Examples of Objects on Display

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  Pieces of a tea service in the Victoria pattern

  Around 1850　
  Pot: h.11.5 cm
  Cup: w. 13.0 cm
  Dessert plate: d. 21.0 cm
  Herend Porcelain Museum
  

  Among the works on display in the 1851 Great Exhibition in London were those with a flower-and-butterfly motif, which was inspired by the fencai (a type of overglaze polychrome decoration) porcelain of Qing-dynasty China and arranged into a European fashion. Queen Victoria, fascinated by the innovative and charming design as well as the vivid colors, ordered a dinner set for the Windsor Castle. This dinner set won first prize in the World’s Fair, which led to the establishment of its international reputation. This flower-and-butterfly motif, named “Victoria pattern” after the queen, continues to be one of the leading motifs of Herend even today. The handle of the pot of this tea set has been repaired with wood, which is finely made and carefully applied, suggesting that this set had been handled with great care for a long period of time.

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  Tea service with Gödöllő pattern

  Around 1875
  Pot: h.12.5 cm
  Cup: w.10.8 cm
  Tray: w. 25.6×25.3 cm
  Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest
  

  This tea set has red decorative bands containing scrolls and on the white ground are pine, bamboo and plum motifs derived from China. This strikingly brilliant decoration was applied to porcelain made for Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elizabeth. In 1867, when the dual monarchy Austro-Hungarian Empire was established, the couple was crowned king and queen of Hungary and during their stay in this country, they resided in the palace in Gödöllő, located in the suburbs of Budapest. Decorative porcelain like this set was used in this palace. The pattern is known as “Gödöllő”, named after the palace, and in later times this pattern became very popular and various forms of tea and coffee sets with the Gödöllő pattern were produced.

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  Plate with Hungarian pattern

  Around 1896
  d. 25.0 cm
  Private collection
  

  At the end of the nineteenth century, when Hungary was preparing to celebrate its millennial National Foundation Day, studies on typical Hungarian-style decorative motifs were carried on in order to exalt the national identity. Such trend gave birth to the “Hungarian National” motif, which was adopted not only in ceramics but also in architecture, furniture, metalwork, glass and textile as well as illustrations in books. Based on traditional motifs on ceramics and embroidery, the decoration consists of various combinations of stylized pomegranates, tulips, carnations, chrysanthemums and vines. The unique form and tone of this motif is indicative of Eastern element, which demonstrates the historical and climatic characteristics of Hungary that lies in the eastern part of Europe.