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85-688: Edmund de Unger was born in Budapest into a family linked with the art world. His father was a private collector of carpets and another relative was the architect who designed the Hungarian National Museum . After going to London in 1934 to learn English, he studied economics at Kiel Institute for the World Economy , law at the University of Budapest and history at Hertford College, Oxford . Returning to Hungary before

170-555: A bowl ( Corning Museum of Glass ) was made in Damascus between 718 and 814; otherwise we know little of the history of the technique on glass. Lustre was used in Islamic glass only briefly, and never spread to other areas as lustre on pottery did. A similar technique was used to make iridescent Art Nouveau glass, with more of a " rainbow " effect than a single shiny colour, from the late 19th century. The first lustreware pottery

255-501: A context in court patronage. The glazes were either clear, revealing an off-white body or white slip , or given various rather dark colours, usually thought to show later wares. The interplay between these dark glazes and lustre "made a world of shifting half-light, quiet and mysterious" that was probably influential on later Spanish and Italian wares with lustre over blue underglaze; some Syrian examples have been found in Europe. After

340-467: A fine vessel decorated with palmettes , set in an elaborate gold casing with handles formed of foliage and winged dragons. Other smaller items in the collection include several bottles, possibly intended for dispensing scent, and a bead in the form of a crouching hare, possibly intended as a charm. In October 2008, an 11th-century Fatimid rock crystal ewer was acquired for the Keir Collection at

425-623: A gap of several centuries in Persian production, it was revived in the Safavid period from about the 1630s, in a rather different style, typically producing small pieces with designs often in a dark copper colour over a dark blue (cobalt) background. Unlike other Persian wares of the period, these use traditional Middle Eastern shapes and decoration rather than Chinese-inspired ones, and also do not take their shapes from metalware. Designs featured plant forms and animals, and generally flowed freely over

510-518: A garden that is used primarily for various concerts. Various artists have performed here including Ferenc Liszt. Today the garden is the venue of the Museum Festival. Scenes from the movie Evita , starring Madonna were filmed on the steps leading in. The scenes depicted the coffin of Eva Peron being carried into a ' Buenos Aires ' government building to lay in State. On 28 October 2023,

595-746: A great centre of lustreware production until the Fatimid Caliphate fell in 1171, soon after the potter's quarter of the capital Fustat ( Cairo ) was burned in 1169. It is thought that the Fustat potters dispersed to both Syria and Persia , and lustreware appears there about this time; later the devastating conquests of the Mongols and Timur disrupted these industries. The technique had spread to al-Andalus (the Islamic Iberian Peninsula ). Hispano-Moresque ware in lustre

680-576: A mark on me. The first Oriental miniature I consciously looked at was at the Musée d'Arts décoratifs in Paris [...] It was this painting that prompted me to buy my first book on Persian miniatures." As Haase (2007) stated at the start of his evaluation of de Unger's extensive collection of Islamic illuminated manuscripts, "A series of magnificent exhibitions of Islamic manuscript art and calligraphy has recently shown splendid masterpieces from several regions of

765-402: A number of different workshops. Only two pieces are datable, by inscriptions naming the patrons, both to early in the period, to the reign of Caliph al-Hakkim , 996–1021, for whom one piece was made. At this period the style was still developing from earlier pieces, but a new style with brighter, warmer, colours was probably established by the mid-century. Gold, red and orange colours evoked

850-540: A public auction in Christie's by de Unger's son, Richard, for over £3 million. Set in a medieval Italian gold and enamel mount, the ewer had earlier in the year been offered for auction in Somerset as a nineteenth-century French claret decanter with an estimated price of between £100 and £200. Islamic art experts present at the auction recognized the rarity of the artifact, which sold for just over £200,000. Subsequently,

935-483: A rather solitary person and, seeing my interest, he must have been pleased. He took me to museums, and by the age of nine I was quite a good companion to him in the salesrooms. [...] After the war and my departure from my homeland I was once again able to continue the collecting of what my fellow Oxford undergraduates had called "moth-eaten rags". Slowly, not only the floors but also the walls of my home became covered with new acquisitions." The majority of carpets that form

