect. National income had decreased by half<br />
in contrast to pre-war numbers. Foreign trade came to<br />
a complete halt. Hungary fell within the Soviet Union’s<br />
sphere of power.<br />
The new political system caused fundamental changes<br />
in the life of both the village of Herend and its porcelain<br />
factory. Land reform brought changes in land tenure,<br />
while the suspension of ethnic German’s political rights<br />
and later their deportation changed the face and the<br />
ethnic make-up of Herend. 7<br />
For years following the war, the factory could not obtain<br />
kaolin, a necessary raw material, and had to rely on its<br />
reserves. Its products at this time were small, artistically<br />
painted objects. The company was nationalized on 26<br />
March 1948. Gyula Gulden, Herend’s skilful managing<br />
director emigrated from Hungary to Switzerland that<br />
year and later to the United States, where he continued<br />
to work in porcelain manufacturing. Indicative of the<br />
confused state of affairs, between 1948 and 1951 the<br />
company had four successive directors. In the meantime<br />
the factory had managed to acquire high quality, preprepared<br />
porcelain paste from Limoges, ensuring the<br />
superior product customary at Herend. Modelling and<br />
painting was still done by hand, but preparation of the<br />
paste was now automated.<br />
The cultural policies of the new political system interfered<br />
in the life of the whole country and thus in the life of<br />
the Herend porcelain factory too. The new government<br />
strove to break with middle class traditions and values<br />
and any outward appearances of these. The leadership<br />
wanted cheaper Herend porcelain, affordable gift items<br />
in place of luxury ware, and propagandistic sculpture in<br />
addition to bird, fruit, flower, and fish figurines, ashtrays<br />
and other knickknacks. Portraits and busts of Hungarian<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
and Soviet communist leaders were made in varying sizes<br />
for party offices and factory managers. The expressionist<br />
works, often superbly composed, popularized peasant<br />
unions. Mátyás Rákosi, head of the Hungarian Communist<br />
Party, was married to a woman of Yakut origins,<br />
Fenya Fodorovna Kornilova, who had studied porcelain<br />
at the Hungarian Academy of Applied Arts, graduating<br />
in 1953. Some of her designs for dishes and sets were<br />
used at Herend. The setting up of an Artists’ House at<br />
the factory in the 1950s was a result of her personal influence.<br />
Significant investments were made in the factory<br />
at the time; the thrower’s workshop was expanded, a<br />
painting workshop was established for women (employment<br />
of women in the pre-war years had been unusual),<br />
and a new cafeteria was set up. The most characteristic<br />
work of the period was the more than two-meter-tall<br />
House of Parliament Vase, designed by Tibor Bruck in<br />
honour of the 115 year-old-building. The vase shows<br />
Imre Steindl’s eclectic building along the banks of the<br />
Danube, and includes the inscription: In our land all<br />
power belongs to the people.<br />
This proletarian dictatorship with its use of personality<br />
cults, intimidation, and false democracy led to the 1956<br />
uprising and war for independence, in which Hungary,<br />
left to her own devices, failed, and serious repercussions<br />
ensued. The system consolidated only in the mid-1960s,<br />
and the understanding of cultural direction changed. An<br />
ideological point of view was no longer expected of the<br />
artists, at least not directly. Herend became a member of<br />
the National Company of the Fine Ceramics Industry<br />
founded in 1963, and later from 1968 to 1981 of the<br />
Fine Ceramics Works. This huge company had absorbed<br />
all Hungarian ceramics companies, with the unviable<br />
companies feeding off the profits of the prospering ones.<br />
This form of operation was not beneficial to Herend,<br />
since it produced fifty-percent of the national porcelain<br />
industry’s income, while the profits were divided up in a<br />
peculiarly “egalitarian” way. At the same time the factory<br />
had regained its artistic independence. Following nationalization<br />
in 1949, an engineer and technician had<br />
run the company, and by 1963, alongside five engineers<br />
and ten technicians, there were also seven designers. In<br />
those years Herend revived its old, traditional repertoire<br />
of patterns, and looked to its own past for inspiration.<br />
Two designers, Ágoston Brand and Éva Szittya Horváth,<br />
excelled in 20 th century historicism; their works included<br />
the rococo Pompadour, the empire Joesphine, and the<br />
Biedermeier style Duna services. Herend Porcelain was<br />
run by Dr. Béla Felek from 1964 until the end of commu -<br />
nism. This period was primarily characterized by technical,<br />
technological and social development. In 1964-65<br />
two representatives of the new generation of skilled<br />
young designers, Irén Cs. Illés and László Horváth,<br />
arri ved at the Herend Porcelain Factory. Their modern<br />
services, however, did not receive adequate support in<br />
the factory. Horváth’s service Saturnus, which won a<br />
gold medal in Faenza, was later mass-produced not at<br />
Herend, but at the Alföld Porcelain Factory. The talented<br />
Emese Vásárhelyi also hoped her stunning examples<br />
of industrial design would gain favour, but Herend’s<br />
23
24 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
traditions did not accommodate this kind of work. Despite<br />
important studio work, Herend continued to earn<br />
its revenue from the sale of traditional Herend patterns.<br />
The demand for porcelain and the growth in production<br />
can be traced through the increasing number of emplo -<br />
yees. In 1948 there were approximately 300 workers,<br />
in 1965 more than 600, in 1970 nearly 1,000, and in<br />
1973, 1,203. In 1981 Herend split from the Fine Cera -<br />
mics Works, but it only gained the right to commercial<br />
autonomy in 1985, with the company council taking over<br />
the main management. From then on, design, decisionmaking<br />
and operational work were all carried out in the<br />
same place as production, thus all facets working in<br />
greater harmony. A market perspective opened many<br />
doors, and the state’s economic and political monopoly<br />
over the porcelain factory had clearly begun to waver.<br />
That year, the Herend Studio was formed with the participation<br />
of three designers, László Horváth, Zoltán<br />
Takács and Ákos Tamás, their energy and talent representing<br />
a new level in the artistic range of the porcelain<br />
factory.<br />
The new phenomenon of the 1970s, the world dominance<br />
of information science, linked products and markets<br />
throughout the world. The structure of the state and<br />
of labour practices within the Soviet sphere, however,<br />
was built on isolationism, in contradiction to the free flow<br />
of information and market mobility. Another phenomenon<br />
of the decade was the oil crisis, with the dramatic<br />
rise in fuel prices forcing irreversible changes within the<br />
Soviet realm. By the end of the 1980s the resources of<br />
the planned economy were exhausted, and Hungary had<br />
accumulated a huge national debt. The state ownership<br />
monopoly also dissolved, and alongside cooperative<br />
ownership, economic work groups appeared, which primarily<br />
produced articles of mass consumption; these<br />
small enterprises were the pioneers of a freely emerging<br />
market economy in the 1990s. The formation of new<br />
political parties or the reformation of old ones, all urging<br />
social change, was the first big step toward the end of<br />
communism and the beginning of parliamentarianism<br />
and multi-party democracy.<br />
Herend in the new millennium (1991-2008)<br />
The change in political systems began in Herend in the<br />
autumn of 1989. The factory’s reputation and strong<br />
financial situation made it attractive to privatization, with<br />
various groups of domestic and foreign investors showing<br />
interest. The managing body of the factory, the company<br />
council, declared an employee buyout the best route<br />
to privatization. That year the company council chose<br />
József Kovács, head of the commercial department of<br />
the factory, from several candidates to become managing<br />
director. The company now had at its head a man not<br />
only well regarded by the state leadership but also res -<br />
pected for his international experience and connections,<br />
his knowledge and professionalism, his skill in foreign<br />
languages, and above all his determination and consistency.<br />
After thorough preparations, the process of priva-<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental<br />
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,<br />
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.<br />
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase<br />
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
tization began. In June 1992 the Herend Porcelain Share<br />
Company was formed as the legal successor to the He -<br />
rend Porcelain Factory. In the 1990s Herend experience<br />
development unprecedented in the Hungarian economy.<br />
After the employee buyout, Herend began making investments<br />
in the company using its own financial resour -<br />
ces, creating an environment befitting the sumptuous<br />
luxury porcelain it produced. The factory buildings were<br />
modernized, and the building erected by Mór Fischer<br />
was restored as a historical monument and a permanent<br />
exhibit installed with space for temporary shows. The<br />
group of buildings opposite the factory comprise the<br />
Porcelánium. Here visitors can discover the secrets of<br />
porcelain-making in the so-called Mini-manufactory, or<br />
have a meal served on real Herend dishware at the<br />
restaurant and café Apicius, named for the ancient<br />
Roman gourmet, or purchase Herend goods in Viktória,<br />
the factory’s porcelain shop.<br />
With initiatives embracing the traditions of manufactured<br />
porcelain, Herend found partners among the most important<br />
representatives of artistic porcelain in Europe. In<br />
April 1992 the Association of European Porcelain Manufacturers<br />
was formed with the participation of Vienna,<br />
Berlin, Herend, Ludwigsburg, Meissen and Sevres. The<br />
cooperating companies agreed to make their own pastes<br />
and whiteware, do all painting by hand, nurture the<br />
traditions of the applied arts, conduct training seminars<br />
and offer a selection of products that have art historical<br />
significance.<br />
In 1993, Imre Schrammel, a prominent figure in Hungarian<br />
and international ceramic art, participated in<br />
the work of the managing council. With his talent, his<br />
ready knowledge of international trends, his demanding<br />
personality, and his suggestive works of art, Schrammel<br />
had considerable influence on colleagues and students,<br />
serving as rector of the Hungarian Academy of Applied<br />
Arts [from 2001 the Hungarian University of Craft and<br />
Design, from 2006 the Moholy-Nagy University of Design].<br />
He taught generations of students in the cera mics<br />
department, launching them on their careers. He is<br />
primarily responsible for the change in philosophy at<br />
Herend, based on his view that production development<br />
had ceased for some time. The factory’s technological<br />
revival and perfection paved the way for Herend to invite<br />
not only designers from its own studio, but also Hunga -<br />
rian ceramicists and sculptors to a “figure-symposium” in<br />
Siklós in 1995. This melding of ideas led Herend to call<br />
upon sculptor Miklós Melocco, ceramicist Márta Nagy<br />
and porcelain designer Pálma Babos to come up with<br />
new designs. Schrammel himself took an earlier series of<br />
chamotte-clay Minotaurs and refashioned it for porcelain.<br />
Sometimes triumphant, historicizing, sometimes<br />
frail and writhing, suffering from love, embracing bullheaded<br />
monsters, the figures are revived symbols from<br />
the world of human instinct. Their bodies are covered in<br />
typical Herend motifs, the body and paint merged as one.<br />
Imre Schrammel’s most mature work for Herend is his<br />
carnival series, his female figures in renaissance costume<br />
peaking out from behind flirtatious masks. For Schram-<br />
25
26 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracyion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like<br />
a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and redscaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green<br />
clouds; the back and the front panels have two larger<br />
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
mel, paying tribute to the 18 th century master Kaendler,<br />
today considered one of the classics in European porcelain<br />
art, meant the greatest artistic challenge as he<br />
worked to produce his own version of the Plague Doctor.<br />
Among foreign designers, Peter Faust succeeded in creating<br />
entirely new forms in the world of Herend table<br />
services, and also his Art Nouveau decoration from the<br />
late 1990s is like a fresh splash of colour on the palette<br />
of Herend.<br />
Herend also met the demands of far eastern markets.<br />
In order to appeal to Japanese tastes, the company expanded<br />
its series of products with some new dishware<br />
types and accessories appropriate to the island country’s<br />
table culture. Takeo Suzuki played an important role in<br />
developing these products, drawing on his European<br />
schooling and experience to thoughtfully select those<br />
traditional Herend forms and patterns that would most<br />
successfully capture the attention of Japanese consu -<br />
mers. Suzuki is responsible for the re-discovery and<br />
re-fashioning of “Herend chinoiserie.”<br />
The much respected managing director, József Kovács,<br />
headed the company for fourteen years. During this time<br />
Herend not only developed into one of the first manufacturers<br />
of luxury porcelain, but also an economically<br />
stable, sustainable, world-class company with a vision<br />
for the future. However, the crisis of the fine ceramics<br />
industry, brought about in part by a saturated market<br />
and also by the new eating habits and lifestyles of<br />
the younger generation, has changed Herend’s future.<br />
Moreover the demand for luxury goods was affected<br />
by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 for years.<br />
Following József Kovács’s departure as director of the<br />
company, Sándor Polányi briefly took over. Since Septem<br />
ber 2005 the Herend Porcelain Factory has been run<br />
by Attila Simon, a trusted colleague and former head of<br />
legal affairs. The last few years have been characterized<br />
by downsizing and more restrained management in<br />
keeping with market demands, although Hungarian<br />
porcelain artists have been involved in serious behindthe-scenes<br />
work. Once again, Herend stands on the threshold<br />
of innovation while ensuring the high standards<br />
of quality passionate and demanding connoisseurs of<br />
fine porcelain have come to expect from this Hungarian<br />
porcelain factory.<br />
Budapest<br />
September, 2008<br />
Gabriella Balla<br />
Museum of Applied Arts<br />
Curator of the Porcelain Collection<br />
Translated by Lara Strong<br />
This brief summary of the history of the Herend porcelain<br />
manufactory in based on the author’s monograph<br />
(Gabriella Balla: Herend Porcelain – The history of a<br />
Hungarian institution. Herend, 2003.)<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of<br />
1<br />
Ilona Közli Ruzicska, A herendi porcelán [Herend porcelain],<br />
Budapest, 1938, p. 81-81.<br />
2<br />
Ágoston Kubinyi, Hazai mûiparunk érdekében [In the interest<br />
of the local applied arts industry], Archaeológiai Értesítô, 1869.<br />
5. sz., 91. p.<br />
3<br />
Jacob von Falke, Die Kunstindustrie auf der Wiener Weltausstellung<br />
1873, Wien, 1873<br />
4<br />
Jenô Farkasházi Fischer officially requested the change of his<br />
name in 1900, which was approved in 1906, after which he used<br />
the name Jenô Farkasházy.<br />
5<br />
Jenô Farkasházi Fischer, Palissy élete és mûvei [Palissy’s life and<br />
works], Budapest, 1887<br />
6<br />
Farkasházi Fischer Jenô, A Della Robbia-család: Szakasz az olasz<br />
Renaissance történetébôl [The Della-Robbia family: a section<br />
form Italian Renaissance history], Budapest, 1896<br />
7<br />
József Hudi, Herend története. Egy bakonyi község múltja és<br />
jelene [The history of Herend. The past and present of a Bakony<br />
community], Veszprém, 1998, 176. p.<br />
27
Notes<br />
Notes<br />
Marques<br />
Marks<br />
28 The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
The original version of the small ornamental vase with<br />
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of<br />
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a<br />
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the<br />
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the<br />
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of<br />
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled<br />
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;<br />
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings<br />
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe<br />
original version of the small ornamental vase<br />
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and<br />
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The<br />
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s<br />
