A Celebration of hungarian Gold & Silver [antikvár]

Foreword by Lord Rothschild I am delighted that the Gilbert Collection is participating in the ambitious and imaginative Magyar Magic - Hungary in Focus 2004 festival, which the Hungárián Ministry of Cultural Heritage, through the Hungárián Cultural Centre in London, is staging to mark the country s new membership of the European Union. The late Sir Arthur Gilbert would have been particularly pleased that the collection he donated to the British nation is hosting this spectacular exhibition, for he was always keen that people of different nationalities and traditions become better acquainted with one another. He was alsó passionate about Hungárián gypsy music and made special trips to Hungary to hear the very best the country had to offer. On a personal note, the exhibition gives me particular pleasure, for my grandfather, Charles Rothschild, went to Hungary as a young man and feli in love. The Hungárián girl who captured his heart, Rózsika von Wertheimstein, was to be my grandmother. No visitor, I think, will fail to respond to the splendours of the mediaeval plate on display here, which has miraculously survived changes of religious practice and hostile invasion. I must thank the Hungárián National Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts (both in Budapest), the Treasury of Esztergom Cathedral and the former Franciscan Church at Eger for the loan of somé of their outstanding treasures. The Gothic chalice commissioned by Benedek Suki around 1440 or the early sixteenth-century pair of filigree altar cruets have few equals in terms of their creative design and exquisite workmanship. We tend to overlook the fact that until the Conquistadors discovered silver in South America, Hungary's mines were Europe's most important source of the prized metál. Its ready availability was reflected in the rich displays of silver to be found in well-to-do Hungárián homes during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A tokén of this affluence can be seen in the abundance of beakers, tankards and jugs, an intriguing decorative element in many of which is the prominent use of gold Román coins (no doubt from hoards found locally), suggesting links between Hungary and the Ancient world. This exhibition, which aims to introduce somé of the highlights of Hungárián silver rather than to present a comprehensive overview, must surely encourage visitors to make their own journey to Hungary, to experience first hand the richness and variety of its visual arts, to explore the museums and historic buildings as well as the vibrant contemporary culture. I would particularly like to record our gratitude to Katalin Bogyay, Director, and Beáta Somfalvi, Exhibitions Curator, of the Hungárián Cultural Centre in London, who masterminded the show, and to Dr Erika Kiss from the National Museum in Budapest, who led the curatorial input. In conclusion, I offer my warm thanks to the Hungárián Ministry of Cultural Heritage for funding this exhibition and to the Hungárián Cultural Centre for allowing the Gilbert Collection the privilege of launching the festival, Magyar Magic - Hungary in Focus 2004. Lord Rothschild Chairman - Gilbert Collection Trust