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1020-411: A space with tiles, eight-pointed stars fitted with crosses with pointed arms. These lacked a large central area and contained either just ornament, or a number of small figures, usually birds of animals. Square tiles and other shapes are also found. The tiles were evidently produced in large numbers (and cemented to walls have no doubt survived better than vessels in use), and kashi or kashani "became

1105-453: Is a final coating applied over the ceramic glaze , and fixed by a light second firing, applying small amounts of metallic compounds (generally of silver or copper) mixed with something to make it paintable ( clay or ochre ). This is then fired in a reducing atmosphere at a temperature high enough to "soften" the glaze from the first firing, and break down the metallic compounds, leaving a very thin ("perhaps 10 or 20 atoms thick") layer that

1190-629: Is a statue of János Arany , unveiled in 1883. In 1890, there was a statue next to the stairs of the museum of a memorial tablet to Sándor Petőfi. Additionally, during this time, the Upper House of the parliament held its sessions in the Cereminial of the museum. This continued until the new house of Parliament was built. Today, festivities held in remembrance of the National Commemorations Day of 1848 are held in front of

1275-465: Is about when a new and very different production began at Raqqa , lasting until the Mongols destroyed the city in 1259. Lustre was just one type of finish applied to some vessels from the usual types made there. In Raqqa ware the painting is mostly plant-based forms and inscriptions or "mock-lettering", geometrically structured to give "a dignified, monumental character". The wares do not seem to have

1360-434: Is fused with the main glaze, but is mainly metal . Lustreware normally only uses one colour per piece, and the range is limited – a "gold" derived from silver compounds was historically the most common. In the classical process to make lustreware, a preparation of metal salts of copper or silver , mixed with vinegar , ochre, and clay is applied on the surface of a piece that has already been fired and glazed . The pot

1445-557: Is given a second firing at a lower temperature in a " muffle kiln ", or a reduction kiln , excluding oxygen . The technique of lustreware on pottery was first developed in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq ) in the early 9th century. Initially mostly decorated with geometric patterns , by the 10th century an Iraqi style with the design dominated by one or two large figures developed. After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in 969, it became

1530-413: Is often delicate, and many types of lustreware are easily damaged by scratching removing the metallic layer, or by contact with acids , probably over time even the mild acids in food. Lustreware has therefore always been for display and occasional rather than heavy regular use, although by the 19th century it could be relatively cheap. Many pieces show the lustre effect only working correctly on parts of

1615-573: Is placed in the basement of the museum. This is the Roman Lapidary exhibit, which is a collection of ancient Roman stone inscriptions and carvings. The building where the Hungarian National Museum is currently located was built from 1837 to 1847. The style of the main building was laid out in a neo-classical style and was added onto by other artists in the form of statues, paintings and other architecture. The statues of

1700-705: Is renowned for its mottled pink lustreware, and lustreware was also produced in Leeds, Yorkshire , where the technique may have been introduced by Thomas Lakin. Wedgwood lustreware made in the 1820s spawned the production of mass quantities of copper and silver lustreware in England and Wales. Cream pitchers with appliqué-detailed spouts and meticulously applied handles were most common, and often featured stylized decorative bands in dark blue, cream yellow, pink, and, most rare, dark green and purple. Raised, multicoloured patterns depicting pastoral scenes were also created, and sand

1785-408: Is then fired again in a kiln with a reducing atmosphere, at about 600 °C. The salts are reduced to metals and coalesce into nanoparticles. Those particles give the second glaze a metallic appearance. The process has always been expensive and rather unpredictable, always requiring two firings, and often the use of expensive materials such as silver and platinum. The very thin layer of lustre

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1870-518: The 19th century, where it was also used by Wedgwood , who introduced pink and white lustreware simulating mother of pearl effects in dishes and bowls cast in the shapes of shells, and silver lustre, introduced at Wedgwood in 1805. In 1810 Peter Warburton of the New Hall porcelain factory patented a method of transfer-printing in gold and silver lustre. Sunderland lustreware in the North East