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting<br />
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst<br />
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front<br />
panels have two larger paintings each representing<br />
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.<br />
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons<br />
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back<br />
and the front panels have two larger paintings each<br />
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy<br />
Marques estampées:<br />
Marques peintes:<br />
Marques imprimées:<br />
IM: Musée des arts décoratifs, Budapest<br />
HPMA: Musée de la porcelaine de Herend<br />
MAR: Musée Ariana, Genève<br />
HPM: Manufacture de porcelaine de Herend<br />
Impressed marks:<br />
Painted marks:<br />
Printed marks:<br />
IM: Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest<br />
HPMA: Herend Porcelain Museum<br />
MAR: Musée Ariana, Geneva<br />
HPM: Herend Porcelain Manufactory<br />
29
La période de Moritz Fischer:<br />
L'émergence d'une grande manufacture<br />
The Moritz Fischer period:<br />
Emergence of a great porcelain maker<br />
Lorsque Moritz Fischer fit l’acquisition de l’entreprise de<br />
Vince Stingl en 1840, la fabrication de porcelaine n’y<br />
était encore qu’à ses tout premiers balbutiements. En<br />
très peu de temps, le nouveau propriétaire mit sur pied<br />
une production digne de ce nom, tout en réorganisant<br />
l’établissement pour lui donner progressivement les<br />
structures d’une manufacture efficiente. Dès 1842,<br />
Fischer participa à la première Exposition industrielle<br />
hongroise tenue à Budapest, où ses produits recueilleront<br />
déjà un beau succès.<br />
Esthétiquement, les produits de Herend se situaient<br />
dans la mouvance des styles dominants de l’époque:<br />
le Biedermeier (N° 4) ou le néo-rocaille international<br />
(N° 1), comme on les rencontrait abondamment dans<br />
les répertoires des concurrents directs de Herend, la<br />
manufacture de Vienne ou les fabriques de Bohême,<br />
comme Schlaggenwald ou Elbogen.<br />
L’histoire de la manufacture veut qu’en 1844, l’épouse<br />
du comte Charles Esterházy de Galánta s’adressât à<br />
Fischer pour réassortir l’un de ses services en porcelaine<br />
de Meissen. Ce dernier relèvera le défi, pressentant tout<br />
le bénéfice qu’il pourrait tirer de ce genre d’opération en<br />
termes d’image de marque auprès de la haute aristocratie<br />
hongroise. Et il est de fait que de nombreuses autres<br />
requêtes de ce type viendront grossir les carnets de<br />
commande dans les années qui suivirent. L’exercice<br />
consistant à imiter le plus fidèlement possible les<br />
modèles saxons, puis ceux de Vienne ou de Sèvres, allait<br />
permettre à la jeune manufacture de se mesurer aux<br />
standards les plus élevés de la porcelaine européenne.<br />
Pour y réussir, Fischer ne ménagera pas ses efforts, améliorant<br />
sans cesse la qualité de sa pâte, de ses émaux<br />
et de ses ors. Avec son décor de «fleurs allemandes»<br />
et sa forme inspirée de Meissen (bien qu’elle soit un<br />
peu trapue), la soupière N° 2 témoigne des avancées<br />
technologiques et artistiques réalisées en l’espace de<br />
quelques années seulement.<br />
La légende veut que cette école du mimétisme – extrêmement<br />
formatrice pour ses collaborateurs – ait aussi<br />
amené Fischer à réorienter complètement sa ligne de<br />
production. Tout en imitant les chefs-d’œuvre de la<br />
porcelaine européenne du XVIII e siècle, il trouvera dans<br />
ces modèles illustres une inspiration sans limites pour le<br />
renouvellement de son propre répertoire formel et<br />
ornemental. Souvent même il reproduira, presque sans<br />
les modifier, des modèles repérés dans les répertoires<br />
When Moritz Fischer acquired Vince Stingl‘s factory in<br />
1840, porcelain manufacture in the company was still in<br />
its infancy. Very quickly, the new owner established a<br />
production line worthy of the name, at the same time<br />
reorganising the business in order to turn it gradually<br />
into an efficient manufacturing structure. As early as<br />
1842, Fischer took part in the first Hungarian Industrial<br />
Exhibition in Budapest, where his products had great<br />
early success.<br />
From an aesthetic point of view, Herend products were<br />
influenced by the dominant styles of the period: Biedermeier<br />
(No. 4) or international neo-rococo (No. 1), such<br />
as were to be found in abundance in the repertoires of<br />
Herend’s direct competitors, Vienna or the Bohemian<br />
factories, such as Schlaggenwald or Elbogen.<br />
Factory history says that in 1844, the wife of Count<br />
Charles Esterházy of Galánta turned to Herend in order<br />
to get some replacement pieces for one of her Meissen<br />
services. Fischer rose to the challenge, foreseeing all the<br />
advantages he stood to gain from this type of transaction<br />
in terms of the image his manufactory would acquire<br />
among the Hungarian nobility. And indeed many other<br />
requests of this kind were to swell the order books over<br />
the next years. The practice of imitating the Saxon<br />
models, and then those of Vienna or Sèvres, as faithfully<br />
as possible, enabled the young manufacturing company<br />
to calibrate its production on the highest standards<br />
of European porcelain. In order to do this successfully,<br />
Fischer spared no effort, constantly improving the<br />
quality of his paste, his enamels and his gilding. With its<br />
“German flowers” pattern and Meissen-inspired (albeit<br />
somewhat squat) shape, the soup tureen (No. 2) illustrates<br />
the technological and artistic advances made in<br />
the space of just a few years.<br />
According to legend, this learning by copying – an<br />
extremely formative experience for his assistants – also<br />
caused Fischer to refocus his production line completely.<br />
By imitating 18th-century European porcelain master-<br />
31<br />
1<br />
Vase, après 1847<br />
Portrait de Moritz Fischer<br />
haut. 25,2 cm<br />
Marques estampées: FM, <strong>HEREND</strong>, 847<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.66.1<br />
Vase, after 1847<br />
Portrait of Moritz Fischer<br />
Height 25,2 cm<br />
Impressed marks: FM, <strong>HEREND</strong>, 847<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.66.1<br />
1a<br />
Détail du revers du N° 1:<br />
Vue de la manufacture de Herend<br />
Detail on the reverse side of N° 1:<br />
View of the Herend manufactory
32 anciens des grandes manufactures historiques pour<br />
enrichir l’assortiment. Il ne sera certes pas le seul à<br />
pratiquer de la sorte en Europe, à une époque où les arts<br />
appliqués commençaient à suivre le courant de l’historicisme,<br />
lequel prônait justement un retour aux styles du<br />
passé. Pour la toute jeune entreprise de Herend, le fait<br />
de se réapproprier en quelque sorte l’histoire de la<br />
porcelaine était peut-être aussi une manière de légitimer<br />
ses ambitions dans le concert des grandes manufactures<br />
européennes.<br />
Le vase pot-pourri N° 3 s’inspire assez précisément, sous<br />
une forme certes quelque peu simplifiée, d’un modèle<br />
créé à Meissen par Johann Joachim Kändler vers 1760,<br />
pour une commande émanant de Frédéric II de Prusse 1 .<br />
Dans le cas de la jardinière N° 5, Herend copie même<br />
très exactement un modèle bien connu de Sèvres, la<br />
Cuvette Verdun, créée à Vincennes déjà, en 1754 2 .<br />
Le service à café de l’Ariana (N° 7) constitue une fois encore<br />
une référence directe aux productions de Meissen,<br />
même si, dans le cas présent, toute ambiguïté est levée<br />
au premier coup d’œil. Les formes quadrilobées de la<br />
cafetière, des tasses et du sucrier reprennent certes des<br />
formules éprouvées à Meissen dès les années 1725-30.<br />
Quant au décor, il rappelle évidemment les motifs réalisés<br />
en Saxe dans les années 1745-50 sur la base de<br />
gravures d’après Antoine Watteau. Mais le résultat final<br />
ne saurait passer pour une œuvre de Meissen, les<br />
artistes de Herend lui ont insufflé leur propre “marque”<br />
au passage. Par exemple en choisissant ce fond lie de vin<br />
assez sombre pour les panneaux rehaussés de bouquets<br />
polychromes: à Meissen les fonds colorés associés aux<br />
motifs Watteau étaient tenus dans des teintes plus lumineuses,<br />
jaune ou turquoise 3 . Pour ce qui est des<br />
scènes galantes, on devine aisément que les peintres<br />
hongrois n’ont cherché à imiter scrupuleusement ni les<br />
gravures françaises, ni même les modèles de Meissen.<br />
Pourtant ils connaissaient bien ces derniers, puisqu’ils en<br />
reproduisirent soigneusement certains traits récurrents:<br />
les personnages se détachent toujours sur un fond d’arbustes<br />
et de buissons, les hommes revêtent souvent l’apparence<br />
d’un arlequin ou d’un joueur de guitare.<br />
L’exécution des scènes se distingue cependant par son<br />
caractère naïf, relativement spontané, les postures des<br />
personnages sont un peu simplistes, et certaines couleurs<br />
surprennent par leur vivacité. A l’évidence, le propos<br />
n’était plus ici de produire des copies illusionnistes,<br />
comme dans le cas des commandes de réassortiment,<br />
mais bien de revisiter les modèles anciens et prestigieux<br />
pour leur conférer une nouvelle présence. A la marge<br />
de la tradition et en prenant appui sur cette dernière,<br />
Herend cherchait sa propre identité visuelle.<br />
Le cache-pot N° 6, avec sa scène de genre hongroise,<br />
est l’exemple d’une création qui ne fait appel à aucun modèle<br />
étranger, même si elle se nourrit de manière un peu<br />
diffuse du patrimoine de la porcelaine européenne du<br />
XVIII e siècle. En reprenant l’idée du fond coloré, qui pourrait<br />
évoquer Sèvres, ou en puisant dans le vocabulaire<br />
formel basique du néoclassicisme.<br />
pieces, he found in these illustrious originals limitless<br />
inspiration for the renewal of his own formal and ornamental<br />
repertoire. Very often in fact he would reproduce<br />
practically unchanged models found in the old repertoires<br />
of the great historical porcelain factories in order<br />
to enrich his assortment. He was certainly not alone in<br />
Europe in behaving thus, at a time when the applied arts<br />
were starting to follow the historicism trend, which<br />
advocated in fact a return to the styles of the past. For<br />
the very young Herend manufactory, retaking possession<br />
as it were of the history of porcelain may also have been<br />
a way of legitimising its own ambitions amidst the chorus<br />
of great European manufacturing houses.<br />
The pot-pourri vase (No. 3) is quite specifically inspired,<br />
though doubtless in a somewhat simplified form, by a<br />
model created at Meissen by Johann Joachim Kändler<br />
around 1760 in response to a commission from Frederick<br />
II of Prussia 1 . In the case of the jardinière (No. 5), Herend<br />
even copied very exactly a well-known Sèvres model, the<br />
Cuvette Verdun, already created at Vincennes in 1754 2 .<br />
The Ariana coffee service (No. 7) is again a reference to<br />
Meissen production, even if in this case any ambiguity is<br />
removed at first glance. The quadrilobe shapes of the<br />
coffee pot, cups and sugar bowl certainly use the design<br />
systems known at Meissen as early as 1725-30. And<br />
the pattern is obviously reminiscent of the motifs being<br />
produced in Saxony in 1745-50 based on engravings<br />
after Antoine Watteau. But the final result could not be<br />
taken for Meissen – as they worked, the Herend artists<br />
breathed the spirit of their own “brand“ into the product.<br />
For example, by choosing this rather dark wine-coloured<br />
ground for the panels embellished with polychrome<br />
bouquets: at Meissen, the coloured grounds associated<br />
with Watteau motifs used more luminous shades, yellow<br />
or turquoise 3 . As for the scènes galantes, it is easy to see<br />
that the Hungarian painters did not try scrupulously<br />
to imitate either the French engravings or even the<br />
Meissen models. Yet they were very familiar with these<br />
last, because they carefully reproduced some of their recurring<br />
features: the figures are always pictured against<br />
a background of bushes and shrubs, the men are often<br />
dressed as harlequin or as a guitar player. The execution<br />
of the scenes is distinguished however by its relatively<br />
spontaneous naïveté, the poses of the figures are a little<br />
simplistic, and certain colours surprisingly vivid. Clearly<br />
it was really a question here not of reproducing illu sionist<br />
copies, as was the case with the replenishment orders,<br />
but of revisiting the old, prestigious models in order<br />
to endow them with a new presence. In the margins of<br />
tradition, and using tradition as a support, Herend was<br />
seeking its own visual identity.<br />
The cache-pot (No. 6), with its Hungarian genre scene, is<br />
exemplary of a piece that owes nothing to any foreign<br />
model, even if fed somewhat diffusely by the heritage of<br />
European 18th century porcelain. That sustenance is in<br />
the idea of using the coloured ground, possibly evoking<br />
Sèvres, or in the use of the basic formal vocabulary of<br />
neoclassicism.<br />
Détail du N° 7:<br />
Service à café, 1861/62<br />
Scènes galantes à la manière des décors<br />
"à la Watteau" de Meissen. Les formes<br />
reprennent des modèles de Meissen<br />
Moritz Fischer excella non seulement en tant que chef<br />
d’entreprise dynamique, curieux de la concurrence,<br />
nourri de culture céramique, il présentait également<br />
des talents indéniables pour la stratégie commerciale.<br />
Dès les années 1850, il abandonnera la production de<br />
qualité courante – rehaussée de décors minimalistes:<br />
simples guirlandes ou autres bordures tenues en bleu<br />
ou en deux ou trois coloris – pour se concentrer sur le<br />
haut de gamme. Parfaitement conscient des limites du<br />
marché hongrois, il cherchera très vite à percer sur la<br />
scène internationale. Pour y parvenir, il usera systématiquement<br />
des grandes expositions internationales dont<br />
la série fut inaugurée à Londres en 1851. A vrai dire, sa<br />
manufacture sera présente dans les cinq grandes manifestations<br />
de ce type qui allaient se tenir pendant la<br />
durée de sa direction.<br />
L’événement londonien de 1851 se solda ainsi par un<br />
franc succès: toutes les pièces exposées furent vendues<br />
et une série de commandes put être enregistrée. La reine<br />
Victoria en personne jeta son dévolu sur un service orné<br />
de fleurs et de papillons stylisés à la manière orientale<br />
(N° 8). La présente théière, avec son rebord proéminent,<br />
n’est pas sans rapport avec des formes néo-rocaille<br />
que l’on rencontre couramment dans les productions<br />
anglaises des années 1830-40; le décor lui-même<br />
rappelle par son style pictural des motifs “chinois” imprimés<br />
et rehaussés au pinceau que l’on retrouve sur des<br />
Detail of N° 7:<br />
Coffee service, 1861/62<br />
Romantic scenes in the manner<br />
of the Watteau style on Meissen porcelain.<br />
The shapes after Meissen models<br />
Moritz Fischer excelled not only as a dynamic entrepreneur,<br />
keen to know what his competitors were doing and<br />
nourished by ceramic culture, but also because of his<br />
undeniable talent for commercial strategy. As early as<br />
the 1850s, he abandoned ordinary-average quality<br />
production – pieces with a simple minimalist pattern:<br />
garlands or other borders in blue or in two or three<br />
colours – in order to concentrate on top-quality porcelain.<br />
Perfectly aware of the limitations of the Hungarian<br />
market, he very quickly sought to make an international<br />
name for his manufactory. In order to do so, he systematically<br />
exploited the series of great universal exhibitions<br />
that began with London in 1851. In fact, Herend was to<br />
be represented at the five great events of this kind that<br />
were held during his period of control over the company.<br />
The London exhibition of 1851 for example was an<br />
out-and-out success: all the pieces shown were sold and<br />
a series of orders taken. Queen Victoria herself set her<br />
heart on a service decorated with stylised flowers and<br />
butterflies in the Oriental manner (No. 8). This teapot,<br />
with its prominent edging, is not unconnected to the<br />
neo-rococo forms frequently found in the English porcelain<br />
production of the 1830‘s-40‘s; the pattern with<br />
its pictorial style recalls the printed “Chinese“ motifs<br />
picked out with the brush that are found on English<br />
porcelain or china stone pieces of the same period 4 .<br />
In this particular case, might the Chinese manner have<br />
33
34 porcelaines ou faïences fines kaoliniques (China Stone)<br />
anglaises de la même époque 4 . Dans le cas qui nous<br />
intéresse, la manière chinoise aurait-elle influencé<br />
Herend par le truchement d’une interprétation anglaise?<br />
Quoi qu’il en soit, le motif qui trouva grâce aux yeux de<br />
Victoria sera bientôt rebaptisé du nom de l’auguste<br />
souveraine dans les registres de la manufacture; il demeurera<br />
l’un des décors les plus populaires de Herend,<br />
jusqu’à nos jours. La manufacture utilisera systématiquement<br />
les références à ses clients du Gotha comme<br />
argument publicitaire. Probablement au lendemain de<br />
l’Exposition de Londres, Fischer fera réaliser un vase à<br />
l’effigie du prince Albert, l’époux de Victoria (N° 9).<br />
Dès 1841, Fischer avait obtenu le droit de marquer ses<br />
produits aux armes royales et de qualifier sa manufacture<br />
d’établissement “agréé par Sa Majesté impériale et<br />
