LA PORCELAINE DE HEREND HEREND PORCELAIN

24 The original version of the small ornamental vase with
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front
panels have two larger paintings each representing
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyvThe
original version of the small ornamental vase
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front
panels have two larger paintings each representing
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe
original version of the small ornamental vase
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front
panels have two larger paintings each representing
the life of Chinese aristocracy haped like a Lion of Fo.
Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled dragons
appear amongst turquoise and green clouds; the back
and the front panels have two larger paintings each
representing the life of Chinese aristocracy
traditions did not accommodate this kind of work. Despite
important studio work, Herend continued to earn
its revenue from the sale of traditional Herend patterns.
The demand for porcelain and the growth in production
can be traced through the increasing number of emplo -
yees. In 1948 there were approximately 300 workers,
in 1965 more than 600, in 1970 nearly 1,000, and in
1973, 1,203. In 1981 Herend split from the Fine Cera -
mics Works, but it only gained the right to commercial
autonomy in 1985, with the company council taking over
the main management. From then on, design, decisionmaking
and operational work were all carried out in the
same place as production, thus all facets working in
greater harmony. A market perspective opened many
doors, and the state’s economic and political monopoly
over the porcelain factory had clearly begun to waver.
That year, the Herend Studio was formed with the participation
of three designers, László Horváth, Zoltán
Takács and Ákos Tamás, their energy and talent representing
a new level in the artistic range of the porcelain
factory.
The new phenomenon of the 1970s, the world dominance
of information science, linked products and markets
throughout the world. The structure of the state and
of labour practices within the Soviet sphere, however,
was built on isolationism, in contradiction to the free flow
of information and market mobility. Another phenomenon
of the decade was the oil crisis, with the dramatic
rise in fuel prices forcing irreversible changes within the
Soviet realm. By the end of the 1980s the resources of
the planned economy were exhausted, and Hungary had
accumulated a huge national debt. The state ownership
monopoly also dissolved, and alongside cooperative
ownership, economic work groups appeared, which primarily
produced articles of mass consumption; these
small enterprises were the pioneers of a freely emerging
market economy in the 1990s. The formation of new
political parties or the reformation of old ones, all urging
social change, was the first big step toward the end of
communism and the beginning of parliamentarianism
and multi-party democracy.
Herend in the new millennium (1991-2008)
The change in political systems began in Herend in the
autumn of 1989. The factory’s reputation and strong
financial situation made it attractive to privatization, with
various groups of domestic and foreign investors showing
interest. The managing body of the factory, the company
council, declared an employee buyout the best route
to privatization. That year the company council chose
József Kovács, head of the commercial department of
the factory, from several candidates to become managing
director. The company now had at its head a man not
only well regarded by the state leadership but also res -
pected for his international experience and connections,
his knowledge and professionalism, his skill in foreign
languages, and above all his determination and consistency.
After thorough preparations, the process of priva-
The original version of the small ornamental vase with
a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front
panels have two larger paintings each representing
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe
original version of the small ornamental vase
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front
panels have two larger paintings each representing
the life of Chinese aristocracyThe original version of
the small ornamental vase with a lid glittering as a
jewel was made in 1856, and today it is kept in the
Museum of Applied Arts. The gilded handle of the
richly coloured lid of the vase s shaped like a Lion of
Fo. Underneath it, fighting green- and red-scaled
dragons appear amongst turquoise and green clouds;
the back and the front panels have two larger paintings
each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe
original version of the small ornamental vase
with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856, and
today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts. The
gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase s
shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
green- and red-scaled dragons appear amongst
turquoise and green clouds; the back and the front
panels have two larger paintings each representing
the life of Chinese aristocracy panels have two larger
paintings each representing the life of Chinese aristocracyThe
original version of the small ornamental
vase with a lid glittering as a jewel was made in 1856,
and today it is kept in the Museum of Applied Arts.
The gilded handle of the richly coloured lid of the vase
s shaped like a Lion of Fo. Underneath it, fighting
tization began. In June 1992 the Herend Porcelain Share
Company was formed as the legal successor to the He -
rend Porcelain Factory. In the 1990s Herend experience
development unprecedented in the Hungarian economy.
After the employee buyout, Herend began making investments
in the company using its own financial resour -
ces, creating an environment befitting the sumptuous
luxury porcelain it produced. The factory buildings were
modernized, and the building erected by Mór Fischer
was restored as a historical monument and a permanent
exhibit installed with space for temporary shows. The
group of buildings opposite the factory comprise the
Porcelánium. Here visitors can discover the secrets of
porcelain-making in the so-called Mini-manufactory, or
have a meal served on real Herend dishware at the
restaurant and café Apicius, named for the ancient
Roman gourmet, or purchase Herend goods in Viktória,
the factory’s porcelain shop.
With initiatives embracing the traditions of manufactured
porcelain, Herend found partners among the most important
representatives of artistic porcelain in Europe. In
April 1992 the Association of European Porcelain Manufacturers
was formed with the participation of Vienna,
Berlin, Herend, Ludwigsburg, Meissen and Sevres. The
cooperating companies agreed to make their own pastes
and whiteware, do all painting by hand, nurture the
traditions of the applied arts, conduct training seminars
and offer a selection of products that have art historical
significance.
In 1993, Imre Schrammel, a prominent figure in Hungarian
and international ceramic art, participated in
the work of the managing council. With his talent, his
ready knowledge of international trends, his demanding
personality, and his suggestive works of art, Schrammel
had considerable influence on colleagues and students,
serving as rector of the Hungarian Academy of Applied
Arts [from 2001 the Hungarian University of Craft and
Design, from 2006 the Moholy-Nagy University of Design].
He taught generations of students in the cera mics
department, launching them on their careers. He is
primarily responsible for the change in philosophy at
Herend, based on his view that production development
had ceased for some time. The factory’s technological
revival and perfection paved the way for Herend to invite
not only designers from its own studio, but also Hunga -
rian ceramicists and sculptors to a “figure-symposium” in
Siklós in 1995. This melding of ideas led Herend to call
upon sculptor Miklós Melocco, ceramicist Márta Nagy
and porcelain designer Pálma Babos to come up with
new designs. Schrammel himself took an earlier series of
chamotte-clay Minotaurs and refashioned it for porcelain.
Sometimes triumphant, historicizing, sometimes
frail and writhing, suffering from love, embracing bullheaded
monsters, the figures are revived symbols from
the world of human instinct. Their bodies are covered in
typical Herend motifs, the body and paint merged as one.
Imre Schrammel’s most mature work for Herend is his
carnival series, his female figures in renaissance costume
peaking out from behind flirtatious masks. For Schram-
25