1955-402: The 8th and 9th centuries AD. The earliest recipe for luster production appeared in 8th century AD "Kitab al-Durra al-Maknuzna" by Jabir ibn Hayyan . Much of the knowledge of the behaviours of metallic compounds in turn came from metalworking, where cheaper substitutes for gold in gilding had been developed much earlier. A fragment of lustre glass from Fustat is dated to the 779–780, and

2040-478: The Hungarian National Museum played a major role in the Hungarian Revolution . The Revolution was partially spurred by the reading of Sándor Petőfi 's 12 points and the famous poem Nemzeti dal on the front steps of the museum. This helped make the museum a major site of national importance and identity for Hungary. In remembrance of the revolution, two statues were added to the museum: the first

2125-589: The Hungarian ministry of culture and innovation ordered the museum to prevent minors from viewing the annual World Press Photo exhibition it was hosting as part of its child protection law against "sexual propaganda" . The exhibition, which included five photographs of elderly members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Philippines taken by Hannah Reyes Morales , was the subject of a complaint by MP Dora Duro from

2210-698: The Islamic potter has made to mankind." De Unger's extensive collection of Islamic ceramics contains important examples from the mediaeval period, from the 8th to the 13th century. Some of the most prized items are of gold lustreware , a technique that originated and was perfected in Iraq. These skills were passed on to artisans in Fatimid Egypt and Kashan in Persia. The Persian lustreware tiles provide examples of figurative representations in Islamic art prior to

2295-407: The Islamic world. His collection includes Persian leather bindings, some polychromatic, embossed with highly ornamental designs in gold. There are also examples of bookbindings with flap, some with elaborate miniature lacquerwork painting either on leather or on a papier-mâché base. "I believe that no collection of Islamic art can be complete without metalwork [...] It tells us a great deal about

2380-584: The Mongol period. Rock crystal artefacts flourished during the Fatimid period in Egypt (969-1171). Because of the difficulty of working with the very hard medium, only the caliph and his immediate court could afford these objets d'art , which varied in size from small animal forms to large vessels. In 1068, however, the large collection of treasures in the Caliph's palace in al-Qahira (now part of modern-day Cairo)

2465-565: The Muslim potters created a wide variety of ceramic goods ranging from toys to highly decorated jars, and the Christian potters stuck to plain vessel forms. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, Christian territories began adopting Muslim pottery techniques, including lustreware. Originating from Murcia and Malaga, Muslim lustreware potters in Spain had expanded their market across Europe by

2550-626: The National Széchényi Library. This would then be followed a year later by the donating of a mineral collection by Széchényi's wife. This led to the creation of the Hungarian National Museum as a general history and natural history museum, beyond being simply a library. In 1807, the Hungarian National Parliament passed legislation on the new institution and asked the nation to help donate to the museum. The Hungarian Parliament of 1832–1834 helped with

2635-458: The Orient and revealed the stereotype of Islam's hostility towards illustration and the "substitute art" of calligraphy as nothing more than absurd ." The collection of de Unger, although containing many examples of medieval calligraphy, particularly Korans, has an even larger number of illuminated figurative manuscripts. The calligraphic manuscripts in the Keir Collection were produced by some of

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2720-456: The Portico were done by Raffael Monti of Milan. One of these is a famous statue of the allegoric figure of Hungary, holding a shield with the Hungarian coat of arms on it. On the sides of this figure there is Science on one and Art on the other. In addition the paintings that have been in the staircase and on the ceiling since 1875 were done by Károly Lotz and Mór Than . There has also been

2805-520: The Spanish imports. Nevertheless, towards the onset of the 16th century, Italian potters began infusing their own motifs and stylistic elements, beginning the golden era of Italian lustreware, known as Maiolica . Metallic lustre of another sort produced English lustreware, which imparts to a piece of pottery the appearance of an object of silver, gold or copper. Silver lustre employed the new metal platinum , whose chemical properties were analyzed towards

