project culTOUR

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)