We Hungarians have always been interested in Oriental arts, probably due to the fact that our ancestors themselves were of Eastern origin. In the nineteenth century, many travelers set out to discover the East and those wealthy enough returned with beautiful artifacts from their exotic journeys. However, it was not until Ferenc Hopp's museum (the first one in Hungary that was dedicated to Oriental arts) that private collectors had become interested in displaying their treasures for the whole world to see. The György Ráth Museum was founded with the purpose of housing exhibitions on Asian arts, assembling and presenting the collections of generous Hungarian travelers or specialists who had worked abroad. (The two story villa once belonged to Görgy Ráth, the first director of the Museum of Applied Arts.)




I would like to confess that I was a bit worried before visiting these last two Asiatic museums. I half expected the exhibitions only displaying a few objects that travelers purchased as souvenirs, however, these collections turned out to include exquisite pieces of art, which is impressive. There are artifacts of amazing craftsmanship on display here, objects of great value from many dynasties of Asian history, and some of them are estimated to be more than 2000 years old. While the Ferenc Hopp museum emphasizes on the customes of Asian cultures, the exhibitions here highlight Oriental art itself, dedicating separate rooms for purchases of the most generous donors and artifacts collected in different countries. Each themed exhibition room includes information boards with elaborate descriptions for those who crave some new oriental knowledge. I especially liked these boards because they include fascinating details about the donors, their fields of interest, or the origins of the artifacts on show.








The Ferenc Hopp Memorial Room provides some trivia on the wealthy traveler and his interest toward the Oriental and decorative arts. Visitors can also see the most beautiful pieces of his rich collection, such as ornamented bronze artifacts or gorgeous ivory carvings. In the Károly Csapek Memorial Room Buddhist-related Sino-Tibetan and Chinese sculptures (15th - 19th century) are in focus. Imre Schwaiger is called the discoverer and patron of Nepalese art and in his memorial room there are, among other things, outstanding gold sculptures on display. The György Ráth Memorial Room (which was once the dining room of the villa) is stocked with luxurious furniture, textiles, as well as beautiful pieces of Oriental and European ceramics.

The next big exhibition hall is dedicated completely to Indian art and it presents the collections of several donors. Through the artifacts presented, visitors can get a glimpse into the most significant periods of Indian art. The emphasis of the next exhibition room is Japan and it presents mainly the purchases of Peter Vay, a priest who travelled to numerous countries to visit Catholic missions; this room was one of my favorites!



Other rooms focus on particular periods and manufactures: funerary ceramics; architectural ceramics, ceramics retrieved from the seabed by underwater archeologists; blue-and-white porcelain, the art of colors - ceramics from the Ching period; and the European trades of Chinese porcelain. By the way, the porcelain collection of the museum is truly amazing, and a native Asian family visiting at the same time as me apparently thought so too; they were in awe and could not stop discussing the gorgeous china in front of them.

I know I tend to get excited about insignificant details, but I must admit that it was a real thrill for me (the movie geek) to finally see vases from the Ming dynasty in person; so many films include scenes where sophisticated people carefully examine and discuss the beauty of ceramic masterpieces from this period (1368-1644) and when I saw Chinese porcelain on display here, I finally understood the appeal.

I went to visit this museum alone, and although I usually like to take companions to share the fun and discuss everything,  it turned out to be a great experience; it was refreshing to be able to proceed at my own pace (sometimes in a reverse order), and return to a previous room to reread something or look at an exquisite ivory craving one more time, for instance. Therefore, I sincerely encourage everyone to visit museums alone occasionally. If someone cannot or will not come along, we should still not miss the fun, in fact it may be surprisingly liberating and at the same time, intellectually satisfying.



Tips:

- If visitors go to the Ferenc Hopp and the György Ráth Museums on the same day, a discounted, combined ticket can be purchased (800 HUF for students and 1800 HUF for adults)


György Ráth Museum
Friday-Sunday: 10 am-6 pm
1068 Budapest, 12 Városligeti fasor

http://www.imm.hu/hu/contents/hoppmuzeum 

(Please scroll down to find the information on this museum. Please note that the English version of the official website is not yet available, however, should you need any additional information about the museum, please leave a comment)

Life and its funny coincidences...about three weeks ago I decided to visit two Asian museums this weekend, and on Wednesday I got a creative writing assignment with a Korean character, so this was a true Asian week for me, and it was indeed a great experience.

Ferenc Hopp (1833-1919) was a Hungarian world traveler and collector, who was especially fond of Asia. He was the first person in Hungary ever to dedicate a museum to Oriental arts. He assembled a substantial collection of Eastern arts (some of which is now exhibited in the György Ráth Museum - next week's topic) but the main focus of the current permanent exhibition is Korea. The museum has been one of the Hungarian World Heritage sites for eleven years.



The Korean exhibition may not display an overwhelmingly huge collection, but its focus on Korea makes it quite appealing, as the art, folklore, and customs of this country are not as familiar to us as those of China and Japan. Moreover  the exhibition is very informative with explanations to each object and its purpose or symbolism. Visitors can try Korean writing, which is especially important since the characters making up the name of their country are translated into English as 'morning calm', hence the name 'The Land of the Morning Calm'.One can also get acquainted with the art of Korean furniture, and the characteristic pieces of the women's as well as the men's quarters. The most fascinating part of the exhibition for me was the elaborate description of Korean women's traditional costumes and accessories, (I am a woman, what can I do) which for many centuries were quite different from those of the neighboring countries. I really enjoyed learning about the most popular floral motifs on garments and the symbolical meaning of each design element or pendant ornament. These were not only applied as decoration but also with means of protection. As for the costumes worn by men, a very important important piece of garment was the mandarin square (rank insignia) worn mostly by court officials (original, beautifully decorated mandarin squares are exhibited in the György Ráth Museum). The traditional Korean wedding was an event where also strict rules applied not only to costumes but to every single object, based on their colors, purpose and symbolism.