royale”. Alors que la manufacture impériale de Vienne<br />
avait déjà abordé son inexorable déclin, avant de fermer<br />
ses portes en 1864, François-Joseph I er acheta de la<br />
porcelaine de Herend à l’Exposition de Paris en 1855, en<br />
guise de cadeau de Noël pour sa mère, l’archiduchesse<br />
Sophie. La première grande commande officielle de la<br />
cour sera enregistrée en 1870. Elle portait sur plusieurs<br />
services à dîner, à thé et à café destinés au château royal<br />
de Buda, dont le grand Service d’Etat, qui comportait à<br />
l’origine 1650 pièces (N° 10). Le style de cet ensemble<br />
prestigieux reflète le goût de l’empereur pour la retenue<br />
et la sobriété: des formes néo-baroques très tempérées<br />
et un décor doré composé d’une simple bordure de<br />
feuilles de laurier. Le monogramme de François-Joseph<br />
est sommé de la Sainte couronne de Hongrie, à peine<br />
rehaussée de quelques touches de polychromie.<br />
L’empereur se servira également de la porcelaine de<br />
Herend pour une partie de ses cadeaux diplomatiques. Il<br />
est certain qu’à l’occasion la manufacture créa des<br />
modèles expressément à cet effet. Par exemple dans le<br />
cas du samovar offert par le souverain au tsar Nicolas I er<br />
(N° 13). Les modèles de samovar n’étaient certes pas<br />
légion dans les répertoires de la porcelaine traditionnelle,<br />
ici Herend dut se montrer novateur. Le résultat est<br />
pour le moins éclectique. Une sorte de collage stylistique<br />
où l’on retrouve des anses baroques sommées d’une<br />
influenced Herend by way of an English interpretation?<br />
Be that as it may, the motif which found favour with<br />
Queen Victoria was soon to be listed in the company’s<br />
catalogue with the name of the august sovereign; it was<br />
one of Herend’s most popular patterns and remains<br />
so even today. The manufactory systematically used<br />
references to its noble customers for the purposes of<br />
publicity. Probably just after the London exhibition,<br />
Fischer had a vase made with the effigy of Prince Albert,<br />
the husband of Queen Victoria (No. 9).<br />
In 1841, Fischer had obtained the right to put the royal<br />
coat of arms on his products and to describe his factory<br />
as producing porcelain “by appointment to Her Imperial<br />
and Royal Majesty “. At a time when the Imperial factory<br />
in Vienna had already begun its inexorable decline, prior<br />
to closing in 1864, Francis Joseph I bought some Herend<br />
porcelain at the Paris Exhibition in 1855 as a Christmas<br />
present for his mother, Archduchess Sophie. The first big<br />
official order from the court was recorded in 1870. It was<br />
for several dinner, tea and coffee services for the Royal<br />
Palace of Buda, including the great State Service, which<br />
originally comprised 1650 pieces (No. 10). The style of<br />
this prestigious set reflects the Emperor’s taste for<br />
restraint and sobriety: very toned-down neo-baroque<br />
shapes and gilding in the form of a simple laurel leaf<br />
border. The monogram of Francis Joseph is surmounted<br />
by the Holy Crown of Hungary, with just a little embellishment<br />
provided by a few polychrome touches.<br />
The Emperor also used Herend porcelain for some of his<br />
diplomatic gifts. Certainly on occasion the maker created<br />
models especially for that purpose. For example in the<br />
tête de femme, selon des modèles créés à Meissen dès<br />
les années 1730; un dauphin plutôt rococo et haut en<br />
couleurs en guise de robinet; sur la panse, des bouquets<br />
qui rappellent le décor Victoria, et sur le pied un motif<br />
floral très délié, parfaitement inédit.<br />
Les années comprises entre l’Exposition parisienne de<br />
1855 et celle de Londres en 1862 seront les plus<br />
marquantes dans toute la carrière de Moritz Fischer,<br />
celles où sa manufacture réalisa le plus grand nombre<br />
de produits de haute qualité, souvent datés 5 . Sous sa<br />
direction, Herend ne cessera de s’améliorer et de prospérer,<br />
malgré des problèmes financiers récurrents. A<br />
l’extérieur comme à l’intérieur du pays, la manufacture<br />
apparaissait désormais comme l’une des entreprises<br />
phares d’une Hongrie en quête de modernisation. Les<br />
mérites de Fischer seront bientôt récompensés par<br />
l’empereur lui-même: en 1859 il le décora de la Croix du<br />
Service, avant de l’anoblir en 1867.<br />
Parmi les chefs-d’œuvre de la période de Moritz Fischer<br />
figure le célèbre Service de Balatonfüred (N° 12), un tête<br />
à tête finement décoré de onze vues de la région du lac<br />
Balaton, d’après des lithographies contemporaines de<br />
Miklós Szerelmey (1802-1875). On y reconnaît plusieurs<br />
monuments remarquables de la cité de Balatonfüred, la<br />
péninsule de Tihany et le premier bateau à vapeur de<br />
Hongrie, le Kisfaludy. On retrouve les formes quadrilobées<br />
baroques directement dérivées de Meissen. Les<br />
encadrements dorés des différents tableaux reprennent<br />
la technique et le style des dorures les plus élaborées<br />
dans l’assortiment saxon des années 1735-45. L’atmosphère<br />
romantique qui émane des peintures miniatures<br />
contraste avec la préciosité baroque des ornements<br />
dorés. Un bel exemple de ce syncrétisme stylistique bien<br />
particulier qui forgera l’identité de Herend.<br />
(RB)<br />
case of the samovar offered by the sovereign to Tsar<br />
Nicholas I (No.13). Samovars were not of course frequent<br />
items in the repertoires of traditional porcelain manufacturers,<br />
Herend had to innovate here. The result is<br />
eclectic to say the least. A sort of stylistic collage in which<br />
we find baroque loop handles topped by a female head,<br />
like the Meissen models produced from 1730 on; a<br />
rather rococo brightly-coloured dolphin as a tap; on the<br />
body, bouquets reminiscent of the Victoria pattern, and<br />
on the foot a very finely-drawn floral motif, absolutely<br />
original.<br />
The years between the Paris Exhibition of 1855 and London<br />
in 1862 were to be outstanding in Moritz Fischer’s<br />
entire career, the ones during which his factory produced<br />
the largest number of high-quality pieces, often dated 5 .<br />
Under his direction, Herend constantly improved and<br />
prospered, despite recurring financial difficulties. At<br />
home and abroad, the manufactory now appeared as a<br />
flagship company in a Hungary seeking to modernise.<br />
Fischer’s merits were soon to be rewarded by the Emperor<br />
himself: in 1859 he awarded him the Gold Cross of<br />
Service, before raising him to the nobility in 1867.<br />
Among the masterpieces of the Moritz Fischer period is<br />
the celebrated Balatonfüred Service (No. 12), a tête à<br />
tête set beautifully decorated with eleven views of the<br />
Lake Balaton area, after contemporary lithographs by<br />
Miklós Szerelmey (1802-1875). Several remarkable<br />
monuments of the city of Balatonfüred can be recognised,<br />
the Tihany peninsula and the first Hungarian<br />
steamboat, the Kisfaludy. Once again we find the<br />
baroque quadrilobe shapes directly derived from Meissen.<br />
The gilt framing of the various pictures uses the<br />
technique and style of the most elaborate gildings in the<br />
Saxon factory assortment of 1735-45. The romantic<br />
atmosphere emanating from the miniatures contrasts<br />
with the baroque preciousness of the gilded ornaments.<br />
A fine example of that very particular form of stylistic<br />
syncretism that was to become the Herend identity.<br />
(RB)<br />
35<br />
Détail du N° 6:<br />
Cache-pot, 1862<br />
Scène de genre hongroise:<br />
musiciens et danseurs célébrant<br />
les vendanges<br />
1<br />
Karl Berling, Meissen China. An illustrated History, Meissen,<br />
1910, fig. 114, modèle BC; Ces modèles seront réactualisés à<br />
Meissen même dans les années 1849-50 par Ernst A. Leuteritz :<br />
Hermann Jedding, Meissener Porzellan des 19. und 20.<br />
Jahrhunderts, Munich, 1981, fig. 58<br />
2<br />
Tamara Préaud et Antoine d’Albis, La porcelaine de Vincennes,<br />
Paris, 1991, N° 202<br />
3<br />
Rainer Rückert, Meissener Porzellan 1710-1810, Munich, 1966,<br />
N° 384-389<br />
4<br />
Par exemple: Joan Jones, Minton. The First Two Hundred Years of<br />
Design and Production, Shrewsbury, 1993, p. 40<br />
5<br />
Gabriella Balla, Herend Porcelain. The history of a Hungarian<br />
institution, Herend, 2003, p. 66<br />
1<br />
Karl Berling, Meissen China. An Illustrated History, Meissen,<br />
1910, fig. 114, model BC; these models were updated at Meissen<br />
itself in 1849-50 by Ernst A. Leuteritz : Hermann Jedding,<br />
Meissener Porzellan des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Munich,<br />
1981, fig. 58<br />
2<br />
Tamara Préaud and Antoine d’Albis, La porcelaine de Vincennes,<br />
Paris, 1991, N° 202<br />
3<br />
Rainer Rückert, Meissener Porzellan 1710-1810, Munich, 1966,<br />
N° 384-389<br />
4<br />
For example: Joan Jones, Minton. The First Two Hundred Years of<br />
Design and Production, Shrewsbury, 1993, p. 40<br />
5<br />
Gabriella Balla, Herend Porcelain. The history of a Hungarian<br />
institution, Herend, 2003, p. 66<br />
Detail of N° 6:<br />
Flowerpot holder, 1862<br />
Hungarian genre scene:<br />
musicians and dancers<br />
celebrating the wine harvest
36<br />
2<br />
Soupière, après 1846<br />
larg. 32,5 cm<br />
Marques estampées: FM, Herend, 846<br />
IM, inv. 21255a-b<br />
37<br />
Soup tureen, after 1846<br />
Width 32,5 cm<br />
Impressed marks: FM, Herend, 846<br />
IM, inv. 21255a-b<br />
3<br />
Vase pot-pourri, 1850<br />
Interprétation simplifiée d'une<br />
forme créée à Meissen vers 1760<br />
haut. 36 cm<br />
Marque estampée: Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.67.1.1-2<br />
Potpourri vase, 1850<br />
Simplified version of a Meissen<br />
model created around 1760<br />
Height 36 cm<br />
Impressed mark: Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.67.1.1-2<br />
4<br />
Assiette, 1842<br />
Scène de genre: mère et fille<br />
diam. 23 cm<br />
Marque estampée: Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.10.1<br />
Plate, 1842<br />
Genre scene: Mother and daughter<br />
Diam. 23 cm<br />
Impressed mark: Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.10.1
38 5<br />
Jardinière, 1857<br />
Imitation fidèle d'un modèle de<br />
Vincennes-Sèvres créé en 1754<br />
long. 35 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales, 857<br />
HPMA, inv. 79.2100.1<br />
39<br />
Jardiniere, 1857<br />
Close imitation of a<br />
Vincennes-Sèvres model<br />
created in1754<br />
Length 35 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms, 857<br />
HPMA, inv. 79.2100.1<br />
6<br />
Cache-pot, 1862<br />
Scène de genre hongroise:<br />
musiciens et danseurs célébrant<br />
les vendanges<br />
haut. 22 cm<br />
Marque estampée: Herend;<br />
marques peintes: armes royales, 1862<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.3.1<br />
Flowerpot holder, 1862<br />
Hungarian genre scene:<br />
musicians and dancers<br />
celebrating the wine harvest<br />
Height 22 cm<br />
Impressed mark: Herend; painted<br />
marks: royal coat of arms, 1862<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.3.1<br />
7<br />
Service à café, 1861/62<br />
Scènes galantes à la manière des<br />
décors "à la Watteau" de Meissen.<br />
Les formes reprennent des<br />
modèles de Meissen<br />
Long. du plateau 37 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales, 861<br />
ou 862; marques estampées: Herend<br />
MAR, inv. AR 11901, AR 11903-6<br />
Coffee service, 1861/62<br />
Romantic scenes in the manner<br />
of the Watteau style on Meissen<br />
porcelain – The shapes after<br />
Meissen models<br />
Length of tray 37 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms, 861<br />
or 862; impressed marks: Herend<br />
MAR, inv. AR 11901, AR 11903-6
40 8<br />
Parties d'un service, années 1850<br />
Décor Victoria<br />
long. de la terrine 36 cm<br />
Marques estampées: <strong>HEREND</strong> ou Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 67.1951.1.1-2; 63.518.1-2;<br />
63.680.1.1-2; 63.5901.1-2; 63.522.6.2.6;<br />
63.521.1.1-2<br />
41<br />
Parts of a service, 1850's<br />
Victoria pattern<br />
Length of tureen 36 cm<br />
Impressed marks: <strong>HEREND</strong> or Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 67.1951.1.1-2; 63.518.1-2;<br />
63.680.1.1-2; 63.5901.1-2;<br />
63.522.6.2.6; 63.521.1.1-2<br />
9<br />
Vase, années 1850<br />
Portrait du prince Albert de<br />
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861),<br />
prince consort de la reine Victoria<br />
haut. 23 cm<br />
Marques peintes:<br />
armes royales, Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.82.1<br />
Vase, 1850's<br />
Portrait of prince Albert of<br />
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861),<br />
prince consort of Queen Victoria<br />
Height 23 cm<br />
Painted marks:<br />
royal coat of arms, Herend<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.82.1
42 10<br />
Parties du service d'État<br />
commandé pour le château de Buda,<br />
1870/71 et 1899/1900<br />
Monogramme couronné de<br />
François-Joseph I er (1830-1916)<br />
haut. de la terrine 20 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales, dates<br />
IM, inv. 56.727.1; 54.1095.1; 54.1108.1;<br />
54.1097.1; 54.1099.1.1-2; 56.724.1.1-2<br />
43<br />
Parts of the State service<br />
ordered for Buda castle,<br />
1870/71 and 1899/1900<br />
Crowned monogram of<br />
Francis Joseph I (1830-1916)<br />
Height of tureen 20 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms, dates<br />
IM, inv. 56.727.1; 54.1095.1; 54.1108.1;<br />
54.1097.1; 54.1099.1.1-2; 56.724.1.1-2<br />
11<br />
Reproduction en porcelaine de la<br />
Sainte Couronne de Hongrie, 2000<br />
haut. 20 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 81/1/2000<br />
Porcelain reproduction of the Holy<br />
Crown of Hungary, 2000<br />
Height 20 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 81/1/2000
44 12<br />
Service à café (Service de Balatonfüred), vers 1860<br />
Vues du lac Balaton et de quelques<br />
monuments de Balatonfüred et de Tihany<br />
long. du plateau 36,6 cm<br />
Marques estampées: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marques peintes: armes royales<br />
IM, inv. 52.2459.1-6<br />
13<br />
Samovar, années 1920<br />
Réédition tardive d'un objet offert<br />
par François-Joseph I er au tsar<br />
Nicolas I er<br />
haut. 53 cm<br />
Marque peinte: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.178.1<br />
45<br />
Coffee service (the Balatonfüred Service), ca. 1860<br />
Views of Lake Balaton and of some landmarks in<br />
Balatonfüred and Tihany – The shapes and the<br />
gilding after Meissen models<br />
Length of tray 36,6 cm<br />
Impressed marks: <strong>HEREND</strong>; painted marks:<br />
royal coat of arms<br />
IM, inv. 52.2459.1-6<br />
Samovar, 1920's<br />
Later copy of an object presented<br />
by emperor Francis Joseph I<br />
to tzar Nicholas I<br />
Height 53 cm<br />
Painted mark: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.178.1
Chinoiseries<br />
Chinoiseries<br />
Parmi les nombreuses commandes de réassortiment<br />
honorées par la manufacture de Moritz Fischer se trouvaient<br />
fatalement des spécimens de porcelaine orientale,<br />
et plus particulièrement des exemples chinois conçus<br />
pour l’exportation vers l’Europe, la grande majorité<br />
datant apparemment de l’époque des empereurs Qing<br />
(1644-1912). Les peintres de Herend eurent donc l’occasion<br />
de s’aguerrir également dans le registre oriental,<br />
en copiant minutieusement les modèles qu’on leur<br />
fournissait.<br />
Dans le cas du N°19 par exemple, qui reprend fidèlement<br />
un décor chinois de style Imari 6 , ou dans celui du<br />
N° 21, où l’on distingue un couple de canards mandarins<br />
entouré d’une frise figurant les Huit Immortels du<br />
taoïsme. S’agissant du décor connu sous la dénomination<br />
Poissons (N° 17), la comparaison avec un modèle<br />
chinois d’époque Qianlong (N° 18) démontre que les<br />
peintres modernes prirent à un moment donné le parti<br />
de simplifier, d’aérer la composition originelle. Le décor<br />
Poissons s’est d’ailleurs maintenu dans le répertoire de<br />
la manufacture jusqu’à nos jours. Tout comme le décor<br />
Ming (N° 15), une appellation hautement fantaisiste<br />
puisque les modèles qui ont inspiré ce motif datent en<br />
réalité du règne de l’empereur Yongzheng de la dynastie<br />
des Qing (N°16). Dans le cas présent, on n’a visiblement<br />
pas copié scrupuleusement un modèle chinois bien<br />
précis, on a plutôt reconstitué une sorte de synthèse en<br />
retenant les traits récurrents caractéristiques d’une<br />
classe spécifique de porcelaines Famille rose produites<br />
sous Yongzheng, vers 1730. Les objets de ce type (la<br />
plupart du temps des assiettes en porcelaine “coquille<br />
d’œuf”) arborent en guise de motif central l’une ou<br />
l’autre des variantes autour d’un seul et même thème:<br />
une scène d’intérieur montrant un personnage féminin<br />
(parfois deux) en train de surveiller les jeux de deux<br />
enfants; autour des personnages, des pièces de<br />
mobilier: vases, tables et guéridons. Ces scènes sont<br />
systé matiquement encadrées de bordures hautement<br />
sophistiquées. Ici aussi, les peintres de Herend ont consi -<br />
dérable ment simplifié le propos, à commencer par les<br />
bordures. Il est fort possible – dans le cas des décors<br />
Ming et Poissons – qu’on ait d’abord réalisé des copies<br />
exactes pour des besoins de réassortiment, le processus<br />
de simplification n’intervenant que dans un second<br />
temps, après que Fischer eut décidé d’adopter tel ou tel<br />
motif pour l’inclure dans son propre répertoire.<br />
A en croire les chroniqueurs de la manufacture, le décor<br />