2890-562: The acquisition of Persian embroidery in Paris. He started collecting decorative silk, velvet and brocade fabrics, with elaborate designs resembling those in the carpets. There provenance included the Persian, Ottoman and Mughal empires, with Safavid silks forming the nucleus of his collection. It incorporates parts of the older textile collections of Joseph V. McMullan and Hagop Kevorkian . With Werner Abegg as mentor de Unger moved on to mediaeval and Renaissance woven cloth from Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, and in number these items dominate

2975-546: The admiration towards each craftsman. Trading in the Middle East was very popular. Abbasid lustreware was traded within the Islamic world. The city of Baghdad, Iran and surrounding cities were part of the Silk Road economic system of trading during this period. There was a movement of goods generated between Iraq and China which triggered artistic emulations both ends, as well as some transfers of technologies, notably in

3060-665: The age of the Arpads , the long Turkish occupation, Transylvania and royal Hungary. More modern and Contemporary history covered begins with the Rákóczi War of Independence, showing different sections of his military attire and various coins. The history section then ends with the rise and fall of the communist system in Hungary. In another hall on the second floor one can find out about the Scholar Hungarians who made

3145-407: The art of Islam, the inscriptions found on the metalware contributing significantly to the history of the subject. I recognize in Islamic metalwork that intrinsic quality which is the result of first-class workmanship." The creation of finely wrought metalware, in gold, silver and copper alloys, was from the outset one of the most highly developed skills in Islamic art. The artefacts were produced for

3230-530: The artisans of the Nasrid kingdom of Andalucía, the last Islamic stronghold in Western Europe situated in Spain. At the start of the thirteenth century, the differences in pottery between Christian and Muslim territories in Spain were drastically different. While the Muslim potters used techniques such as glazing, sgraffito , and lustreware, Christian pottery had minimal to no surface design. Additionally,

3315-572: The best painting was very fine, and in the mature Fatimid style, characterised by "extraordinary liveliness". The painters may well have bought in standard glazed vessels made by others. The decoration was very varied, partly reflecting the mix of influences from the earlier Mesopotamian tradition, and the Fatimids' own origins to the West, in North Africa and Sicily , as well as the existence of

3400-482: The celebrated Shahnameh , the "Book of Kings", of Firdausi and the Khamsa of Nizami . The figurative illuminated manuscripts cover the period from the early 14th century to the early 17th century and again range across the whole Islamic world, from Turkey to Mughal India . In addition to folios from illuminated manuscripts, de Unger collected examples of Islamic bookbinding, one of the most highly developed skills in

3485-647: The clay body and the vessel shapes are different, suggesting local potters worked with immigrant painters. This first type is known as Tell Minis ware, after the site where they were first excavated (but not necessarily where they were made). They begin near the end of the reign of Nur ad-Din of Aleppo (d. 1174), and the court may have deliberately fostered the bringing together of the craftsmen, perhaps including some from Persia. The designs are "mostly freely painted flowing compositions based on themes of good omen: sun-faces, fishes, crescent moons, figures of courtiers" and others. Tell Minis ware ceases around 1200, which

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3570-416: The collection. "The end came when I observed every carpet on the floor was covered by at least two other layers. I realized it could not go on. It was at that moment that I had my first encounter with Islamic ceramics. Just like their woven counterparts these have the same combination of warmth of colour, delicacy and boldness of design. Above all, I admire the lustre ware which to my mind is the greatest gift

3655-546: The core of the Keir Collection remain in the 18th century Manor House on Ham Street in Richmond, London , which was de Unger's home up to his death in 2011. A small but representative portion of classical oriental carpets from Persia, Turkey and Mughal India are on display in the Pergamon Museum of Islamic Art. His passion for collecting carpets soon led de Unger to diversify into fine textiles, starting in 1961 with