Regularly there is also an old photo collection presented as part of the Korean exhibition, however, temporarily, as part of the Japanese Doll Festival celebrations, a small exhibition of Japanese dolls has taken its place.


Hina Matsuri is celebrated on 3 March in Japan, when families display collections of ornamental dolls dressed in costumes of the Heian period, on platforms covered with red carpet. This custom stems from an ancient belief that dolls can contain bed spirits, so centuries ago people would send dolls down the river in boats to get rid of bad spirits.

In the spirit of Hina Matsuri the museum organized a little celebration on 3 March, and the displayed dolls can still be seen for a short time. The beautiful works of Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi, an applied artist who studied in Japan, are also presented, and some of them can be purchased by visitors. In addition, I could even try on a kimono and thus I crossed out another wish from my bucket list again.


                                           


For future visitors I would strongly suggest not to leave before:

-  checking out the museum shop ( Asian art enthusiasts can find great books here, each of them available in English as well; furthermore, notebooks, greeting cards, and bookmarks are also for sale.)

- taking a look at the garden behind the building




Ferenc Hopp Museum
Friday-Sunday: 10 am-6 pm
1062 Budapest, 103 Andrássy Street

http://www.imm.hu/hu/contents/hoppmuzeum

(the English version of the website is not yet available, however, should you need any additional information about the museum, please leave a comment)

Or in this case: Keep Calm and Explore More of Budapest

After the Telephone Museum, I have visited yet another exhibition that does not concentrate on art, but something very different: national flags. Flags are important, not only because they are national symbols, but they also represent the historical foundation of each country; they are objects to be treated with respect. Furthermore, flags often play a significant role in historical upheavals, such as the Hungarian revolutions of 1848 and 1956. Countries have even set up elaborate rules prescribing how their national (federal, state, or county) flags should be flown and displayed. In many countries the desecration of the national flag is a punishable offense and those who misuse or dishonor this sacred symbol, can be prosecuted. (For example in Austria, Croatia or China, offenders can be punished with imprisonment).

The Flag Museum of Budapest is among the three biggest flag museums globally, and what is more, this is the first and only museum entirely devoted to assembling the national flags of countries around the world.
For tourists fascinated with flags and vexillology, this museum is obviously a must see, but even those less inclined to visit such a museum would surely enjoy the search for their own flags and explore the national symbols of other countries. I, for one had no idea that even the territories of Antarctica have their own flags and I had a lot of fun trying to guess which flag belongs to which country. ( Also, anyone who watches The Big Bang Theory and loves 'Fun with Flags' should go; Sheldon would approve! )

Canada

Flags are sorted and displayed according to continents and often the flags of states within countries are exhibited as well. László Balogh, the owner, has assembled a huge collection along the years, comprising up to 6000 flags.  “He could not have visited every country in the world and purchase each flag individually, it would take forever…how did he collect all these flags by himself?”- you may ask. The answer is simpler than you would think. He was mailing the prime ministers, kings or administrative organizations of each country to request them to send him their national flags.

By 1995, László Balogh had accumulated a collection big enough to open a museum (with the contribution of the VIII. district local government). In 1998, the Nepal Hungary Friendship Association asked the owner to hold an exhibition about Nepal. The event turned out to be a huge success that a lot of diplomats attended, among others, the culture minister of Nepal himself. The idea of temporary exhibitions focusing on a particular country have become so popular, that the small exhibition hall has not been out of use ever since. Foreign ambassadors and ministers are frequent visitors of the opening ceremonies which demonstrates the significance of this small museum. The current temporary exhibition highlights the customs and everyday life of Paraguay.



It is a pity that this museum is too small to put all the 6000 flags on display at once but even considering the low budget, the exhibition provides a unique experience. Besides, to see the result of László Balogh’s persistence to establish this collection and open a museum is truly inspiring. The Flag Museum may not be one of the fancy museums of Budapest, but it still represents important values, such as dedication and patriotism.

Paraguay exhibition

The flag of the Cayman Islands

Spain

Tips and facts:


- should groups wish to visit when the museum is closed, it can be arranged by calling the following number: +36 1 3139 883

- visitors need to ring the bell on the right side of the entrance to get in

- maps, books and posters with the national flags of countries can be purchased in the museum

- tickets: 500 HUF

- the website is only available in Hungarian, however, information about upcoming events will be soon uploaded to this blog



Flag Museum
1085 Budapest, 68 József krt (on the corner of  Nap street)
Tuesday-Friday: 12-5 pm
http://www.zaszlok.hu/index.php/esemenyek

My chosen museum for this week is neither small, nor hidden, but as it receives less publicity than other prestigious museums of Budapest, I thought it definitely deserved a visit and a review. My companion for this week was my godmother, who has taken me to more museums than I could count, and who is essentially responsible for my museum fetishism. We started discussing the purpose of this blog on the way to the Museum of the Applied Arts and we have asserted the following. 


We do not always have huge revelations nor do we have our minds blown every time we visit museums, but these experiences certainly broaden our knowledge. Of course tourists will visit the most prestigious museums first, as they should; however, I do hope that now and then some tourists and even Hungarians get motivated enough to discover the unsung museums of Budapest. 

In the lobby there is a little museum shop stocked with books on art, porcelain tea cup sets, jewelry, post cards, or my favorite, decorative gift wrap paper. There is also a tiny café and their espresso is pretty good. 



-  I kindly suggest my dear readers to choose a sunny day for their museum visit to see the cupola in its full glow


1091 Budapest, 33-37 Üllői Street
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 am-6 pm