Esterházy, du nom de l’une des plus puissantes familles<br />
de la grande noblesse hongroise, aurait été copié pour la<br />
première fois d’après un spécimen chinois ramené de<br />
Russie par József Esterházy, de retour d’une mission<br />
diplomatique à Saint-Pétersbourg. Les premières réali-<br />
Among the many replacement orders met by Moritz Fischer‘s<br />
manufactory, there were inevitably some Oriental<br />
pieces, and more particularly Chinese porcelain intended<br />
for export to Europe, most of it apparently dating from<br />
the time of the Qing emperors (1644-1912). The Herend<br />
painters thus also had an opportunity to cut their teeth<br />
on the oriental register, painstakingly copying the models<br />
supplied to them.<br />
This is the case with No. 19 for example, which faithfully<br />
reproduces a Chinese Imari 6 pattern, or No. 21, where<br />
a pair of mandarin ducks can be seen surrounded by<br />
a frieze featuring the Eight Immortals of Taoism. When<br />
it comes to the pattern known as Poissons (No. 17),<br />
comparison with a Chinese model of the Qianlong period<br />
(No. 18) shows that the modern painters decided at<br />
some point to simplify, to lighten the original composition.<br />
The Poissons pattern has in fact been kept in the<br />
Herend repertoire until today. As has the Ming pattern<br />
(No. 15), an extremely fanciful name as the models that<br />
inspired these motifs date in fact from the reign of Emperor<br />
Yongzheng of the Qing dynasty (No. 16). In this<br />
particular example, clearly no specific Chinese model<br />
has been scrupulously copied, rather a sort of synthesis<br />
has been reconstituted by keeping the recurring characteristic<br />
features of a specific category of Famille rose<br />
porcelain produced in the time of Yongzheng, around<br />
1730. Objects of this type (mostly eggshell porcelain<br />
plates) have as their central motif one or other variation<br />
on a single theme: an indoor scene showing a female<br />
figure (sometimes two) supervising two children playing;<br />
around the figures are pieces of furniture: vases, tables<br />
and gueridons. These scenes are systematically framed<br />
by highly sophisticated borders. Once again, the Herend<br />
painters have considerably simplified the content, starting<br />
with the borders. It is quite possible – in the case of<br />
the Ming and Poissons patterns – that exact copies were<br />
first made for replacement purposes, the simplification<br />
process only happening in a second stage, after Fischer<br />
had decided to adopt one or other motif into his own<br />
repertoire.<br />
If the chroniclers of the manufactory are to be believed,<br />
the Esterházy pattern, named after one of the most<br />
powerful families of the Hungarian nobility, was first<br />
copied from a Chinese piece brought from Russia by<br />
József Esterházy, on his return from a diplomatic mission<br />
to Saint Petersburg. The first pieces decorated with<br />
the motif were a series of large vases intended for the<br />
Esterházy castle at Pápa. Vase No. 23 gives an idea<br />
of the visual effect of these imposing pieces. The shape<br />
is pure Herend – very successful and very much in the<br />
oriental spirit; whereas No. 24 simply reproduces the<br />
traditional Chinese double gourd shape. Translated into a<br />
47<br />
Détail du N˚ 20:<br />
Assiette, vers 1720<br />
Jingdezhen (Chine), époque Kangxi<br />
Décor Imari chinois<br />
Detail of N˚ 20:<br />
Plate, ca. 1720<br />
Jingdezhen (China), Kangxi period<br />
Decorated in the Chinese Imari style
48 sations ornées de ce motif furent une série de grands<br />
vases destinés au château des Esterházy à Pápa. L’exemple<br />
N° 23 donne une idée de l’effet visuel de ces imposants<br />
ouvrages. Sa forme est une pure création de<br />
Herend – fort réussie et bien dans l’esprit oriental; alors<br />
que celle du N° 24 reprend simplement la traditionnelle<br />
forme chinoise en double gourde. Décliné sur toute une<br />
gamme de récipients, y compris ceux qui composent les<br />
services de table, le décor Esterházy deviendra l’une des<br />
marques de fabrique de Herend. Un exemple où l’imitation<br />
finira par devenir plus prégnante que les modèles.<br />
D’une manière générale, c’est assurément dans le<br />
registre oriental que Herend donnera le meilleur de sa<br />
créativité. Le genre, par sa connotation foncièrement<br />
exotique, se prêtait évidemment à toutes les fantaisies,<br />
voire à toutes les audaces. Il n’est pas étonnant de<br />
constater que la grande majorité des formes et décors<br />
créés dans cette veine à l’époque de Moritz Fischer<br />
figurent encore et toujours dans l’assortiment de la<br />
manufacture.<br />
Les chinoiseries de Herend forment un petit monde haut<br />
en couleurs, fourmillant d’inventions et de touches<br />
humoristiques, comme dans le cas de ces exemples<br />
arborant le décor O’Sullivan – probablement du nom<br />
d’un client important de Fischer dans les Îles Britanniques<br />
(N° 25 et 26). Ce motif est typiquement une<br />
invention pure et simple, même si sa composition dénote<br />
une longue pratique des décors de la porcelaine chinoise.<br />
Le décor Empereur qui orne la théière N° 27 est lui<br />
aussi une sorte de recréation, mais les éléments qui la<br />
composent, de même que les coloris employés, sont tous<br />
empruntés à un seul et même style chinois: celui de la<br />
Famille rose d’époque Yongzheng.<br />
On notera au passage ce qui deviendra l’une des caractéristiques<br />
les plus originales du style de Herend: le<br />
“détournement plastique” des anses, des goulots et des<br />
boutons de couvercle pour en faire des ornements d’une<br />
grande fantaisie, en forme de Chinois, de dragons, de<br />
lapins ou de coqs. Par contre, la pratique consistant à<br />
fixer un groupe de petites figurines en ronde bosse sur<br />
le couvercle d’un récipient, comme sur le N° 30, était<br />
déjà connue à Arita, au Japon, vers la fin du XVII e siècle.<br />
Les trois Orientaux accroupis et buvant le thé qui surmontent<br />
le couvercle de la boîte de Herend se retrouvent<br />
pratiquement à l’identique (sauf qu’ici les protagonistes<br />
sont trois Japonaises) sur une boîte en porcelaine japonaise<br />
des anciennes collections royales de Dresde 7 . Véritable<br />
monument de la chinoiserie selon Fischer, cet<br />
ensemble de quatre boîtes à thé réunies sur un présentoir<br />
(N° 28) relève de la pure invention quant à sa forme,<br />
le décor étant une interprétation de motifs chinois rouge<br />
et or d’époque Kangxi.<br />
Le décor Siang rouge (N° 29 et 30), malgré la consonance<br />
chinoise de son nom, est une adaptation assez<br />
fidèle d’un décor japonais rattaché au style Kakiemon et<br />
apparemment réservé à une série de potiches à pans<br />
coupés hexagonales produites à Arita entre 1670 et<br />
whole range of shapes, including those in table services,<br />
the Esterházy pattern became a Herend trademark. An<br />
example of how in the end the imitation can carry more<br />
weight than the original.<br />
In general, Herend definitely proved to be most creative<br />
in the oriental style. The genre, because of its essentially<br />
exotic connotation, clearly lent itself to everything ima g-<br />
ination or daring could supply. It is not surprising to find<br />
that the vast majority of shapes and patterns created in<br />
this vein during the time of Moritz Fischer are still part<br />
of the manufactory’s assortment.<br />
The Herend chinoiseries form a small brightly-coloured<br />
universe, teeming with invention and humoristic touches,<br />
as in these examples in the O’Sullivan pattern – probably<br />
named after an important client of Fischer in the<br />
British Isles (Nos. 25 and 26). Typically, this motif is<br />
a complete invention, even if its composition indicates<br />
long practice in the patterns of Chinese porcelain. The<br />
Emperor pattern decorating the teapot (No. 27) is also<br />
a sort of recreation, but the elements of its composition<br />
and the colours are all borrowed from the same Chinese<br />
style: the Famille rose of the Yongzheng period.<br />
Incidentally, here we have one of the most original features<br />
of the Herend style: the “plastic distortion“ of the<br />
handles, necks and lid knobs so that they become<br />
extremely fantastic ornaments in the shape of Chinese<br />
figures, dragons, rabbits or cocks. On the other hand,<br />
the practice of fixing a group of small stand-alone figures<br />
on the lid of a vessel, as in No. 30, was already known in<br />
Arita, Japan, around the end of the 17th century. The<br />
three crouching oriental figures drinking tea on the<br />
Herend box lid are practically identical to those found on<br />
a Japanese porcelain box (except in that case the<br />
protagonists are three Japanese ladies) in the former<br />
Royal collections of Dresden 7 . A veritable monument of<br />
chinoiserie according to Fischer, this set of four tea<br />
caddies on a display stand (No. 28) has a shape that is<br />
a complete invention, the decorative pattern being an<br />
interpretation of the red and gold Chinese motifs of the<br />
Kangxi period.<br />
The Siang rouge pattern (Nos. 29 and 30), despite the<br />
Chinese-sounding name, is a fairly faithful adaptation of<br />
a Japanese pattern in the Kakiemon style and apparently<br />
reserved for a series of hexagonal jars produced in Arita<br />
between 1670 and 1690 8 . This motif was to become one<br />
of the most popular Herend patterns from the beginning<br />
of the 1870s, after the Court ordered a tea and coffee<br />
service in this style for the palace at Gödöllö, around<br />
thirty kilometres north-east of Budapest. Gödöllö was<br />
Empress Elisabeth’s favourite residence in Hungary. We<br />
know the affection of Empress Sissi for her Hungarian<br />
subjects, who returned it in full measure. At Herend, the<br />
Siang rouge pattern was soon renamed Gödöllö.<br />
The Siang noir pattern (N° 31), however, although it<br />
more or less reproduces a similar compositional principle<br />
– white panels with floral motifs against a coloured<br />
1690 8 . Ce motif allait devenir l’un des plus populaires<br />
de Herend à partir du début des années 1870, après que<br />
la cour eut commandé un service à thé et à café de ce<br />
style pour le château de Gödöllö, à une trentaine de kilomètres<br />
au nord-est de Budapest. Gödöllö était le lieu<br />
de résidence préféré de l’impératrice Elisabeth en Hongrie.<br />
On connaît l’affection que l’impératrice Sissi portait<br />
à ses sujets hongrois, qui le lui rendaient bien. A Herend,<br />
le décor Siang rouge fut bientôt rebaptisé en Gödöllö.<br />
Le décor Siang noir (N° 31), par contre, même s’il reprend<br />
grosso modo un principe de composition similaire<br />
– des panneaux blancs à motifs floraux se détachant sur<br />
un fond de couleur rehaussé d’autres motifs floraux<br />
peints en réserve – est bel et bien dérivé de modèles<br />
chinois: les porcelaines de style Famille rose à fond noir<br />
produites à Jingdezhen dans les années 1735-40 9 .<br />
Quant au décor Siang jaune, il constitue une véritable<br />
variante du Siang rouge: les motifs sont les mêmes, seul<br />
le fond coloré a changé de teinte.<br />
Un portrait photographique de Moritz Fischer daté de<br />
1873 montre un chef d’entreprise au faîte de sa gloire 10 ;<br />
dans sa main droite il tient fièrement ce qu’il devait considérer<br />
comme un exemple emblématique de la maîtrise<br />
technique et artistique qu’il avait atteinte avec sa manufacture:<br />
une chope à bière à double paroi ajourée, du<br />
même type que le N° 33.<br />
Les Chinois avaient produit des porcelaines à double<br />
paroi ajourée assez similaires dès l’époque de Kangxi<br />
(1662-1722), décorées dans la palette bleu et blanc. Les<br />
ajours formaient un treillis d’alvéoles hexagonales parsemé<br />
de fleurs de chrysanthèmes, elles aussi ajourées,<br />
mais pas systématiquement 11 . Le procédé et les motifs<br />
se retrouvent à Jingdezhen dans les années 1735-45,<br />
avec en plus un décor floral peint dans la palette de la<br />
Famille rose 12 . Ce sont très probablement ces versions<br />
plus tardives qui inspireront Herend pour la création de<br />
toute une série de récipients à double paroi ajourée, que<br />
la manufacture regroupera sous la dénomination Wales<br />
après que l’empereur François-Joseph eut offert des<br />
porcelaines de ce type au prince de Galles, le futur roi<br />
Edouard VII (N° 33 à 35).<br />
La chope N° 33 est un exemple particulièrement sophistiqué<br />
où les motifs ajourés prennent des formes très<br />
variées: non seulement des chrysanthèmes stylisés, mais<br />
également des svastikas bouddhiques et deux types<br />
différents de treillis. La forme générale du récipient n’a<br />
évidemment rien d’oriental, elle est née une fois encore<br />
de l’imagination de Fischer et de ses collaborateurs. Pour<br />
les autres récipients de style Wales, les motifs de la paroi<br />
ajourée seront sensiblement simplifiés (N° 34 et 35); il<br />
n’en demeure pas moins que chacun d’entre eux représente<br />
un vrai tour de force technique.<br />
Le décor Cubash, représenté ici par une forme probablement<br />
unique et de dimension exceptionnelle (N° 14),<br />
est encore une fois à mettre en relation avec certains décors<br />
chinois des années 1730-40, où des motifs floraux<br />
Détail d’un sucrier, années 1860<br />
décor Empereur<br />
Detail of a sugar bowl, 1860's<br />
Empereur pattern<br />
ground embellished with other reserve painted floral<br />
motifs – is definitely derived from Chinese models: porcelain<br />
pieces in the Famille rose style with a black ground<br />
produced at Jingdezhen in 1735-40 9 . As for the Siang<br />
jaune pattern (No. 32), it is a true variant of the Siang<br />
rouge: the motifs are the same, only the colour of the<br />
ground has changed.<br />
A photograph of Moritz Fischer dating from 1873 shows<br />
an entrepreneur at the height of his powers 10 ; in his right<br />
hand he proudly holds what he must have considered to<br />
be an emblematic example of the technical and artistic<br />
mastery he had achieved in his porcelain factory: a double<br />
wall openwork beer mug, of the same type as No.33.<br />
The Chinese had produced rather similar double wall<br />
openwork porcelain pieces as early as the Kangxi period<br />
(1662-1722), with a blue and white decorative pattern.<br />
The openwork formed a lattice of hexagonal cells<br />
scattered with chrysanthemum flowers that were also<br />
openwork, but not systematically so 11 . The technique and<br />
the motifs are found at Jingdezhen during the period<br />
1735-45, with the addition of a floral pattern painted in<br />
Famille rose enamels 12 . Very probably it was these later<br />
versions that inspired Herend to create a whole series of<br />
double wall openwork pieces, grouped under the name of<br />
Wales after Emperor Francis Joseph presented porcelain<br />
of this type to the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward<br />
VII (Nos. 33 to 35).<br />
49
50<br />
se détachent partiellement sur un réseau serré de motifs<br />
en spirale peints à l’émail brun 13 . Ici également, les peintres<br />
de Herend ont considérablement remanié l’idée<br />
originelle, en privilégiant largement les parties couvertes<br />
de spirales par rapport aux réserves à fond blanc. En<br />
comparaison aux modèles chinois, l’effet optique est<br />
pour ainsi dire inversé. Pour ce qui est de la prise du<br />
couvercle en forme de coq, on a simplement “recyclé”,<br />
pratiquement sans modification, une forme qui existait<br />
déjà dans le répertoire de la manufacture comme objet<br />
décoratif autonome: une figurine à poser sur un meuble,<br />
elle aussi inspirée d’un modèle oriental. Ce processus de<br />
“collage” un peu spontané explique probablement le fait<br />
que le volatile semble légèrement surdimensionné par<br />
rapport au vase lui-même.<br />
The beer mug (No. 33) is a particularly sophisticated<br />
example in which the openwork motifs are very varied in<br />
design: not only stylised chrysanthemums, but also<br />
Buddhist swastikas and two different types of lattice. The<br />
shape of the tankard is obviously not oriental at all,<br />
having once again sprung from the imagination of<br />
Fischer and his assistants. For the other containers in the<br />
Wales style, the openwork wall motifs were considerably<br />
simplified (Nos. 34 and 35); nonetheless, each of them is<br />
a real technical tour de force.<br />
The Cubash pattern, represented here by a vase shape<br />
that is probably unique and of exceptional size (No. 14),<br />
is again to be compared with certain Chinese patterns of<br />
1730-40, in which floral motifs partly stand out against<br />
a tight network of tiny scroll motifs painted in brown<br />
enamel 13 . Here too, the Herend painters reworked the<br />
original idea quite considerably, giving much greater<br />
emphasis to the scroll-covered areas as opposed to<br />
the white ground reserves. Compared with the Chinese<br />
originals, the optical effect is reversed so to speak. The<br />
lid in the form of a cock has simply been “recycled“<br />
practically unchanged, because it was a shape that<br />
already existed in the manufactory’s repertoire as an<br />
independent decorative object: a figurine to be placed<br />
on a piece of furniture, and also inspired by an oriental<br />
model. This somewhat spontaneous “collage” process<br />
probably explains the fact that the bird seems slightly<br />
oversized in relation to the vase.<br />
14<br />
Vase, vers 1880<br />
Décor Cubash<br />
haut. 70 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 83.1163.1.1-2<br />
Vase, ca. 1880<br />
Cubash pattern<br />
Height 70 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 83.1163.1.1-2<br />
