On the occasion of Vilmos Zsolnay's 195th birthday

The piece shown in the picture was made in the second half of the 19th century during the factory's heyday. This ceramic plant plot dates back to the time marked by the name of Vilmos Zsolnay, the greatest Hungarian ceramist, who gained world fame in connection with his development. A good number of orders were received for Zsolnay porcelain, and they were also delivered to England, Russia, and America. During this period, the factory became so much the life of the family that they also built their residential buildings on the factory premises. In addition to Vilmos, his children Teréz, Júlia and Miklós also took part in improving the quality of the products, expanding the range and they also kept in touch with the customers. Thanks to the persistence of Vilmos Zsolnay, the ivory-colored glaze - the ceramic plant plot is a fine example of this - and the perfect technique of high-fire decoration caught up with the forefront of European ceramic factories. The 1878 World Exhibition in Paris brought success, the gold medal of the exhibition was awarded to Zsolnay masterpieces. The success was brought about by the factory's new ceramics, porcelain pottery.

The flower pot shown in the picture is also made of this material. A vessel with a round bottom, a strongly concave upward curve, and a slightly indented mouth. It is decorated with colorful overglaze painting. It is characterized by colorful, rich Turkish plant ornamentation. The pop-up pomegranate and the extremely dense decoration method are a typical form of Turkish inspiration. The cavalcade of dark blue, pink, green, yellow and brown colors is not exaggerated. Its elegant, harmonious effect is enhanced by the gilded contours.

Masterpieces from the products of the Zsolnay factory will also be found in our renewed local history exhibition opening at the beginning of summer.

Viktória Ormos