3740-536: The death of his first wife Eva in 1959, he married Elizabeth Allen, with whom he had two sons, Richard and Glen. The ever-increasing Keir Collection was moved in the late 1960s to his house in Ham, Surrey . The collection, which started in his youth with carpets, gradually grew to include ceramics, in particular rare items of lustreware from Mesopotamia , Persian and Moghul miniatures, medieval and Renaissance enamels, sculptures, and textiles from Italy and France (including

3825-424: The end of the 18th century, John Hancock of Hanley, Staffordshire invented the application of a platinum technique, and "put it in practice at Mr Spode's manufactory , for Messrs. Daniels and Brown", about 1800. Very dilute amounts of powdered gold or platinum were dissolved in aqua regia and added to spirits of tar for platinum and a mixture of turpentine, flowers of sulfur and linseed oil for gold. The mixture

3910-583: The fall of Raqqa the lustre technique later appeared in Damascus , until Timur sacked the city in 1401, bringing Syrian lustreware to an end. Damascus wares also reached Europe and in both Spain and Italy there are 15th-century documentary records describing local lustre wares by terms such as " a la domasquina... dauratos et de cafre argentatos " (a commission for a Manises potter, 1414). The similarities between Syrian and Spanish painting styles suggest some refugee painters may have reached Europe. The expansion of lustreware to Western Europe can be attributed to

3995-463: The far-right Our Homeland Movement . World Press Photo executive director Joumana El Zein Khoury expressed surprise over the decision, and said there was "nothing explicit or offensive in these images". In response, the museum said it "cannot legally enforce" the order as it cannot ask for identity cards. It later issued a notice on its website and at the entrance to the exhibition that the collection

4080-412: The fritware body and the glazes used on it were greatly improved, which allowed thinner walls and some of the translucency of Chinese porcelain , which was already imported into Persia, and represented the main competition for local fine wares. This "white ware" body was used for a variety of styles of decoration, all showing great advances in sophistication. Apart from lustreware, the most luxurious type

4165-647: The great majority of later lustreware, these very early pieces used three or four different lustre colours, from silver and copper compounds. The earliest forms of lustreware were decorated with three to four colours, but as time went on the colours used was reduced to two. Recent studies have argued that the preference between polychrome and monochrome has to do with the price and availability of materials. This leads to more monochrome wares being produced over polychrome. Early Islamic lustreware ceramics were predominately produced in Lower Mesopotamia during

4250-550: The growth of the museum as well. The parliament voted in favor of giving half a million forints to help with the construction of a new building for the museum. During this time the Hungarian National History Museum was officially set up under the Hungarian National Museum. Later, in 1846, the museum moved to its current location of VIII. Múzeum krt. 14–16, where the museum resides in a neo-classical style building designed by Mihály Pollack . In 1848,

4335-431: The institution I run." 47°29′28″N 19°3′46″E  /  47.49111°N 19.06278°E  / 47.49111; 19.06278 Lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (the respective spellings for British English and American English ) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence . It is produced by metallic oxides in an overglaze finish, which

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4420-502: The late 14th century and were running a complex market of local, regional and exported goods. Referred to as obra de malica , or "Malaga work", their creations found a dedicated clientele among affluent families in Florence, Italy. By the 15th century, Italian artisans acquired the techniques of lustreware production, yet the imported Islamic-Spaniard lustreware remained sought after, as Italian renditions were perceived as imitative of

4505-777: The legal profession as a barrister . He later worked as Crown Counsel in Ghana for the Colonial Office . The period in West Africa permitted visits to Egypt , where he developed an interest in Coptic and Islamic art . On returning to England, de Unger became a property developer, which provided him with the means to build up his post-war art collection, which he named the "Keir Collection", after one of his first homes The Keir on Wimbledon Common in London. In 1965, following

4590-526: The means of any public British art collection. With a change of government, Sotheby's figure was accepted and the ewer, one of only a very small number of surviving rock glass vessels of this type, is now on display in the Pergamon Museum of Islamic Art . "As a child, one of my favourite books was the Arabian Nights , and its colourful descriptions and rich imaginative quality must have left