51<br />
Moritz Fischer fera une dernière apparition sur la scène<br />
internationale, reconnue et saluée une fois de plus, à<br />
l’occasion de l’Exposition de Vienne en 1873. La même<br />
année, une sérieuse crise financière ébranlait toute<br />
l’économie hongroise. Fischer tentera désespérément de<br />
trouver des capitaux frais pour son entreprise, sans succès.<br />
La faillite est prononcée en août 1874. Découragé,<br />
Fischer laisse Herend entre les mains de ses sept fils et<br />
se retire à Tata, où il dirigera un petit atelier de peinture<br />
sur porcelaine jusqu’à sa mort, en 1880.<br />
Moritz Fischer was to make one last appearance on the<br />
international stage, recognised and acclaimed once<br />
again, on the occasion of the Vienna Exhibition of 1873.<br />
That same year, a serious financial crisis shook the whole<br />
of the Hungarian economy. Fischer desperately tried to<br />
find new capital for his company, without success. The<br />
firm was declared bankrupt in August 1874. Disheartened,<br />
Fischer left Herend in the hands of his seven sons<br />
and retired to Tata, where he directed a small china<br />
painting workshop until his death in 1880.<br />
(RB)<br />
(RB)<br />
6<br />
En l’occurrence, Herend n’a pas seulement imité le décor, mais<br />
également la forme. L’auteur a retrouvé, sur le marché de l’art<br />
de la région genevoise, un bol chinois d’époque Kangxi en tous<br />
points identique au modèle hongrois<br />
7<br />
Friedrich Reichel, Porcelaines japonaises anciennes. Les Arita<br />
de la collection de porcelaines de Dresde, Paris, 1981, fig. 45<br />
8<br />
John Ayers, Oliver Impey, John Mallet, Porcelain for Palaces.<br />
The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750, Londres, 1990,<br />
fig. 152<br />
9<br />
Michel Beurdeley et Guy Raindre, La porcelaine des Qing.<br />
“Famille verte” et “Famille rose” 1644-1912, Fribourg, 1986,<br />
fig. 185<br />
10<br />
Balla 2003, p. 288<br />
11<br />
Jorge Welsh, Linglong, Londres/Lisbonne, 2004<br />
12<br />
Thomas V. Litzenburg Jr., Chinese Export Porcelain in the Reeves<br />
Center Collection at Washington and Lee University, Londres,<br />
2003, fig. 46<br />
13<br />
Voir par exemple: John Ayers, The Chinese Porcelain Collection<br />
of Marie Vergottis, Lausanne, 2004, fig. 207<br />
6<br />
In this case, Herend imitated not only the pattern, but also the<br />
shape. The author has found on the art market in the Geneva<br />
area a Chinese bowl of the Kangxi period identical in every way<br />
to the Hungarian model<br />
7<br />
Friedrich Reichel, Porcelaines japonaises anciennes. Les Arita<br />
de la collection de porcelaines de Dresde, Paris, 1981, fig. 45<br />
8<br />
John Ayers, Oliver Impey, John Mallet, Porcelain for Palaces.<br />
The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750, Londres, 1990,<br />
fig. 152<br />
9<br />
Michel Beurdeley et Guy Raindre, La porcelaine des Qing.<br />
“Famille verte” et “Famille rose” 1644-1912, Fribourg, 1986,<br />
fig. 185<br />
10<br />
Balla 2003, p. 288<br />
11<br />
Jorge Welsh, Linglong, London/Lisbon, 2004<br />
12<br />
Thomas V. Litzenburg Jr., Chinese Export Porcelain in the Reeves<br />
Center Collection at Washington and Lee University, London,<br />
2003, fig. 46<br />
13<br />
See for example: John Ayers, The Chinese Porcelain Collection of<br />
Marie Vergottis, Lausanne, 2004, fig. 207
52<br />
53<br />
15<br />
Assiette, 1865<br />
Manufacture de Herend<br />
Décor Ming<br />
diam. 24 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales, MF, 865<br />
IM, 1497<br />
16<br />
Assiette, vers 1730<br />
Jingdezhen (Chine), époque Yongzheng<br />
Décor Famille rose<br />
diam. 20,7 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 2007-201<br />
19<br />
Grand bol, 1857<br />
Manufacture de Herend<br />
diam. 19,2 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales, 857<br />
IM, inv. 13727<br />
20<br />
Assiette, vers 1720<br />
Jingdezhen (Chine), époque Kangxi<br />
Décor Imari chinois<br />
diam. 24,5 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 7671<br />
Plate, 1865<br />
Herend manufactory<br />
Ming pattern<br />
Diam. 24 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms, MF, 865<br />
IM, 1497<br />
Plate, ca. 1730<br />
Jingdezhen (China), Yongzheng period<br />
Decorated in the Famille rose style<br />
Diam. 20,7 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 2007-201<br />
Large bowl, 1857<br />
Herend manufactory<br />
Diam. 19,2 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms, 857<br />
IM, inv. 13727<br />
Plate, ca. 1720<br />
Jingdezhen (China), Kangxi period<br />
Decorated in the Chinese Imari style<br />
Diam. 24,5 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 7671<br />
17<br />
Assiette, 1855<br />
Manufacture de Herend<br />
Décor Poissons<br />
diam. 23 cm<br />
Marques estampées: MF, <strong>HEREND</strong>; marques<br />
peintes (en noir): armes royales, 1855<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.7.1<br />
18<br />
Assiette, vers 1750<br />
Jingdezhen (Chine),<br />
époque Qianlong<br />
Décor Famille rose<br />
diam. 22 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 4630<br />
21<br />
Assiette, vers 1870<br />
Manufacture de Herend<br />
diam. 22,5 cm<br />
Marque peinte: armes royales<br />
IM, inv. 1441<br />
22<br />
Assiette, 1730/40<br />
Jingdezhen (Chine),<br />
époque Yongzheng ou Qianlong<br />
Décor Famille rose<br />
diam. 22,5 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 4399<br />
Plate, 1855<br />
Herend manufactory<br />
Poissons pattern<br />
Diam. 23 cm<br />
Impressed marks: MF, <strong>HEREND</strong>; painted marks<br />
(in black): royal coat of arms, 1855<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.7.1<br />
Plate, ca. 1750<br />
Jingdezhen (China), Qianlong period<br />
Decorated in the Famille rose style<br />
Diam. 22 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 4630<br />
Plate, ca. 1870<br />
Herend manufactory<br />
Diam. 22,5 cm<br />
Painted mark: royal coat of arms<br />
IM, inv. 1441<br />
Plate, 1730/40<br />
Jingdezhen (China),<br />
Yongzheng or Qianlong period<br />
Decorated in the Famille rose style<br />
Diam. 22,5 cm<br />
MAR, inv. AR 4399
54 23<br />
Vase, 1870<br />
Décor Esterházy<br />
haut. 51 cm<br />
IM, inv. 24275<br />
25<br />
Assiette, vers 1870<br />
Décor O'Sullivan<br />
diam. 21 cm<br />
Marque peinte: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.218.1<br />
55<br />
Vase, 1870<br />
Esterházy pattern<br />
Height 51 cm<br />
IM, inv. 24275<br />
Plate, ca. 1870<br />
O'Sullivan pattern<br />
Diam. 21 cm<br />
Painted mark: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.218.1<br />
24<br />
Vase, 1906<br />
Décor Esterházy<br />
haut. 30 cm<br />
Marques estampées:<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong>, 1899; marque peinte:<br />
armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.43.1<br />
26<br />
Salière, vers 1880<br />
Décor O'Sullivan<br />
long. 13 cm<br />
Marques estampées: FS, <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marque peinte (en noir):<br />
armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.27.1<br />
Vase, 1906<br />
Esterházy pattern<br />
Height 30 cm<br />
Impressed marks:<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong>, 1899: painted mark:<br />
royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.43.1<br />
Saltcellar, ca. 1880<br />
O'Sullivan pattern<br />
Length 13 cm<br />
Impressed marks: FS, <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
painted mark (in black):<br />
royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.27.1
56<br />
28<br />
Quatre boîtes à thé<br />
sur présentoir, années 1860<br />
diam. 22,3 cm<br />
Marque estampée: Herend<br />
IM, inv. 14839a-i<br />
57<br />
Four tea-caddies on a stand, 1860's<br />
Diam. 22,3 cm<br />
Impressed mark: Herend<br />
IM, inv. 14839a-i<br />
27<br />
Théière, années 1860<br />
Décor Empereur<br />
larg. 15 cm<br />
Marque estampée: Herend; marque peinte:<br />
armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.630.1<br />
Teapot, 1860's<br />
Empereur pattern<br />
Width 15 cm<br />
Impressed mark: Herend; painted mark: royal<br />
coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.630.1
58<br />
59<br />
29<br />
Service à thé, vers 1880<br />
Décor Gödöllö (ou Siang rouge)<br />
haut. de la théière 15,5 cm<br />
Marques peintes (en bleu ou en rouge):<br />
armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.351.17<br />
Tea service, ca. 1880<br />
Gödöllö (or Siang rouge) pattern<br />
Height of teapot 15,5 cm<br />
Painted marks (in blue or red):<br />
royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.351.17<br />
30<br />
Boîte et présentoir, vers 1850<br />
Décor Gödöllö (ou Siang rouge)<br />
haut. 12,8 cm<br />
Marque estampée: Herend; marques<br />
peintes (en rouge ou en bleu):<br />
armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 93.7.1-3<br />
Box and tray, ca. 1850<br />
Gödöllö (or Siang rouge) pattern<br />
Height 12,8 cm<br />
Impressed mark: Herend; painted<br />
marks (in blue or red):<br />
royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 93.7.1-3
60<br />
32<br />
Sucrier et présentoir, vers 1920<br />
Décor Siang jaune<br />
haut. 14,5 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 83.951.1.1-2<br />
61<br />
Sugar bowl and tray, ca. 1920<br />
Siang jaune pattern<br />
Height 14,5 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 83.951.1.1-2<br />
31<br />
Service à thé, 1870/80<br />
Décor Siang noir<br />
haut. de la théière 10,8 cm<br />
Marques estampées: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marques peintes: armes royales<br />
MAR, inv. AR 10066-70<br />
Tea service, 1870/80<br />
Siang noir pattern<br />
Height of teapot 10,8 cm<br />
Impressed marks: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
painted marks: royal coat of arms<br />
MAR, inv. AR 10066-70
62 33<br />
Chope à bière, années 1880<br />
Décor Wales<br />
haut. 30 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marque peinte: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 83.915.1.1-2<br />
35<br />
Théière, années 1870<br />
Décor Wales<br />
haut. 22 cm<br />
Marques peintes: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.32.1.1-2<br />
63<br />
Beer mug, 1880's<br />
Wales pattern<br />
Height 30 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
painted mark: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 83.915.1.1-2<br />
Teapot, 1870's<br />
Wales pattern<br />
Height 22 cm<br />
Painted marks: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 92.32.1.1-2<br />
34<br />
Tasse et soucoupe, 1872<br />
Décor Wales<br />
haut. 9,5 cm<br />
Marques peintes:<br />
armes royales, 1872<br />
MAR, inv. C 499<br />
Cup and saucer, 1872<br />
Wales pattern<br />
Height 9,5 cm<br />
Painted marks:<br />
royal coat of arms, 1872<br />
MAR, inv. C 499
Après Moritz Fischer:<br />
Une ère de turbulences<br />
The post-Moritz Fischer period:<br />
A turbulent era<br />
Les fils de Moritz Fischer, formellement élevés au rang<br />
d’associés au sein de l’établissement dès 1863, réunissaient<br />
à eux sept toutes les compétences nécessaires à<br />
la conduite de la manufacture. Après que la faillite eut<br />
été levée, en 1876, Samuel, le technicien, prit les rênes<br />
de l’entreprise. Jugeant que l’orientation prise par leur<br />
père était trop axée sur la performance artistique et pas<br />
assez soucieuse de rentabilité, les fils de Moritz réintroduiront<br />
une ligne de production de qualité courante.<br />
Sans grand succès: la position dominante des fabriques<br />
de Bohême, depuis longtemps spécialisées dans ce<br />
segment de marché, ne sera jamais battue en brèche. La<br />
situation de Herend ne cessa de se détériorer. En 1884,<br />
la fratrie dut se résoudre à vendre l’entreprise à l’État,<br />
qui la transforma en société par actions. Plusieurs directeurs<br />
se succéderont à la tête de l’établissement, sans<br />
jamais retrouver véritablement le chemin du succès. Herend<br />
ferma ses portes en mars 1896. La même année,<br />
Jenö Farkasházi Fischer (1863-1926), un petit-fils de<br />
Moritz, se porta acquéreur de la société. La production<br />
reprendra en avril de l’année suivante.<br />
Malgré les difficultés rencontrées, les dirigeants successifs<br />
de Herend ne renonceront jamais complètement aux<br />
produits de haut de gamme, en rééditant les modèles de<br />
Moritz Fischer ou en proposant de nouvelles créations,<br />
toujours dans la mouvance du style éclectique qui avait<br />
fait la réputation de la marque. Jusque dans les années<br />
1890, le savoir-faire de Herend fut sauvegardé, ainsi<br />
qu’en témoigne ce plat de dimension respectable (N°36)<br />
avec son marli ajouré, un motif développé à partir d’un<br />
modèle créé par Johann Friedrich Eberlein à Meissen,<br />
en 1746, pour les assiettes à dessert d’un service destiné<br />
au comte von Brühl 14 .<br />
La corbeille juchée sur son socle (N° 37) célèbre une fois<br />
de plus l’univers formel de la porcelaine rococo, sans<br />
pour autant faire référence à un modèle connu. Dans le<br />
cadre des recherches formelles qu’il conduisit au sein de<br />
la manufacture dans les années 1990, l’artiste contemporain<br />
Imre Schrammel détournera, non sans humour, le<br />
même socle rocaille pour y coucher le Minotaure et son<br />
amante, l’un de ses thèmes de prédilection de l’époque<br />
(N° 38 – voir plus loin).<br />
Avec le fameux Compromis de 1867, la Hongrie entra<br />
dans une nouvelle phase de son histoire, marquée par<br />
une redéfinition fondamentale de son rapport à l’empire<br />
habsbourgeois: ce fut l’avènement de la double monarchie<br />
austro-hongroise. François-Joseph I er coiffa enfin<br />
et solennellement la Sainte couronne de Hongrie, les<br />
Hongrois obtenaient leur propre gouvernement et leur<br />
propre parlement. Le sentiment d’identité nationale en<br />
sera renforcé, en même temps qu’étaient jetées, enfin,<br />
les bases propices à une modernisation sociale et économique<br />
du pays.<br />
Moritz Fischer’s seven sons, formally elevated to the rank<br />
of partners in 1863, possessed together all the requisite<br />
skills to run the manufactory. In May 1876 the company<br />
was discharged from bankruptcy. Samuel, who was the<br />
technical expert, took over the reins. Judging that the<br />
direction taken by their father had focused too much on<br />
artistic performance and not enough on profitability,<br />
Moritz’ sons reintroduced an ordinary-average quality<br />
production line. Not very successfully: the dominant<br />
position of the Bohemian factories, which had long specialised<br />
in that market segment, was never demolished.<br />
The situation at Herend went on deteriorating. In 1884,<br />
the brothers were forced to sell the manufactory to the<br />
State, which turned it into a joint stock company. Several<br />
managing directors succeeded each other, but none ever<br />
really found the way back to success. Herend closed its<br />
doors in March 1896. That same year, Jenö Farkasházy<br />
Fischer (1863-1926), a grandson of Moritz, bought the<br />
company. Production resumed in April the following year.<br />
Despite the difficulties, successive Herend leaders never<br />
completely abandoned the very high quality products,<br />
bringing out new editions of Moritz Fischer’s models or<br />
introducing new pieces, still influenced by the eclectic<br />
style that had forged the brand’s reputation. Herend’s<br />
specialist knowhow was maintained even into the 1890s,<br />
as can be seen from this respectably sized dish (No. 36)<br />
with its openwork edge, a motif developed from a model<br />
created by Johann Friedrich Eberlein at Meissen in<br />
1746, for the dessert plates of a service intended for<br />
Count von Brühl 14 .<br />
The basket perched on its pedestal (No. 37) is another<br />
celebration of the formal universe of rococo porcelain,<br />
but without referring to any known model. Pedestals of<br />
this type made their appearance at Meissen in the<br />
second half of the 19th century to act as supports for<br />
neo-rococo vases or clocks. During his design research<br />
work at the manufactory in the 1990s, contemporary<br />
artist Imre Schrammel hijacked – not without humour –<br />
the same rococo pedestal to be a bed for the Minotaur<br />
and his lover, one of his favourite themes at the time<br />
(No. 38 – see below).<br />
With the famous Compromise of 1867, Hungary entered<br />
a new phase in its history, marked by a fundamental<br />
redefinition of its relationship with the Habsburg Empire:<br />
this was the advent of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-<br />
Hungary. Francis Joseph I finally and solemnly placed the<br />
Holy Crown of Hungary on his head, and the Hungarians<br />
obtained their own government and their own parliament.<br />
Feelings of national identity were strengthened at<br />
the same time as favourable foundations were at last<br />
established for the social and economic modernisation<br />
of the country.<br />
65<br />
Détail du N˚ 37:<br />
Corbeille sur socle, vers 1890<br />
Detail of N˚ 37:<br />
Basket on a stand, ca. 1890
66 La production de Herend, à sa manière, reflètera cette<br />
évolution, avec ici ou là des créations qui affirment sans<br />
ambages leur caractère national. Comme dans le cas de<br />
cette aiguière monumentale en forme de gourde annulaire<br />
avec un disque central ajouré (N°39). Ce modèle<br />
inspiré des arts populaires autochtones contraste avec les<br />
formules convenues de l’éclectisme international, même<br />
si le peintre a choisi de le rehausser d’un motif d’origine<br />
japonaise (le décor Siang rouge en l’occurrence)! Il est vrai<br />
qu’au-delà de sa lointaine origine, le Siang rouge était<br />
devenu une part intégrante de l’identité même de Herend.<br />
