Hungarian porcelain , closely connected with the rich and original history of the country, is a subject of great national pride. And refined china "Herend", so beloved, revered by kings, and porcelain Zholnaia , a more democratic everyday destination, has always been characterized by impeccable quality and unique style that has survived in our XXI century. Therefore, if you do not know what gifts to bring from Hungary, feel free to choose products from Hungarian porcelain that will decorate any interior.
The birthplace of Zholna porcelain is the small, amazing Hungarian town of Pecs, located in the south-west of the country, at the foot of the Mecsek Mountains. The city, located on the site of an ancient Roman settlement, under 150-year-old Turkish rule, differs eclecticism of architectural styles: the cathedral Orthodox cathedral is adjacent to Turkish mosques and Franciscan monasteries executed in the Baroque style. Pecs is extremely rich in architectural monuments, there are several museums and art galleries. It is not accidental that it is said to be "a city that has never obscured the shadow of the capital".
extremely hospitable and friendly people of art, artists, graphic artists, who made their contribution to the development of modernism - the dominant stylistic trends of art and architecture of the second half of the nineteenth century, Pécs turned out to be a place where in the middle of the 19th century Vilmos Zsolnay founded his family manufactory - Porcelain Factory. In her workshops, new methods of firing porcelain articles were gradually mastered and new techniques for coloring them were being improved. Studying
experience high temperature firing ceramics and majolica used even in medieval workshops Italian Gubbio applying and combining different compositions clay as raw materials, Vilmos Zsolnay able to improve the process and achieve very considerable success.
Porcelain factory Zholnai
Initially, applying a temperature of 1,400 degrees for firing raw materials, the masters of the porcelain factory established that this temperature is too high for the painted products - they could not retain their original color. In the workshops of the manufactory, the temperature range was changed from 1250 to 1280 degrees.
The result of many years of searching for masters of porcelain manufacture was the creation of a special type of reduction glaze - eosin glaze, which after firing in the oven gives a juicy color with a bright metallic glow. This type of glaze, used in decorative decoration of Hungarian porcelain , refers to coatings with a pronounced decorative effect. And depending on the temperature, chemical composition of the glaze covering base product, the thickness of glaze applied decorative effect can have extremely diverse artistic merit.
In the first serial products the masters used scarlet-red shades, but later porcelain products began to paint in a golden-green color. It was this shade with a metallic bronze outflow that turned into a business card of Zholnai porcelain.
Hungarian porcelain
Hungarian porcelain
Hungarian porcelain
Hungarian porcelain
Together with numerous shades of eosin glaze in the production of porcelain, unique techniques of hand-painted products have been used and developed. The most surprising thing in the hand-painted technique of the Hungarian porcelain Zholnaia is that it was executed not with porcelain paints, but with the help of a special glazed glaze, which makes the picture rich and embossed. Despite the high temperature of firing porcelain, the pattern after the thermal treatment had very clear contours. This special method of hand-painted porcelain was significantly different from the methods of color painting used in other industries, and was carried out not with a brush as usual, but with a special pen.
Hungarian porcelain Жолнаи
Hungarian porcelain hand-painted
Hungarian porcelain Жолнаи
Hungarian porcelain hand-painted
Hungarian porcelain Жолнаи
Hungarian porcelain hand-painted
Hungarian porcelain ZHOLNAYI
Along with utensils of everyday use, the manufactory produced decorative items: all kinds of flower vases, including large floor vases, jugs, decorative plates, holders for letters, as well as small sculptural itemsforms, representing a huge interest for collectors around the world. At present, a huge number of products are based on artistic principles, which were developed earlier by ceramic artists who worked at the Zholnaia plant.
Hungarian porcelain hand-painted
Hungarian porcelain photo
Hungarian porcelain photo
Hungarian porcelain photo
Hungarian porcelain
Hungarian porcelain
The first recognition of the product of the Vilmos Zholnai manufactory was received in 1873 at the world exhibition in Vienna. Vilmos Zholnai received the award of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, and his products received a bronze medal and a certificate of quality. Participation in the world exhibition in Paris in 1878 brought the porcelain gold medal and European recognition. By the end of the 19th century, the products of the Zholnai manufactory, thanks to the material, design, amazing glaze and fine hand-painted, enjoy great success both abroad and within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Zholna Manufactory in Industrial Design and Architecture
It is worth mentioning one more artistic and technological find of the manufactory, which was an outstanding contribution to the development of a new direction of industrial design that took shape at the end of the 19th century. This is pyrogenite - construction and industrial ceramics, which has increased resistance to temperature changes, acid and humidity.
Neither in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, nor in neighboring European countries did the Zholnai manufactory have competitors capable of producing material with such high decorative merits. The stylish ornamental motifs used in the painting of the pyro granite were borrowed by ceramists from folk Hungarian art, and sometimes oriental ethnic motifs were used.
The high consumer qualities and huge artistic merits have led to the extensive use of pyro granite for the decoration of the facades of the most famous buildings in Hungary: the unique building of the Hungarian Parliament, the Central Market in Budapest, the Museum of Applied Arts and many buildings of the hometown of Pécs. In addition, the pyro-granite was used to decorate various fountains, sculptural groups, church altars. The huge contribution of the manufactory in the production and improvement of building ceramics contributed to the rapid dissemination of bright ceramic panels in the architectural ensembles of Europe.
Architecture of Hungary - Pecs city
Fountain in Pecs, Hungary
Architecture of Hungary - manufactory of Zholnaia
Architecture of Hungary - manufactory Zholnaia
Architecture of Hungary - manufactory Zholnaia
Tough work, constant search for new technological solutions, outstanding artistic merit earned the Zholnai factory great fame. Today's life of the porcelain manufacture, despite the numerous difficulties and tremendous tension in the tireless search for new forms, is the desire to maintain all the basic traditions of production, to develop and multiply the artistic merits of the products.
All photos of Hungarian porcelain - from the official site of the porcelain museum of Zholnai www.zsolnay.com