4675-470: The medieval enamels collection of Ernst and Martha Kofler-Truniger). Widely knowledgeable on the area in which he collected, de Unger founded the Islamic Art Circle in 1964 and lectured frequently on his expertise all over the world. "My love of Islamic art began with carpets. I first became aware of them at the age of six, when my father Richard told me not to walk on them. [...] My father was

4760-437: The monochrome bowls usually had large, centrally placed figures. They are visually sensitive and their appearance can change dramatically in particular conditions. The Fatimid court in Egypt was large, rich, and extravagant, producing one of the great periods for lustreware, which was the only luxury type of pottery at the time. The clay-bodied earthenware used was "made from coarse clays" and mostly "fairly roughly made", but

4845-485: The mood less lyrical". There is a gap in dated tiles between 1224 and 1250, and examples cease in 1339, around when lustre production seems to have ceased, perhaps partly because of the arrival of the Black Death in Persia. Lustre on vessels was already in decline from about 1300. The Ilkhanids were by then treating lustre "more as a rich accompaniment to other colours than as a dominant pigment on its own". After

4930-445: The most accomplished artists of the period from across the entire Islamic world. With intricate designs in luxurious gold and blue or polychrome, these date from the twelfth to the fifteenth century and originate from Syria, Spain, North Africa (particularly Mamluk Egypt), Iraq, Iran and India. The miniature paintings on detached folios, which form the bulk of de Unger's collection, contain illustrations of Persian epic poems, including

5015-548: The museum. In 1949, an act split the ethnographic and natural history part of the Hungarian National Museum off of the main museum. They now comprise the Hungarian Natural History Museum and Ethnographic Museum. This also helped with the setting up of the modern day National Széchényi Library . All of these separate museums are still interconnected, and other museums and monuments have become affiliated with them over time. The most recent addition

5100-536: The ninth and tenth centuries. In the Great Mosque of Kairouan , Tunisia , the upper part of the mihrab is adorned with polychrome and monochrome lustreware tiles; dating from 862 to 863, these tiles were most probably imported from Mesopotamia. The reminiscence of shining metal, especially gold, made lustreware especially attractive. The bowls were painted with ornamental patterns and designs. Some pieces were signed by their makers, this acted as an indication of

5185-543: The outbreak of World War II , in 1945 he married Eva Spicht, one of 22 Jewish refugees whom he had taken in during the Battle of Budapest . After the war he restored and ran the Astoria Hotel in Budapest, until it was requisitioned by the communist regime in 1948. In 1949 de Unger, following a series of arrests in Hungary, moved permanently to England, working first as a manservant . After further training, he entered

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5270-502: The owner withdrew the object from sale, placing it for auction at Christie's, who gave an evaluation with a starting price of £3 million, expecting a higher price, despite the 2007–2008 financial crisis . When de Unger requested an export order so that the ewer could go on display in Berlin, the UK government sought its own evaluation from Sotheby's , who returned a figure of £20 million, beyond

5355-458: The realm of ceramics. Some Abbasid lustreware can be differentiated by figural vs. vegetal design where some include icons and others show plant life. Some displayed both plants and figures. At this point in time, there was an aesthetic preference for completely covering the surface of objects with ornamental decoration, and this is also the case for lustreware ceramics. As lustreware made appearances in other cultures and countries, less decoration

5440-744: The sun and were regarded as auspicious, as were some of the animals who were painted. Lustreware began to be made in Persia when it was part of the Seljuk Empire , whose ruling dynasty and top elite were ethnically Turkish. But Persia was ruled by the Khwarazmian dynasty , initially as vassals of the Seljuk, until in 1190 they severed these ties and ruled independently until the devastating Mongol conquest beginning in 1219. The fifty years from 1150 saw great developments in Iranian ceramics. Firstly