Le plateau montrant l’empereur Joseph II (1741-1790)<br />
sur son lit de mort (N° 41) témoigne du fait que Herend<br />
n’a pas renoncé à ses ambitions, notamment dans le<br />
domaine pictural. Même si – à y regarder de plus près –<br />
le travail du peintre János Seszták n’est pas tout à fait à<br />
la hauteur de ces ambitions…<br />
Avec le décor Tupini (N° 42) – du nom de son premier<br />
commanditaire, un marchand italien – on retrouve l’évocation<br />
de l’âge d’or de la porcelaine et tout l’esprit du<br />
style rocaille, mais dans une formule qui ne manque ni de<br />
fraîcheur ni d’imagination, du moins en ce qui concerne<br />
les motifs peints. Les formes font écho à des prototypes<br />
germaniques, tandis que le plateau à bord ajouré n’est<br />
pas sans rappeler le Plateau losange produit à Sèvres<br />
dans les années 1760-70.<br />
Tout aussi inventif, le décor Kyoto qui rehausse le vase<br />
N° 43. Le galbe du récipient et la prise du couvercle en<br />
forme de lion Fô rappellent certes les porcelaines d’Arita<br />
de la fin du XVII e siècle, généralement décorées en bleu<br />
sous couverte ou dans la palette Imari, mais le décor<br />
peint est apparemment une création de Herend.<br />
Herend‘s production reflected these changes in its own<br />
way, with pieces created now and then that were unambiguously<br />
national in character. This is the case with this<br />
monumental pitcher shaped like a ring gourd with a<br />
central openwork disk (No. 39). This model, inspired by<br />
native folk-art, forms a contrast to the conventions of<br />
international eclecticism, even though the painter has<br />
chosen to embellish it with a motif of Japanese origin<br />
(the Siang rouge pattern in this case)! It is true that<br />
notwithstanding its distant origins, the Siang rouge pattern<br />
had become an integral part of the Herend identity.<br />
The tray showing Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790) on his<br />
deathbed (No. 41) illustrates the fact that Herend had<br />
not abandoned its ambitions, especially on the pictorial<br />
side. Even if the work of painter János Seszták – when<br />
looked at more closely – is not quite equal to those<br />
ambitions…<br />
With the Tupini pattern (No. 42) – named after the<br />
person who first commissioned it, an Italian merchant –<br />
we again find an evocation of the golden age of porcelain<br />
and the whole spirit of the rococo style, but in a<br />
design that lacks neither freshness nor imagination, at<br />
least as far as the painted motifs are concerned. The<br />
shapes echo German prototypes, whilst the tray with its<br />
openwork edging recalls in some respects the Plateau<br />
Losange produced at Sèvres in 1760-70.<br />
Equally inventive is the Kyoto pattern decorating vase<br />
No. 43. The curved body of the vase and the lid grip in<br />
the shape of a Fo lion are certainly reminiscent of Arita<br />
porcelain at the end of the 17th century, which was generally<br />
decorated in underglaze blue or in Imari colours,<br />
but the painted pattern is apparently a Herend creation.<br />
67<br />
Les exemples N° 44 et 45, véritables démonstrations<br />
de maîtrise technique avec leurs fleurs délicatement modelées<br />
et appliquées, renvoient de nouveau à Meissen.<br />
Par contre, l’idée de former une lettre au moyen des<br />
fleurs de porcelaine est, semble-t-il, plutôt inédite. La<br />
forme de la corbeille est empruntée au patrimoine de la<br />
grande manufacture saxonne: le prototype y fut créé par<br />
Kändler vers 1765-70 15 ; le modèle sera réactualisé par<br />
Ernst Leuteritz vers 1850. Le modèle saxon est muni de<br />
quatre pieds en forme de branches et d’anses obliques.<br />
Nos. 44 and 45, real demonstrations of technical mastery<br />
with their delicately modelled and applied flowers,<br />
are again evocative of Meissen. But the idea of forming<br />
a letter from porcelain flowers is apparently quite original.<br />
The shape of the basket is borrowed from the<br />
heritage of the great Saxon manufactory: the prototype<br />
was created there by Kändler around 1765-70 15 ; the<br />
model was updated by Ernst Leuteritz around 1850. The<br />
Saxon original has four feet in the form of branches and<br />
loops at oblique angles.<br />
36<br />
Plat, vers 1890<br />
Scène aquatique, marli ajouré<br />
à la manière de Meissen<br />
diam. 52 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 66.285.1<br />
Le service à café N° 46 reste dans la veine éclectique,<br />
mais avec plus de créativité. Une combinaison inédite<br />
et assez subtile d’éléments stylistiques occidentaux<br />
(toujours le néo-rococo) et levantins (par exemple le bec<br />
verseur de la cafetière).<br />
(RB)<br />
The coffee service (No. 46) is still in the eclectic vein, but<br />
with more creativity. An original and rather subtle combination<br />
of (still neo-rococo) western and near-eastern<br />
stylistic elements (for example the spout of the coffee<br />
pot).<br />
(RB)<br />
Dish, ca. 1890<br />
Waterlife scenery with birds and fishes.<br />
Openwork in the manner of Meissen<br />
Diam. 52 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 66.285.1<br />
14<br />
Le motif est connu sous la dénomination Brühlsches Allerlei:<br />
Ulrich Pietsch (éd.), Schwanenservice. Meissener Porzellan für<br />
Heinrich Graf von Brühl, Dresde, 2000, pp. 208-209; Herend<br />
en donnera d’ailleurs une première version très fidèlement<br />
imitée: Balla 2003, p. 57<br />
15<br />
Rückert 1966, N° 713<br />
14 The motif is known as Brühlsches Allerlei: Ulrich Pietsch (éd.),<br />
Schwanenservice. Meissener Porzellan für Heinrich Graf von<br />
Brühl, Dresden, 2000, pp. 208-209; Herend in fact produced a<br />
first, very faithful version: Balla 2003, p. 57<br />
15<br />
Rückert 1966, N° 713
68<br />
38<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Étude, 1995/97<br />
haut. 26,5 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 29/1/2001<br />
69<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Study, 1995/97<br />
Height 26,5 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 29/1/2001<br />
37<br />
Corbeille sur socle, vers 1890<br />
haut. 24 cm<br />
Marque imprimée: couronne,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> dans banderole<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.223.1<br />
Basket on a stand, ca. 1890<br />
Height 24 cm<br />
Printed mark: crown, <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
on a ribbon<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.223.1
70 39<br />
Verseuse en forme de gourde, 1890<br />
Forme dérivée de modèles<br />
traditionnels hongrois, décor<br />
Siang rouge<br />
haut. 37 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 63.134.1<br />
71<br />
Ewer in gourd-shape, 1890<br />
Shape derived from traditional<br />
Hungarian models,<br />
with a Siang rouge decor<br />
Height 37 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 63.134.1<br />
40<br />
Plat, années 1890<br />
Portrait d'un noble hongrois<br />
diam. 38 cm<br />
Marque imprimée: couronne,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> dans banderole<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.191.0<br />
Dish, 1890's<br />
Portrait of a Hungarian nobleman<br />
Diam. 38 cm<br />
Printed mark:<br />
crown, <strong>HEREND</strong> on a ribbon<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.191.0<br />
41<br />
Plat, vers 1890<br />
L'empereur Joseph II (1741-1790)<br />
sur son lit de mort, peint par<br />
János Seszták<br />
diam. 40 cm<br />
Signé: J. Seszták Herend; marque<br />
peinte: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 96.1.1<br />
Dish, ca. 1890<br />
Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790)<br />
on his deathbed, painted<br />
by János Seszták<br />
Diam. 40 cm<br />
Signed: J. Seszták Herend; painted<br />
mark: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 96.1.1
72<br />
43<br />
Vase, 1884<br />
Décor Kyoto<br />
haut. 60,5 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marque imprimée: couronne,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> dans banderole<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.59.1.1-2<br />
73<br />
Vase, 1884<br />
Kyoto pattern<br />
Height 60,5 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong>; printed<br />
mark: crown, <strong>HEREND</strong> on a ribbon<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.59.1.1-2<br />
42<br />
Parties d'un service à dîner,<br />
années 1890 et 1930<br />
Décor Tupini<br />
haut. de la soupière 25 cm<br />
Marques imprimées: couronne, <strong>HEREND</strong> dans<br />
banderole; couronne, Herend, F3<br />
HPMA, inv. 62.826.1.1-2; 66.829.1; 66.830.1;<br />
66.833.7.2; 66.832.16.9; 66.834.12.12;<br />
66.835.10.5; 66.253.1<br />
Parts of a dinner service,<br />
1890's and 1930's<br />
Tupini pattern<br />
Height of the soup tureen 25 cm<br />
Printed marks: crown, <strong>HEREND</strong> on a ribbon;<br />
crown, Herend, F3<br />
HPMA, inv. 62.826.1.1-2; 66.829.1; 66.830.1;<br />
66.833.7.2; 66.832.16.9; 66.834.12.12;<br />
66.835.10.5; 66.253.1
74 44<br />
Assiette, vers 1910<br />
Monogramme et couronne<br />
en fleurs modelées et appliquées<br />
à la manière de Meissen<br />
diam. 25 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marque peinte: armes royales<br />
IM, inv. 53.617.1<br />
75<br />
Plate, ca. 1910<br />
Monogram and decoration<br />
made of modelled flowers<br />
in the manner of Meissen<br />
Diam. 25 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
painted mark: royal coat of arms<br />
IM, inv. 53.617.1<br />
45<br />
Corbeille, 1905<br />
Forme inspirée d'un modèle<br />
créé à Meissen vers 1765<br />
long. 40 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
marques peintes: armes royales, 1905<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.220.1<br />
Basket, 1905<br />
After a model created<br />
in Meissen about 1765<br />
Length 40 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong>;<br />
painted marks: royal coat of arms, 1905<br />
HPMA, inv. 66.220.1<br />
46<br />
Parties d'un service à café,<br />
années 1880<br />
haut. de la cafetière 23,8 cm<br />
Marque imprimée: couronne,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> dans banderole<br />
IM, inv. 54.906.1.1-2; 54.905-1;<br />
54.907.1.1-2; 54.588.1.1-2<br />
Parts of a coffee service, 1880's<br />
Height of the coffee pot 23,8 cm<br />
Printed mark:<br />
crown, <strong>HEREND</strong> on a ribbon<br />
IM, inv. 54.906.1.1-2; 54.905-1;<br />
54.907.1.1-2; 54.588.1.1-2
Herend au XX e siècle:<br />
La tentation de la modernité<br />
Herend in the 20th century:<br />
The temptation of modernity<br />
De tous les descendants de Moritz Fischer qui joueront<br />
un rôle dans l’histoire de sa manufacture, c’est probablement<br />
son petit-fils Jenö Farkasházy Fischer qui lui ressemblera<br />
le plus par la richesse de sa personnalité et par<br />
l’ampleur de la vision qu’il développera pour l’entreprise.<br />
Passionné d’histoire de la céramique, Jenö avait visité les<br />
plus grands musées d’Europe et publié des études sur<br />
les créations du potier français Bernard Palissy au XVII e<br />
siècle, ou encore sur les œuvres plastiques de la<br />
famille florentine des Della Robbia à l’époque de la<br />
Renaissance. Même les réalités de l’industrie céramique<br />
moderne ne lui étaient pas inconnues, puisque au<br />
moment de se porter acquéreur de Herend, il occupait la<br />
fonction de directeur artistique à la manufacture de<br />
porcelaine de Ungvár (ou Oujgorod, aujourd’hui à l’extrême<br />
pointe ouest de l’Ukraine). Soucieux de rétablir<br />
Herend dans sa grandeur passée, il s’efforcera non sans<br />
mal de réorganiser l’entreprise.<br />
Son premier objectif sera de renouer avec la qualité, en<br />
réactualisant d’abord les modèles éprouvés de son<br />
grand-père. Parfaitement informé des nouvelles tendan -<br />
ces internationales, il introduisit par la suite un esprit<br />
novateur et expérimental à Herend, dans la mouvance<br />
des recherches menées un peu partout en Europe par les<br />
artistes et par les industries qui étaient en train de<br />
façonner la céramique de l’Art nouveau. Des émaux de<br />
haute température furent mis au point, dont l’aspect<br />
jaspé et apparemment aléatoire transfigurait la<br />
porcelaine tout en restituant l’esprit des antiques grès<br />
japonais (N° 47 et 48). Dans le registre de la porcelaine<br />
décorée, Farkasházy Fischer introduisit des motifs<br />
floraux peints dans la manière fluide et stylisée typique<br />
de la veine naturaliste de l’Art nouveau, ou des décors<br />
animaliers en relief rehaussés d’un subtil émail céladon<br />
lustré (N° 49). Dans la technique dite pâte-sur-pâte<br />
(N° 50), le motif est peint en relief, sur un fond coloré,<br />
au moyen de barbotine blanche (de la porcelaine à l’état<br />
semi liquide).<br />
Grâce à ses innovations – et grâce au répertoire traditi -<br />
onnel qu’il aura la sagesse de perpétuer – Jenö rempor -<br />
tera de nouveaux succès dans les grandes expositions<br />
internationales, tandis que la presse hongroise saluait la<br />
“renaissance de Herend”. Les nombreuses absences de<br />
Farkasházy Fischer, en raison de ses voyages à l’étranger<br />
et de ses activités mondaines ou politiques à Budapest,<br />
l’amenèrent cependant à négliger la gestion au quotidien.<br />
L’activité de l’entreprise ralentit considérablement<br />
dès 1917. Les effets de la guerre, puis les conséquences<br />
du Traité de Versailles, dramatiques pour la Hongrie,<br />
achevèrent de conduire la manufacture au bord d’un<br />
nouveau précipice. En 1923, Jenö accepta de transformer<br />
l’établissement en société par actions. Il garda la<br />
Out of all Moritz Fischer’s descendants who played a<br />
part in the history of his porcelain manufactory, his<br />
grandson, Jenö Farkasházy Fischer, probably resembled<br />
him the most with his richly-facetted personality and the<br />
breadth of vision he went on to develop for the company.<br />
Jenö, passionate about the history of ceramics, had<br />
visited the greatest museums of Europe and published<br />
studies on the creations of the French potter Bernard<br />
Palissy in the 17th century, and on the plastic works<br />
produced by the Della Robbia family in Florence during<br />
the Renaissance. Even the realities of the modern<br />
ceramics industry were not unknown to him, because<br />
at the time of acquiring Herend, he held the position<br />
of an artistic director at the Ungvár porcelain factory<br />
(Uzhgorod, now at the extreme western tip of Ukraine).<br />
Keen to restore Herend to its former greatness, he<br />
endeavoured, not without difficulty, to restructure the<br />
company.<br />
His first objective was to restore the quality of the<br />
production, initially by updating the models tried and<br />
tested by his grandfather. Perfectly au fait with the latest<br />
international trends, he went on to bring an innovative<br />
and experimental spirit into Herend, in line with the<br />
research being done almost everywhere in Europe by the<br />
artists and ceramic factories who were fashioning the<br />
ceramics of the Art Nouveau movement. High temperature<br />
enamels were developed, their apparently randomly<br />
marbled aspect transforming the porcelain whilst recreating<br />
the spirit of ancient Japanese stoneware (Nos. 47<br />
and 48). For the decorated porcelain ranges, Farkasházy<br />
Fischer introduced painted floral motifs in the fluid and<br />
stylised manner typical of the naturalist vein of Art Nouveau,<br />
and animal patterns in relief embellished with a<br />
subtle glossy celadon enamel (No. 49). In the technique<br />
known as pâte-sur-pâte (No. 50), the motif is painted in<br />
low relief on a coloured ground, using a white porcelain<br />
slip (porcelain in the semi-liquid state).<br />
Thanks to his innovations – and thanks to the traditional<br />
repertoire he was wise enough to continue – Jenö met<br />
with renewed success in the great international exhibitions,<br />
whilst the Hungarian press acclaimed the “Herend<br />
renaissance“. The numerous absences of Farkasházy<br />
Fischer however, due to his trips abroad and his political<br />
and social activities in Budapest, caused him to neglect<br />
the day-to-day management of the company. Business<br />
slowed considerably after 1917. The effects of the war,<br />
followed by the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles,<br />
which were dramatic for Hungary, combined to take the<br />
manufactory to the brink once more. In 1923, Jenö<br />
agreed to turn it into a joint stock company. He kept half<br />
the shares and limited his role to that of artistic director<br />
until his death in 1926.<br />
77<br />
Détail du N˚ 50:<br />
Vase, vers 1900<br />
Décor en relief: lézard et<br />
branche de prunier.<br />
Émail lustré céladon<br />
Detail of N˚ 50:<br />
Vase, ca. 1900<br />
Decorated in relief with a lizard<br />
and a plum branch.<br />
Lustred celadon glaze
78 moitié des parts sociales et limita son rôle à celui d’un<br />
directeur artistique, jusqu’à sa mort en 1926.<br />
Sous la direction de Gyula Gulden, qui deviendra aussi<br />
actionnaire majoritaire, la manufacture allait connaître<br />
une nouvelle ère de prospérité (entre 1923 et 1939, les<br />
effectifs grimperont de 15 à 448 employés). Pragmatique<br />
et clairvoyant, Gulden rationalisera les différents<br />
aspects de la production. Quant à l’orientation générale<br />
de cette dernière, il perpétua finalement, mais avec plus<br />
de rigueur, la politique duale de son prédécesseur: un<br />
répertoire classique pour assurer l’assise financière de la<br />
manufacture et des productions plus modernes pour<br />
continuer d’attirer l’attention sur la scène internationale.<br />
La modernité de l’époque – le style Art déco, par exemple<br />
