The art of Asia [antikvár]

PAST AND PRESENT OF THE FERENC HOPP MUSEUM OF EASTERN ASIATIC ART ^'Whereas the reputation of the whole Nation takes its origin and measure not from the great wealth of single burghers, but from the public treasure, which serves the perfection and edification of mind and soul, because we ought to be rich not only for our own, but also our Country's sake; with every right our Country could demand a part of our inheritance, if we want to deserve and retain the praise of good and true patriots, at home and abroad. Therefore, every opportunity should he dear andjoyful to us which shows us how to make a sacrifice from our abundance. ^^Certainly a great Soul does not know a more gratifying act than dedicating his treasures quickly and gladly with the intent of profiting his Homeland, so that his fellow-men may take and see their benefit, and foreigners may understand and say that the Hungarian is no longer devoid of Culture without the unabating flame of which nothing could attain perfection in the human mind.'' From Conditions of the Promotion of National Collections by the Good Patriots of Hungary (1807). X -he history of the Hungarian museums dates from 1802, the year of the foundation of the Hungarian National Museum. From the outset these institutions have promoted national culture. The treasures collected thanks to the generosity of people from all walks of life, very often by the donations of peasants, and exhibited for the education of 'fellowmen', reflect also the progress of Hungarian culture. The Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Art proudly includes in its name that of the Hungarian National Museum; this privilege was bestowed on it in 1952 when the oldest Hungarian museum celebrated the 150th anniversary of its foundation. The collecting of Asiatic art objects in landlocked Hungary began only in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. The first collectors were enterprising artistocrats, some of whom organized expeditions to explore Asia. Yet the credit for the foundation of the Budapest Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts is not theirs but Ferenc Hopp's, who came to Hungary as a boy and later became a wealthy Hungarian citizen loyal to his new homeland. In his last will and testament, which was at the same time the deed of endowment of the Museum (dated June 22,1919), he bequeathed his villa in Budapest, with all its appurtenances, to the Hungarian State, with the reservation and on condition that the villa would be turned into a Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, to house the objects of art from East Asia forming the bulk of his collection, as well as similar art objects belonging to the State. Ferenc Hopp was born at Fulnek, Moravia, in 1833. He came to Hungary at the age of 13 and became an apprentice with the renowned optician Calderoni. He went around the world five times, first in 1883 and for the last time in 1913—14. From a globetrotter he became an art collector. It is interesting to follow through his collection how his taste devel-