Zsolnay-titok másképp

In the possesion of the Zsolnay Museum in Pécs one could find an unusual porcelain set with Egyptian figures and motifs. This treasure is one piece of the evidence which suggests that Egyptianising tendencies might have had a great influence even on Hungarian arts and culture. Although many pieces of Egyptianising Zsolnay ceramics can be found in our museums, and also in online auction houses, we have very little information about the circumstances under which these pieces were created. There are important research papers about the Orientalism in Hungarian handicrafts and arts by Orsolya Kovács and Ibolya Gerelyes, and of course we have many books about the Zsolnay products and the factory in general. Most of these studies mention some ceramics with Egyptian motifs and even Miklós Zsolnay’s journey to the Near-East, but they do not focus on Egyptomania and its role in the Zsolnay heritage. The present paper is trying to serve as a preliminary report about this goldmine of Egyptomania, which consists not only of ceramics, but sketches, letters and diaries as well. We do not have the full picture yet, but this paper will shed some light upon those important, new pieces of evidence of Egyptomania in Hungary in the 19th century.