– ne fera guère qu’effleurer Herend. Il est symptomatique<br />
que l’Exposition des arts décoratifs de Paris en<br />
1925 fut justement l’un des rares grands événements<br />
internationaux auxquels Herend ne pourra pas parti -<br />
ciper, par manque de ressources artistiques. L’une des<br />
innovations des années 1920 fut l’introduction de la<br />
petite statuaire dans l’assortiment de la manufacture,<br />
laquelle n’avait constitué qu’un phénomène pour le<br />
moins anecdotique par le passé.<br />
Les premiers sujets seront avant tout animaliers. Les<br />
figurines étaient confectionnées par les mêmes artisans,<br />
mouleurs et repareurs, qui s’occupaient des formes de<br />
la vaisselle. Un atelier spécifiquement conçu pour la<br />
statuaire ne sera aménagé qu’à partir de 1938, sous<br />
la supervision du sculpteur István Lörincz. Et dans un<br />
premier temps, les responsables de la manufacture<br />
se contenteront de sélectionner des œuvres d’artistes<br />
reconnus, réalisées en bronze ou en marbre, pour les<br />
transposer en porcelaine. C’est ainsi que furent conçues<br />
les gracieuses danseuses du sculpteur Elek Lux (N° 51),<br />
deux des rares exemples de style Art déco à Herend.<br />
La plupart des autres modèles retenus relevaient d’un<br />
académisme éminemment plus classique. Il n’empêche<br />
que la statuaire de Herend, avec ses sujets historiques<br />
ou folkloriques, convenus mais populaires, apportera une<br />
contribution non négligeable aux revenus de l’entreprise.<br />
Les collaborations entre la manufacture et le monde<br />
artistique se feront de plus en plus régulières (N° 53).<br />
Plus rarement dans le registre du récipient décoré.<br />
Quelques projets furent commandés en 1938 dans le<br />
cadre des festivités nationales célébrant le 900 ème anniversaire<br />
de la mort de saint Etienne (vers 974-1038),<br />
le premier roi de Hongrie (N° 52). Lors des Jeux olympiques<br />
de Berlin en 1936, la Hongrie s’était distinguée<br />
en remportant dix médailles d’or. L’événement suscitera<br />
un engouement populaire – et un intérêt politique –<br />
pour les sports de masse et de compétition, à tel point<br />
que le Ministère des cultes et de l’éducation organisa<br />
une grande exposition de sculpture sur le thème du<br />
sport, à Budapest en 1940. A cette occasion également,<br />
les responsables de Herend choisiront un certain nombre<br />
de sujets pour en donner des versions en réduction<br />
(N° 55).<br />
Under the direction of Gyula Gulden, who also became<br />
majority shareholder, the factory was to experience a<br />
new era of prosperity (between 1923 and 1939, staff<br />
levels shot up from 15 to 448 employees). Pragmatic<br />
and farsighted, Gulden streamlined the various aspects<br />
of the production system. As for his general approach to<br />
production, in the end he perpetuated the dual policy of<br />
his predecessor, but more rigorously: a classical repertoire<br />
in order to ensure the company’s financial solidity<br />
and more modern production ranges in order to continue<br />
to attract attention on the international stage.<br />
The modern styles of the period – Art Deco for example<br />
– barely affected Herend at all. Indeed it is telling that<br />
the Paris Exhibition of the Decorative Arts in 1925<br />
proved to be one of the few great international events at<br />
which Herend could not be present, due to lack of artistic<br />
resources. One of the innovations of the 1920s was<br />
the introduction of porcelain figures into the assortment<br />
of the porcelain factory, a form of production that in the<br />
past had really only been incidental.<br />
Initially the subjects were mainly animal. The figurines<br />
were made by the same craftsmen, moulders and<br />
repairers, who looked after the tableware shapes. A<br />
workshop specifically for porcelain sculptures was only<br />
installed in 1938, under the supervision of sculptor<br />
István Lörincz. And at first, the factory leaders simply<br />
selected works by recognised artists, in bronze or marble,<br />
to be transposed into porcelain. That for example is<br />
how the graceful dancers by sculptor Elek Lux were<br />
conceived (No. 51) - two of Herend’s rare examples of Art<br />
Deco. Most of the other models they used belonged to<br />
an eminently more classical academism. Nonetheless the<br />
conventional but popular Herend figures with their historical<br />
or folk subjects were to make a not insignificant<br />
contribution to the company’s turnover.<br />
Cooperation between the manufactory and the art world<br />
became more and more regular (No. 53). It was less frequent<br />
in the realm of the decorated vessel. Some designs<br />
were commissioned in 1938 for the national festivities<br />
to celebrate the 900 th anniversary of the death of St<br />
Stephen (around 974-1038), Hungary’s first king (No.<br />
52). During the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936,<br />
Hungary had distinguished itself by winning ten gold<br />
medals. The event produced a great popular enthusiasm<br />
for – and political interest in – mass and competitive<br />
sports, to such an extent that the Minister for Religion<br />
and Public Education organised a major sculpture exhibition<br />
with sport as the theme in Budapest in 1940. For<br />
that occasion too, Herend’s managers chose a number<br />
of subjects that were produced in small-scale versions<br />
(No. 55).<br />
The Second World War was devastating for Hungary, as<br />
we know; not to mention the outcome of the conflict,<br />
when the country toppled under the influence of the<br />
Soviet Union and remained there for long decades. The<br />
factory survived pretty well, owing in particular to the<br />
upkeep of exports, to Switzerland, Germany, Portugal,<br />
La Seconde Guerre mondiale aura, on le sait, des effets<br />
dévastateurs sur la Hongrie; sans parler de l’issue du<br />
conflit, quand le pays bascula pour de longues décennies<br />
dans l’aire d’influence de l’Union soviétique. La manufac -<br />
ture survivra plutôt convenablement, notamment grâce<br />
au maintien des exportations, par exemple vers la Suisse,<br />
l’Allemagne, le Portugal, l’Italie ou la Belgique. Quand<br />
elle fut nationalisée, en 1948, son appareil de production<br />
était intact. Globalement, le nouveau pouvoir politique<br />
adopta une attitude plutôt positive à l’égard de<br />
Herend, qui continuera à jouer un rôle non négligeable<br />
dans le commerce extérieur hongrois. Par ailleurs, la<br />
manufacture béné ficiera en quelque sorte de la bienveillante<br />
protection de l’épouse du chef tout-puissant du<br />
Parti des travailleurs hongrois, Mátyás Rákosi. Diplômée<br />
de la section Por celaine de l’Ecole des arts décoratifs, elle<br />
fréquenta régulièrement la manufacture, où elle exercera<br />
ponc tu elle ment ses talents picturaux. Notamment pour<br />
la décoration de ce service illustrant la statue de la Liberté<br />
de Budapest ainsi que quelques-unes des grandes<br />
réalisations du Plan quinquennal de 1950-1954 (N° 58).<br />
La période du communisme ne fut pas des plus propices<br />
à l’épanouissement de la créativité. Même un sculpteur<br />
aussi talentueux qu’István Lörincz n’échappera pas aux<br />
codes esthétiques du “réalisme socialiste” le plus<br />
convenu, notamment quand il représente l’ouvrier et le<br />
paysan unis dans un effort titanesque pour construire la<br />
nouvelle Hongrie, selon les préceptes du parti (N° 54).<br />
Même les écoliers sont représentés dans des postures<br />
héroïques (N° 56), tandis que les soldats profitent d’un<br />
peu de temps libre pour se cultiver (N° 57). Dans un<br />
univers systématiquement imprégné de propagande, la<br />
porcelaine de Herend devait apporter sa contribution à<br />
la diffusion de l’idéologie dominante.<br />
Après la répression de l’insurrection nationale de 1956,<br />
les Soviétiques installèrent János Kádár au gouvernement.<br />
Dès les années 1960, le nouveau régime consentit<br />
à d’importants investissements pour la modernisation<br />
de l’économie et l’amélioration du niveau de vie des<br />
Hongrois. Quant à la manufacture de Herend, elle n’était<br />
considérée que comme une unité de production parmi<br />
d’autres dans le conglomérat national de l’industrie<br />
céramique. Elle restera néanmoins fidèle à sa ligne, en<br />
continuant de produire de la porcelaine de qualité,<br />
essentiellement peinte à la main. En termes de valeur<br />
marchande, Herend fournira bon an mal an la moitié<br />
des revenus à l’exportation de l’industrie céramique<br />
hongroise dans son ensemble.<br />
Les designers de la manufacture entreprirent surtout de<br />
réactualiser les formes et les décors du répertoire traditionnel.<br />
Arrivée à Herend au milieu des années 1960,<br />
Irén Illés proposera des idées plus contemporaines,<br />
comme en témoignent ces formes typiques de leur<br />
époque et qui ne seront d’ailleurs jamais produites<br />
(N° 59).<br />
(RB)<br />
Italy and Belgium for example. When it was nationalised<br />
in 1948, the factory’s production system was intact. The<br />
major problem was the supply of raw materials. Overall,<br />
the new political power adopted a rather positive<br />
attitude towards Herend, which continued to play a not<br />
insignificant role in Hungarian foreign trade. In addition,<br />
the company benefited so to speak from the benevolent<br />
protection of the wife of the all-powerful leader of the<br />
Hungarian Workers Party, Mátyás Rákosi. A graduate of<br />
the Porcelain Department of the College of Decorative<br />
Arts, she regularly visited the factory, where from time<br />
to time she exercised her pictorial talents. In particular,<br />
the decorative pattern on this service illustrating the<br />
Budapest Statue of Liberty and some of the great<br />
achievements of the 1950-1954 Five-Year Plan (No. 58).<br />
The Communist period was not the most auspicious for<br />
the flowering of creativity. Even as talented a sculptor as<br />
István Lörincz did not escape the aesthetic codes of a<br />
very conventional “socialist realism“, particularly when<br />
he showed the worker and the farmer united in a titanic<br />
effort to build the new Hungary, according to party<br />
precepts (No. 54). Even the schoolchildren are shown in<br />
heroic poses (No. 56), whilst soldiers take advantage of<br />
a little free time to improve themselves (No. 57). In a<br />
universe systematically steeped in propaganda, Herend<br />
porcelain had to make its own contribution to the<br />
dissemination of the dominant ideology.<br />
After the national uprising of 1956 was put down, the<br />
Soviets installed János Kádár in power. In the 1960s, the<br />
new government approved big investment programmes<br />
to modernise the economy and improve the standard of<br />
living of Hungarians. As for the Herend porcelain factory,<br />
it was considered simply one of a number of production<br />
units in the national ceramic industry conglomerate.<br />
Nevertheless, it kept to its line, continuing to produce<br />
high-quality, still hand-painted, porcelain. In terms of<br />
market value, Herend supplied half the export revenues<br />
of the whole of the Hungarian ceramics industry year in<br />
year out.<br />
Herend’s designers undertook above all to update the<br />
designs and patterns of the traditional repertoire. Arri -<br />
ving at Herend in the mid-1960s, Irén Illés put forward<br />
more contemporary ideas, as illustrated by these designs<br />
that are typical of their time and in fact were never to be<br />
produced (No. 59).<br />
(RB)<br />
79
80<br />
49<br />
Vase, vers 1900<br />
Décor de branches de vigne<br />
en pâte-sur-pâte<br />
haut. 26 cm<br />
Marque en relief: armes royales,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong>, 1900<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.37/1.2<br />
81<br />
Vase, ca. 1900<br />
Vine motif in pâte-sur-pâte<br />
technique<br />
Height 26 cm<br />
Impressed marks: royal coat of arms,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong>, 1900<br />
HPMA, inv. 63.37/1.2<br />
47<br />
Vase, 1900/06<br />
Émaux expérimentaux<br />
haut. 23,2 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 63.29.2<br />
Vase, 1900/06<br />
Experimental glazes<br />
Height 23,2 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 63.29.2<br />
48<br />
Vase, 1900/06<br />
Émaux expérimentaux<br />
haut. 22 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 62.33.1<br />
Vase, 1900/06<br />
Experimental glazes<br />
Height 22 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 62.33.1<br />
50<br />
Vase, vers 1900<br />
Décor en relief: lézard<br />
et branche de prunier.<br />
Émail lustré céladon<br />
haut. 22,3 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong>; marque<br />
peinte: armes royales<br />
HPMA, inv. 62.28/1.1<br />
Vase, ca. 1900<br />
Decorated in relief with a lizard<br />
and a plum branch.<br />
Lustred celadon glaze<br />
Height 22,3 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong>; painted<br />
mark: royal coat of arms<br />
HPMA, inv. 62.28/1.1
82<br />
52<br />
Assiette commémorative, 1938<br />
Modèle créé à l'occasion du 900e<br />
anniversaire de la mort de saint Etienne,<br />
premier roi de Hongrie, d'après<br />
un projet de Piroska Richter<br />
diam. 19,3 cm<br />
Marque estampée: <strong>HEREND</strong>; marque imprimée:<br />
HANDPAINTED, armes royales, <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HUNGARY<br />
IM, inv. 54.1359.1<br />
83<br />
Commemorative plate, 1938<br />
Edited to celebrate the 900th anniversary<br />
of the death of St Stephen, the first king<br />
of Hungary – Designed by Piroska Richter<br />
Diam. 19,3 cm<br />
Impressed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong>; printed mark:<br />
HANDPAINTED, royal coat of arms,<br />
<strong>HEREND</strong> HUNGARY<br />
IM, inv. 54.1359.1<br />
51<br />
Elek Lux (1884-1941)<br />
Danseuses, 1940 et 1936<br />
haut. 21,6 et 27 cm<br />
Marques estampées: armes royales, <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 69/1/2000, 68/1/2000<br />
53<br />
Lívia Kuzmik (1898-1984)<br />
Danseuse, 1940<br />
haut. 30 cm<br />
N° de modèle gravé: 5742<br />
HPMA, inv. 95.63.1<br />
Elek Lux (1884-1941)<br />
Dancing girls, 1940 and 1936<br />
Heights 21,6 et 27 cm<br />
Impressed marks: royal coat of arms, <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HPMA, inv. 69/1/2000, 68/1/2000<br />
Lívia Kuzmik (1898-1984)<br />
Dancing girl, 1940<br />
Height 30 cm<br />
Incised model-Nr: 5742<br />
HPMA, inv. 95.63.1
84 54<br />
István Lörincz (1901-1985)<br />
Paysan et ouvrier, années 1950<br />
haut. 24 cm<br />
N° de modèle gravé: 5821<br />
HPMA, inv. 49/1/2002<br />
István Lörincz (1901-1985)<br />
The Farmer and the Factory<br />
Worker, 1950's<br />
Height 24 cm<br />
Incised model-Nr: 5821<br />
HPMA, inv. 49/1/2002<br />
56<br />
Klára Weisz (1906-1997)<br />
Écoliers socialistes, 1955<br />
haut. maximale 26 cm<br />
Marques imprimées: <strong>HEREND</strong>,<br />
HUNGARY, HP, armoiries hongroises,<br />
HANDPAINTED;<br />
marque peinte: Klein, 1955<br />
HPMA, inv. 96.61.1; 95.60.1<br />
Klára Weisz (1906-1997)<br />
Socialist Pupils, 1955<br />
Max. height 26 cm<br />
Printed marks: <strong>HEREND</strong> HUNGARY,<br />
HP, Hungarian arms, paintbrushes;<br />
painted mark:<br />
Klein, 1955<br />
HPMA, inv. 96.61.1; 95.60.1<br />
85<br />
55<br />
Sándor Ambrózy (1903-1992)<br />
Skieuse, 1947<br />
haut. 30 cm<br />
Marque imprimée: HP, deux pinceaux, 1839<br />
HPMA, inv. 95/1348/1<br />
Sándor Ambrózy (1903-1992)<br />
Skier, 1947<br />
Height 30 cm<br />
Printed mark: HP, two paintbrushes, 1839<br />
HPMA, inv. 95/1348/1<br />
57<br />
Soldats lisant, années 1950<br />
long. 26 cm<br />
Marque imprimée: <strong>HEREND</strong>,<br />
HUNGARY, HP, armoiries hongroises,<br />
HANDPAINTED<br />
HPMA, inv. 95.43.1<br />
Reading soldiers, 1950's<br />
Length 26 cm<br />
Printed mark: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
HUNGARY, HP, Hungarian arms,<br />
paintbrushes, HANDPAINTED<br />
HPMA, inv. 95.43.1
86 58<br />
Parties d'un service à thé, 1955<br />
Décor célébrant les réalisations<br />
du Plan quinquennal, peint par Maria,<br />
l'épouse de Mátyás Rákosi, chef<br />
du Parti communiste<br />
haut. de la théière 15,7 cm<br />
Signé: R Marie; marques estampées: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
IM, inv. 56.1564.1-4<br />
87<br />
Parts of a tea service, 1955<br />
Decoration illustrating major fulfillments<br />
of the Five-Year Plan, painted<br />
by Maria, the wife of Mátyás Rakósi,<br />
the leader of the Communist Party<br />
Height of teapot 15,7 cm<br />
Signed: R Marie; impressed marks: <strong>HEREND</strong><br />
IM, inv. 56.1564.1-4<br />
59<br />
Irén Illés (1934)<br />
Cafetière et sucrier, années 1960<br />
Prototypes<br />
haut. de la cafetière 28 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 94.150.15<br />
Irén Illés (1934)<br />
Coffee pot and sugar bowl, 1960's<br />
Prototypes<br />
Height of coffee pot 28 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 94.150.15
Herend au tournant du millénaire<br />
Herend at the turn of the millennium<br />
A partir de 1981 la manufacture de Herend fut autorisée<br />
à prendre ses distances du conglomérat de l’industrie<br />
céramique pour accéder à une plus grande autonomie,<br />
que ce soit dans sa gestion interne ou dans le développement<br />
de ses marchés à l’exportation. En 1985, le<br />
ministère compétent délégua son autorité de contrôle<br />
sur la manufacture à un Conseil d’entreprise composé<br />
de membres de la direction et de représentants des<br />
employés.<br />
A la même époque Herend se dota d’un nouveau département<br />
artistique, le Herend Studio, animé à l’époque<br />
par László Horváth, Zoltán Takács et Ákos Tamás. Les<br />