5525-526: The surface, or not at all. Apparently these were still regarded as fit for sale. Lustre decoration was first used as a glass -painting technique. Lamm (1941) and Clairmont (1977) placed the origin of motifs appearing on lusterware decoration in Coptic Egypt, however, this hypothesis is disputed. Staining glass vessels with copper and silver pigments was known from around the 3rd century AD, although lustreware technology probably began sometime between

5610-478: The twentieth century. A room on the first floor displays the medieval Hungarian Coronation Mantle. The ground floor's permanent exhibit is focused on Medieval and Early Modern stone inscriptions and carvings. This exhibit looks at various stone relics and the carvings that have been made into them. The majority of the items in this collection were discovered during the 1960s and 1970s, since they looked for more relics post World War II. The final permanent exhibit

5695-472: The usual Persian word for a tile". The painting usually combined cobalt blue underglaze painting with overglaze lustre, and that of the figures is often rather slapdash on tiles compared to that on vessels. Tile and vessel production continued under the Mongol Ilkhanids , with some decline in the quality of the body, glaze, lustre finish and painting, the "drawing became slightly heavier, and

5780-473: The ware, or it could be applied in the resist technique, in which the background was solidly lustred, and the design remained in the body colour. In the resist technique, similar to batik , the design was painted in glue and size in a glycerin or honey compound, the lustre applied by dipping, and the resist washed off before the piece was fired. Lustreware became popular in Staffordshire pottery during

5865-493: The whole range of society from the courtly elite to the merchant class. The Keir Collection reflects this diversity. Amongst the most precious objects are enamel and gold jewelry and engraved silverware; other household objects include engraved bronze ewers , jugs, perfume bottles, aquamaniles , incense burners and candlesticks from all over the Islamic world, from the 8th to the 16th century. The collection of medieval and Renaissance enamels of Ernst and Martha Kofler-Truninger

5950-530: The whole surface, typically taking up over half the surface area. Production, which was never large, appears to have mostly been from about 1650 to 1750, but with rather inferior wares produced into the 19th century. It is often thought to have been centred in Kirman , though firm evidence is lacking. As in Persia, lustreware begins with the dispersal of Egyptian ceramic painters around 1170. The painting style continues to develop Fatimid styles and subjects, while

6035-465: Was mina'i ware , which used polychrome overglaze enamelling , the first pottery to do so. This also required a light second firing; some pieces combined the two techniques. The earliest dated Persian piece with lustre is from 1179. Although an influx of craftsmen from Fustat is usually predicated, these may have been painters rather than potters, as local vessel shapes and the Seljuk "white ware" body are always used. The main colour of lustre paint used

6120-518: Was applied to the glazed ware and fired in an enameling kiln, depositing a thin film of platinum or gold. Platinum produced the appearance of solid silver, and was employed for the middle class in shapes identical to those uses for silver tea services , ca. 1810–1840. Depending on the concentration of gold in the lustring compound and the under slip on which it was applied, a range of colours could be achieved, from pale rose and lavender, to copper and gold. The gold lustre could be painted or stenciled on

6205-456: Was dispersed throughout the medieval world as the result of a revolt by the unpaid army. Very few items from the reportedly large collection survive. Several of these rare sculpted rock crystals came to form parts of reliquaries in Medieval church treasuries, in mountings made for gold and precious stones. De Unger acquired several rock crystal pieces from this period for his collection including

6290-636: Was founded in 1802 and is the national museum for the history, art, and archaeology of Hungary, including areas not within Hungary's modern borders, such as Transylvania ; it is separate to the collection of international art in the Hungarian National Gallery . The museum is in Budapest VIII in a Neoclassical building, purpose-built during 1837–47 by the architect Mihály Pollack . The Hungarian National Museum traces its foundation to 1802, when Count Ferenc Széchényi set up

6375-506: Was gold; this needs to be distinguished from the overglaze application of gold leaf found in many later mina'i pieces. Lustreware was certainly made in Kashan , and this may well be the only place of production (as it probably was for mina'i ware). Though the Mongol invasion, reaching Kashan in 1224, seems to have greatly reduced production until the 1240s, to judge by dated pieces, it continued, initially with little change in style. This

