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Tuesday 4th November 2003 - Sunday 1st February 2004

The exhibition is supported by the Hungarian Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

A silver-gilt crozier decorated with pearls and precious stones, from around 1490

A major exhibition A Celebration of Hungarian Gold and Silver will be staged at the Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, London WC2, from Tuesday 4 November 2003 to Sunday 1 February 2004. Some 48 stunning pieces, most of which have never before been shown in this country, have been loaned by the three most important gold and silver collections in Hungary. The exhibition marks the opening of Magyar Magic - Hungary in Focus 2004, a year long series of cultural events taking place in Britain to celebrate Hungary’s joining the European Union in 2004.

Katalin Bogyay, Director of the Hungarian Cultural Centre and Magyar Magic, said: “When Hungarians move to a new home, it is customary for us to call on our new neighbours and say hello so that they can put a face to the new name on the door. When Hungary joins the European Union next year, our whole nation will become a new neighbour. Who could think of a better way of introducing ourselves than presenting our cultural heritage, which has played a great part in ensuring this small nation's survival throughout centuries of political turmoil? It is a great pleasure for us to begin our year long celebration with this presentation of historical masterpieces of Hungarian gold and silver at the Gilbert Collection.”

Hungary was Europe’s most important source of silver until the discovery of the New World, and its supply only ended at the end of the 18th century. The exhibition highlights the distinctive characteristics of the Hungarian gold and silverworking tradition from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. These characteristics, while fundamentally European with German, Italian and Austrian influences, also display Islamic influences, for example the taste for enamel work from Turkey.

A gilded silver and enamel Transylvanian chalice, made around 1440

Following the Ottoman conquest of 1526, the shattered country split into three parts: the western and northern territories fell into Habsburg hands, in the East the Principality of Transylvania emerged, while the central part of the country was under Turkish rule until 1686. The silverworking traditions of the three regions shared common roots and while they continued to influence one another they nevertheless each developed their own distinctive style. In Transylvania and so-called Royal Hungary it was the noble courts that served as the principal cultural centres and silver was primarily the work of the goldsmiths’ guilds that had existed since the Middle Ages.

The exhibition aims to show the diversity of Hungarian gold and silver through examples from the most important metalworking centres and regions. The selected works also illustrate typical decorative techniques such as vessels engraved to resemble shagreen (shark’s skin) or sheep’s fleece.

The earliest exhibit, a Scythian gold running stag dating from the 6th century BC

The earliest exhibit is a Scythian gold running stag dating from the 6th century BC. This animated and skilfully crafted animal, 37cm long, is an indication of the astonishing treasures to come. It is one of 26 items loaned by the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, the first museum in Hungary, founded in 1802.

There is a spectacular group of medieval treasures: ecclesiastical objects most of which come from the Cathedral Treasury of the Archbishops of Esztergom, the Catholic Primates of Hungary. The Gilbert Collection is privileged to have been loaned the great 13th-century reliquary gold cross encrusted with pearls and precious stones on which for centuries the Kings of Hungary took their coronation oath. It is an outstanding example of the filigree work that was popular at that time.

A monstrance in silver-gilt decorated with precious stones, from the Franciscan church at Eger in northern Hungary

There are two masterpieces of Gothic workmanship in this exhibition. The first is a gilded silver and enamel Transylvanian chalice, made around 1440, another exceptional example of filigree work and richly decorated with scenes from the Life of Christ, cast figures of saints and angels and pearl flowers. An inscription on the base states that it was commissioned by Benedek Suki, a Transylvanian nobleman, who gave it to the Cathedral of Gyulafehérvár, now Alba Iulia in Romania. The second tour de force is a silver-gilt crosier, decorated with pearls and precious stones, which dates from around 1490 and belonged to Miklós Oláh who was Bishop of Esztergom and an important cultural figure.

A pair of gilded silver cruets for holy wine and water dating from the Renaissance, early 16th century, have necks and stems in filigree work, with garnet-studded pears around the bodies and feet while the spouts are formed as dragon heads. A glorious monstrance from the Franciscan church at Eger in northern Hungary is one of three pieces in the exhibition made by János Szilassy who was one of the great 18th-century Hungarian silversmiths. Made in 1752, the monstrance is in the form of a sunburst of silver-gilt decorated with precious stones and enamel plaques and figures of angels and putti and is a remarkable and joyful example of Hungarian rococo.