artistes avaient la possibilité de poursuivre leurs recherches<br />
personnelles dans l’atelier, puis de collaborer<br />
avec la manufacture pour la production des modèles<br />
retenus. Les membres du Studio pouvaient aussi être<br />
appelés à améliorer ou modifier certaines formes du<br />
répertoire traditionnel de la manufacture, Ákos Tamás<br />
occupe cette fonction encore aujourd’hui (N° 64).<br />
Le système communiste sera définitivement enterré le<br />
23 octobre 1989, avec la proclamation solennelle de la<br />
République. A Herend, les effets de ce bouleversement<br />
historique ne tarderont pas à se faire sentir: la situation<br />
économique de l’entreprise était bonne, sa réputation<br />
internationale n’était plus à faire et plusieurs groupes<br />
d’investisseurs étaient intéressés par une éventuelle<br />
privatisation. Le Conseil d’entreprise s’engagea avec<br />
succès pour une formule qui réserverait l’accès aux parts<br />
sociales aux collaborateurs de la manufacture. Depuis<br />
1993, Herend est une société par actions dans laquelle<br />
la majorité des parts est détenue par les employés –<br />
actifs ou retraités – de l’entreprise, l’État détenant 30%<br />
des actions.<br />
Les contacts entre la manufacture et les créateurs<br />
indépendants se développèrent de façon spectaculaire<br />
dans les années 1990. En 1995, Herend organisa un<br />
symposium qui réunira ses propres designers et de nombreux<br />
artistes hongrois, céramistes ou sculpteurs. Dès<br />
l’année suivante, le céramiste de réputation mondiale<br />
Imre Schrammel conduira au sein de la manufacture des<br />
recherches plastiques qui allaient laisser des traces<br />
durables dans la production de Herend. Reprenant l’un<br />
de ses thèmes de prédilection à l’époque, les tendres<br />
amours du Minotaure (N° 66), il le transposa en porcelaine,<br />
d’abord dans des esquisses très libres et spontanées<br />
(N° 65), puis dans des versions décorées (N° 67) –<br />
en collaboration avec les peintres de la maison – l’idée<br />
étant d’aboutir à des modèles aptes à être produits en<br />
série et susceptibles de s’intégrer dans l’assortiment. Un<br />
autre thème développé par Schrammel aura pour sujet<br />
From 1981, the Herend manufactory was authorised to<br />
distance itself from the ceramic industry conglomerate<br />
in order to acquire greater autonomy, from the point<br />
of view of both its internal management and the<br />
deve lopment of its export markets. In 1985, the relevant<br />
Ministry delegated its authority over the factory to<br />
an Enterprise Council composed of members of the<br />
management and representatives of the employees.<br />
At the same time, Herend acquired a new artistic department,<br />
the Herend Studio, led at that time by László<br />
Horváth, Zoltán Takács and Ákos Tamás. The artists were<br />
able to pursue their own research in the studio and then<br />
co-operate with the manufactory in the production of the<br />
models chosen. The members of the Studio could also<br />
be called on to improve or change certain shapes in the<br />
factory’s traditional repertoire; Ákos Tamás still has this<br />
function today (No. 64).<br />
The Communist system was definitively buried on 23<br />
October 1989, when the Republic was solemnly proclaimed.<br />
At Herend, the effects of this huge historic<br />
change were soon felt: the company’s financial situation<br />
was good, its international reputation was made and<br />
several groups of investors were interested in a possible<br />
privatisation. The Enterprise Council successfully promoted<br />
an arrangement under which access to company<br />
shares would be reserved for factory employees. Since<br />
1993, Herend has been a joint stock company in which<br />
the majority of the shares is held by the (working or<br />
retired) employees of the company, the State holding<br />
30% of the shares.<br />
Contacts between the manufactory and independent<br />
artists developed spectacularly during the 1990s. In<br />
1995, Herend organised a symposium that brought<br />
together its own designers and numerous Hungarian<br />
artists, ceramicists and sculptors. The year after, the<br />
world-renowned ceramicist Imre Schrammel did some<br />
sculptural research at the factory that was to leave its<br />
mark on the Herend production. Reprising one of his<br />
preferred themes at that time, the love affairs of the<br />
Minotaur (No. 66), he translated it into porcelain, first<br />
in very free and spontaneous sketches (No. 65), then<br />
in decorated versions (No. 67) – in cooperation with<br />
the factory’s painters – the idea being to come up with<br />
models that could be produced and integrated into the<br />
assortment. Another theme developed by Schrammel<br />
was the characters in the carnival of Venice. He created<br />
several figures in this range that today are part of the<br />
repertoire, in the traditional Herend decorative patterns<br />
such as Siang rouge or Siang noir. Particularly spectacular<br />
are his large scale carnival figures (No. 69).<br />
89<br />
Détail du N˚ 66:<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Les amants, 1989<br />
Terre cuite enfumée<br />
Detail of N˚ 66:<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
The Lovers, 1989<br />
Raku-fired clay
90 les personnages du carnaval de Venise. Il créera dans ce<br />
registre plusieurs statuettes qui figurent aujourd’hui dans<br />
la production courante, revêtus des décors traditionnels<br />
de Herend, comme les motifs Siang rouge ou Siang noir.<br />
Particulièrement spectaculaires, ses figures de carnaval<br />
de grande dimension (N° 69).<br />
Dans le domaine du récipient également, les artistes<br />
extérieurs à la manufacture lui ont insufflé une fantaisie<br />
nouvelle (N° 61). Souvent les créateurs jouent avec des<br />
détails qui font partie intégrante de l’identité visuelle<br />
de Herend, comme les anses et les prises figuratives<br />
évoquées plus haut. Par exemple quand Márta Nagy<br />
assied un petit Chinois dans le style typique de Herend<br />
au sommet d’une boîte (N°62), ou quand Miklós Melocco<br />
prolonge les anses de ses récipients par des mains<br />
sensuelles et légèrement impertinentes (N°60).<br />
Les responsables de la manufacture s’efforcent ainsi – et<br />
c’est heureux – de préserver un contact suivi avec le<br />
monde des créateurs contemporains, tout en perpétuant<br />
le répertoire classique, avec ici ou là des réajustements<br />
stylistiques plus ou moins prononcés des formes ou des<br />
décors. Ils restent ainsi fidèles à la politique duale de<br />
leurs prédécesseurs qui se basait sur une production<br />
“traditionnelle“, laquelle fournissait pour ainsi dire le<br />
“socle commercial” de l’entreprise, doublée d’une ouverture<br />
vers la modernité. Or la réalité commerciale de<br />
Herend en ce début de XXI e siècle n’a pas beaucoup<br />
varié. La ligne classique du répertoire assure bon an mal<br />
an quelque 80% des ventes, le solde se répartissant à<br />
parts égales entre les nouveaux modèles créés par des<br />
artistes contemporains et les commandes spéciales.<br />
C’est ainsi que les pièces de service de la ligne Victoria<br />
(N° 8) comptent encore et toujours parmi les modèles<br />
les plus populaires, avec les décors Rothschild (motifs<br />
rocaille à fond d’écailles, oiseaux perchés et papillons) et<br />
Apponyi (“fleurs des Indes” monochromes à la manière<br />
de Meissen).<br />
And the vessels too were inspired with a new fanciful<br />
spirit by new artists from outside the manufactory (No.<br />
61). Frequently the invited artists play with details that<br />
are an integral part of Herend‘s visual identity, such as<br />
the figurative loop handles and knobs mentioned earlier.<br />
For example, when Márta Nagy sets a little Chinese<br />
figure in the typical Herend style on the top of a box<br />
(No. 62), or when Miklós Melocco playfully extends the<br />
loop handles of his vessels to form sensual and slightly<br />
impertinent hands (N° 60).<br />
So the managers of the porcelain company endeavour –<br />
fortunately – to keep in close touch with the modern<br />
creative world, at the same time maintaining the classical<br />
repertoire with, here and there, adjustments in the<br />
style of the shapes and patterns to a greater or lesser<br />
degree. They thus remain faithful to the dual policy of<br />
their predecessors with their basic “traditional“ production,<br />
which constituted the “commercial bedrock“ of the<br />
business, as it were, backed up by openness to modernity.<br />
In fact, Herend’s commercial reality in this early<br />
21st century is not much different. The classical line of<br />
the repertoire accounts for about 80% of sales year in<br />
year out, the balance being divided equally between the<br />
new models created by contemporary artists and special<br />
commissions. The pieces in the Victoria tableware line<br />
(No. 8) for example are still even now one of the most<br />
popular styles, along with the Rothschild (rocaille motifs<br />
with a scale-pattern ground, perching birds and butterflies)<br />
and Apponyi (monochrome “Indian flowers“ in the<br />
Meissen manner) patterns.<br />
Herend’s basic clientele remains, now as ever, devotedly<br />
attached to the traditional image of the factory, as –<br />
essentially – defined by Moritz Fischer. The current<br />
managers also remain just as attached to the bias<br />
evinced by the founder from the 1860s onwards towards<br />
a concentration on upmarket activities for the company.<br />
Herend’s position is still, and perhaps even more consistently<br />
than in the past, in the luxury manufactured<br />
goods market. It is the only way to ensure the long-term<br />
survival and economic viability of its business culture.<br />
Indeed, its manufacturing methods have remained practically<br />
unaltered since the mid-19th century. They can<br />
even be said – if the preparation of the raw materials is<br />
disregarded – to be close to the methods originally used<br />
in the porcelain factories of the 18 th century. Even now,<br />
any pattern on a piece of Herend china, be it the tiniest<br />
Détail du N˚ 60:<br />
Miklós Melocco (1935)<br />
Service à thé, 1999<br />
Detail of N˚ 60:<br />
Miklós Melocco (1935)<br />
Tea service, 1999<br />
La clientèle de base de Herend, aujourd’hui comme hier,<br />
reste indéfectiblement attachée à l’image traditionnelle<br />
de la manufacture, telle qu’elle fut définie – pour l’essen -<br />
tiel – par Moritz Fischer. Les responsables actuels restent<br />
tout aussi attachés au parti pris adopté par le fondateur<br />
dès les années 1860 et qui tendait à concentrer les acti<br />
vi tés de la manufacture sur le haut de gamme. Herend<br />
se positionne toujours, et peut-être de manière encore<br />
plus conséquente que par le passé, dans le segment de<br />
marché réservé aux produits manufacturés de luxe. C’est<br />
la seule manière d’assurer et la pérennité et la viabilité<br />
économique de sa culture d’entreprise. En effet, ses méthodes<br />
de fabrication n’ont pour ainsi dire pas varié depuis<br />
le milieu du XIX e siècle. On peut même les rapprocher<br />
– si on fait abstraction de la prépa ration des matières<br />
premières – des méthodes originellement appliquées<br />
dans les manufactures du XVIII e siècle. Aujourd’hui<br />
encore, le moindre décor posé sur une porcelaine de<br />
Herend, même le motif le plus minimaliste, est peint à la<br />
main. Sur les 950 employés de l’entreprise en 2008,<br />
quelque 450 sont actifs dans les ateliers de peinture.<br />
Il est évident que cette manière de travailler confère aux<br />
produits de Herend des qualités visuelles et tactiles bien<br />
particulières. Des qualités que la clientèle de la manufac -<br />
ture recherche visiblement, en corrélation avec des formes<br />
et des décors qui évoquent pour elle des références culturelles<br />
liées à l’âge d’or de la porcelaine et à un certain<br />
art de vivre. Le fait que Herend ait choisi de rester une<br />
manufacture, au sens premier du terme, lui a aussi permis<br />
de perpétuer un savoir-faire qui est de plus en plus<br />
apprécié, notamment pour l’exécution de commandes<br />
spéciales, d’après des projets fournis par le client luimême<br />
ou développés à la manufacture en concertation<br />
avec lui. Des pièces uniques ou produites en très petites<br />
séries destinées à des particuliers ou à des commanditaires<br />
illustres. Comme le firent jadis les manufactures<br />
historiques du XVIII e siècle, ces manufactures que Moritz<br />
Fischer s’était appliqué à égaler avec tant de ferveur.<br />
motif, is hand-painted. Of the 950 people employed by<br />
the company in 2008, some 450 work in the painting<br />
studios.<br />
It is clear that this way of working endows Herend pro -<br />
ducts with quite special visual and tactile qualities. These<br />
qualities are clearly sought after by the company’s clientele,<br />
being closely correlated with designs and patterns<br />
that conjure up for customers the cultural references of<br />
the golden age of porcelain and a certain art of living. The<br />
fact that Herend has chosen to remain a hands-on maker<br />
of porcelain – a manufacturer in the primary sense of the<br />
term – has also enabled it to preserve a body of specia -<br />
list knowledge that is increasingly appreciated, in particu -<br />
lar for special commissions based on the plans supplied<br />
by the client or developed at the factory in consultation<br />
with the client. These are unique pieces or pieces produced<br />
in very limited numbers for individuals or illustrious<br />
sponsors. This is just what the historic porcelain makers<br />
of the 18 th century used to do, those factories that<br />
Moritz Fischer made such fervent efforts to equal.<br />
91<br />
(RB)<br />
(RB)<br />
Pálma Babos (1961):<br />
Détail d’une anse<br />
Pálma Babos (1961):<br />
Detail of a handle
92<br />
93<br />
62<br />
Márta Nagy (1954)<br />
Boîte au Chinois, 1998<br />
long. 20 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 32/1.1-2/2000<br />
Márta Nagy (1954)<br />
Box with a Chinese, 1998<br />
Length 20 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 32/1.1-2/2000<br />
60<br />
Miklós Melocco (1935)<br />
Service à thé, 1999<br />
haut. de la théière 17 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 25/1/2000<br />
Miklós Melocco (1935)<br />
Tea service, 1999<br />
Height of teapot 17 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 25/1/2000<br />
61<br />
Pálma Babos (1961)<br />
Service à café, 1997/98<br />
haut. de la cafetière 16 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 61/1.1-2/2000; 21/1-2/2000;<br />
22/1.1-2/2000; 23/1/2000<br />
Pálma Babos (1961)<br />
Coffee service, 1997/98<br />
Height of coffee pot 16 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 61/1.1-2/2000; 21/1-2/2000;<br />
22/1.1-2/2000; 23/1/2000
94<br />
64<br />
Ákos Tamás (1954)<br />
Pyramide, 1992<br />
haut. 25 cm<br />
HPM, inv. 102<br />
95<br />
Ákos Tamás (1954)<br />
Pyramid, 1992<br />
Height 25 cm<br />
HPM, inv. 102<br />
63<br />
Zoltán Takács (1951)<br />
Hommage à Bernard Palissy, 1995<br />
Porcelaine, lustre<br />
Diam. 32 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 162/1/2000<br />
Zoltán Takács (1951)<br />
A Tribute to Bernard Palissy, 1995<br />
Porcelain, lustre glaze<br />
Diam. 32 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 162/1/2000
96 65<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Le Minotaure et son aimée, 1996<br />
Étude pour la manufacture<br />
haut. 30 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 25/1/2001<br />
97<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
The Minotaur and his Lover, 1996<br />
Study for the manufactory studio<br />
Height 30 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 25/1/2001<br />
66<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Les amants, 1989<br />
Terre cuite enfumée<br />
haut. 41,2 cm<br />
Signé: S.I.<br />
MAR, inv. AR 11473<br />
67<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Le Minotaure et son aimée,<br />
1995/97<br />
Étude pour la manufacture<br />
haut. 34 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 28/1/2001<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
The Lovers, 1989<br />
Raku-fired clay<br />
Height 41,2 cm<br />
Signed: S.I.<br />
MAR, inv. AR 11473<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
The Minotaur and his Lover,<br />
1995/97<br />
Study for the manufactory studio<br />
Height 34 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 28/1/2001
98 68<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Groupe de cinq, 1995/97<br />
Étude pour la manufacture<br />
haut. 22 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 40/1/2001<br />
99<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Group of Five, 1995/97<br />
Study for the manufactory studio<br />
Height 22 cm<br />
HPMA, inv. 40/1/2001<br />
69<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Pestdoktor, 1999<br />
haut. 100 cm<br />
HPM, inv. 15032.0.00B<br />
Imre Schrammel (1933)<br />
Pestdoktor, 1999<br />
Height 100 cm<br />
HPM, inv. 15032.0.00B
Publié dans le cadre de l’exposition /<br />
Published in conjunction with the exhibition<br />
Porcelaine de Herend – L’or blanc de Hongrie<br />
Musée Ariana, Genève,<br />
13 novembre 2008 – 9 mars 2009<br />
Concept éditorial / Editorial concept:<br />
Roland Blaettler, László Szathmáry<br />
Graphisme / Graphic design:<br />
Eszter Domé<br />
Photographies / Photographs:<br />
Balázs Csekovszky, Péter Huber, Nathalie Sabato<br />
Traductions / Translations:<br />
László Sujtó, Lara Strong, Axone Services linguistiques<br />
Imprimé chez / Printed by:<br />
Prospektus Nyomda, Hongrie<br />
© Musées d’art et d’histoire, Genève, 2008,<br />
et les propriétaires des œuvres pour les illustrations<br />
ISBN 978-2-8306-0242-5