6460-504: Was introduced. Abbasid lustreware can either be polychrome , monochrome or bi-chrome when it comes to the colours featured in the ceramics. The polychrome and bi-chrome types are generally associated with the ninth century, while the monochrome type is associated with the late ninth or tenth century. The different colour types share the quality of the surfaces changing under different conditions. Abbasid potters would normally decorate polychrome bowls with vegetal and geometric patterns, while

6545-521: Was mostly produced in Christian Spain, especially in the region of Valencia – in particular Manises – and later Barcelona . Lustre appears in Italian maiolica around 1500, and became a speciality of two relatively minor pottery towns, Gubbio , noted for a rich ruby-red, and Deruta . Around 1550 an even smaller town, Gualdo Tadino , also began to make some, for about a century, which

6630-426: Was not the case for mina'i ware, which virtually disappears after 1219. A large part of Persian lustreware production was in the form of tiles, usually star-shaped, with central animal or human figures, mostly single or in pairs, and ornament around the edges, and sometimes inscriptions. An eight-pointed star was the norm, made in effect of two rectangles with one rotated, but six-pointed stars are also common. To fill

6715-534: Was probably made under the Abbasid Caliphate in modern Iraq in the early 9th century, around Baghdad , Basra and Kufa . Most pieces were small bowls, up to about 16 cm wide, but fragments of larger vessels have been found, especially at the ruins of the Caliph's palace at Samarra , and in Fustat (modern Cairo ). Fragments have been found as far away as Spain, North Africa, and Pakistan. Unlike

6800-535: Was produced by Wedgwood and at Belleek in the mid-century, derived from bismuth nitrate . Under the impetus of the Aesthetic Movement , William de Morgan revived lustrewares in art pottery , drawing from lustred majolica and Hispano-Moresque wares, with fine, bold designs. In the United States, copper lustreware became popular because of its lustrousness. As gaslights became available to

6885-439: Was purchased by de Unger in two parts in 1970 and 1971. It remained in the Keir Collection until 1997, when the bulk of the collection was auctioned at Sotheby's with a pre-sale estimate of $ 25 million that was not realised, with some items remaining unsold or withdrawn. Hungarian National Museum The Hungarian National Museum ( Hungarian : Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum , pronounced [ˈmɒɟɒr ˈnɛmzɛti ˈmuːzɛum] )

6970-508: Was restricted to visitors over 18. On 6 November, culture minister János Csák dismissed the museum's director, Laszlo Simon , who had assumed the position for a five-year term in 2021, citing his failure to comply with the said law and "engaging in conduct which made it impossible for him to continue his employment". In response, Simon wrote that he took "note of the decision" but could not "accept it", adding that he firmly rejected "the idea that our children should be protected from me or from

7055-539: Was sometimes incorporated into the glaze to add texture. Pitchers were produced in a range of sizes from cream pitchers to large milk pitchers, as well as small coffeepots and teapots. Tea sets came a bit later, usually featuring creamers , sugar bowls, and slop bowls . Large pitchers with transfer printed commemorative scenes appear to have arrived around the middle of the 19th century. These were purely decorative and today command high prices because of their historical connections. Delicate lustre imitating mother of pearl

7140-636: Was the Castle Museum in Esztergom , which joined in 1985. The Hungarian National Museum has seven permanent displays. The general history of Hungary is covered in two sections: the archaeology from prehistory to the Avar period ending in 804 AD on the first (ground) floor ("On the East-West frontier"), and the history from 804 to modern times on the first floor. This display covers topics such as

7225-576: Was the last Renaissance lustre, Gubbio having stopped about 1570, and Deruta around 1630. There was a revival in England and other European countries in the late 18th century, when the techniques had largely to be reinvented, continuing into the 19th and beyond. Meanwhile, Persian lustre, after very little production since the 14th century, revived under the Safavids between about 1650 and 1750, for elegant vessels, especially vases and bottles, densely painted with plant-based designs. The lustreware effect

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