‘Queen of Sheba’s Cup’ in silver-gilt, coral and turquoise by Sebestyén Hann, Transylvania, 17th century

The second section of the exhibition is devoted to secular objects which have been loaned from the rich domestic silver collections of the Hungarian National Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts. The first group is of so-called kunstkammer objects, made solely for display. A supreme example is the 17th-century Transylvanian ‘Queen of Sheba’s Cup’, crafted by Sebestyén Hann in silver-gilt with a coral stem decorated with turquoise. The fluted bowl embossed with the scene of the Queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon is set at an angle making it easier to impress onlookers but impossible to use. The ‘Summoner Tablet’, a silver plaque with a scene of a craftsman at work at his bench surrounded by the tools of his trade, was used by the goldsmiths’ guild at Brassó in Transylvania to call masters to attend meetings at the guildhall.

Following the kunstkammer pieces are objects made for the buffet in noble houses, for both domestic use and display, to impress guests with the wealth and good taste of the owners. These include a selection of very grand tankards, dishes, wine barrels and decanters made in silver, silver-gilt and parcel-gilt and dating from the 16th to 18th centuries. A number of pieces have classical Roman or Celtic coins or medals set into them, following a similar fashion in German silvermaking, while others are engraved, pierced or embossed and many bear their original owners’ names and coats of arms.

A table fountain, dating from the mid-18th century, made in silver-gilt and coloured enamel

Two extraordinary 18th-century table decorations combine extravagance with Hungarian individuality. A centrepiece, made around 1734, has a craggy mountain formed of quartz, amethyst and other hardstones on which various mining activities are depicted with figures of miners and buildings made of silver, set on a parcel-gilt base and surmounted by a silver figure of a page holding a silver dish above his head. A superb table fountain from the Andrássy Collection, dating from the mid-18th century, is made in silver-gilt and coloured enamel. Comprising three pitchers joined by entwining handles, it is surmounted by a silver-gilt model of the Andrássy family castle at Krasznahorka, complete with walls and turrets. This masterpiece is attributed to János Szilassy who was renowned for his skilled enamel work and his surviving works represent the pinnacle of the rococo goldsmith’s art in Hungary.

The exhibition closes with two 19th-century pieces from the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest, a three-piece silver-gilt coffee set, the elaborate sugar bowl incorporating filigree work, made in 1823 by József Szentpétery, one of the most emblematic figures of Hungarian silverworking of the period. Finally, although made in 1838, a pair of candlesticks by József Müller is of an elegant, almost modernist, design.

A three-piece silver-gilt coffee set, made in 1823 by József Szentpétery

These glittering and wonderful objects illustrate the vitality and individuality of the work of Hungarian silversmiths. The Gilbert Collection contains one example of Hungarian silver, a silver-gilt tankard circa 1600, so is delighted to present A Celebration of Hungarian Gold and Silver which provides the opportunity to appreciate a little-known aspect of the arts and culture of one of Europe’s most romantic countries.

Timothy Stevens, Director of the Gilbert Collection, said: "The Gilbert Collection is honoured to be chosen as the venue for the launch, with this exhibition, of the festival Magyar Magic - Hungary in Focus 2004. The 15th- and early 16th-century pieces made for church use are visually ravishing and not to be missed. By happy coincidence the V&A's major autumn show is Gothic: Art for England 1400-1547, so there is a unique opportunity in London this autumn to compare the final flowering of the Gothic style in Hungary and Britain."

Magyar Magic - Hungary in Focus 2004 starts in November 2003 and will run for a year in London and regional centres in Britain presenting a great variety of Hungarian music, exhibitions, theatre, film, literature and dance in collaboration with the most renowned British organisations and venues.

The exhibition is curated by:
Dr Erika Kiss, Curator, Silver and Jewellery Department, Hungarian National Museum
Éva Békési, Co-curator
Pál Cséfalvay, Co-curator

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