keramia

Ceramics in Nagykőrös

At the borders of Nagykőrös archaeologists unearthed ceramics representing the culture of the people living there before the Hungarian conquest (e.g. sepulchral urns from the Bronze Age, into which the remains were placed). After the Hungarian conquest valuable pieces from the households of village society came to light (ceramic stew-pots, cooking-pots, etc). From the Arpadian-age and from later periods, thus, from the age of the Renaissance King Mathew pieces of heating apparatuses, glazed tiles came to light representing the Gothic and Renaissance styles. Various ceramics survived from the age of the Turkish occupation they got to Nagykőrös through commerce.

Besides the enumeration of archaeological finds, this work aims to present the collection of a considerable amount of (about 500 pieces) ceramics of the János Arany Museum.

Historical sources from the beginning of the l8th century demonstrate unanimously that dishes made of tired clay were called "stove"(e.g. "drinking stove" from 1712). The tiles with various shapes and decoration and of which heating apparatuses were built were referred to as "stoves", too. That is why this kind of heating apparatuses is called "stove oven", "tabular stove" in contrast to the oven with chimney corner seat plastered up of mud burnt out and whitewashed.

Although there is little clay to be found in Nagykőrös, which is adequate for pottery, clay brought from the nearby Tisza region e.g. Tószeg was used to throw various pots, in the first place brandy bottles. However, the inhabitants of the market-town needed a great amount of ceramics which local potters were not able to produce. Thus, Nagykőrös served as a good market for pottery centres in various parts of Hungary.

As a result of the Turkish occupation and of devastation caused by wars the inhabitants in Alföld (Great Hungarian Plain) had no other choice but escape, hundreds of villages became uninhabited and deserted. Thus, even if there had existed pottery centres earlier, they could not work and what is more, could not trade. That is why tradesmen from Gömör were in a more advantageous situation in this region.

From the l8th.century ceramics came to the market in Nagykőrös from other regions, too, Gömör could keep its dominance, but fireproof ceramics were brought from Transdanubia, Csákvár, too. Life started on the Great Hungarian Plain again, large market-towns like Hódmezővásárhely, Szentes; Mezőtúr or Kalocsa near the river Danube became sate. Also smaller villages became stronger and thus, potters in Tószeg and in Mezőcsát and Tiszafüred situated further away could pick up a living. The choice became wider in the markets in Nagykőrös, Glazed and black pitchers, pots were brought from Mezőtúr and under the influence of this centre, similar dishes were brought from Tószeg, too. Plates and platters arrived from Hódmezővásárhely and characteristic red-baked unglazed water jugs and watering cans form Kalocsa.

Potters from Gömör were separated by the contines of state in 1920, when Hungary was carved up in Trianon and significant territories were detached, thus, also most part of Gömör. Consequently the significance of the ceramics from Csákvár increased, as clay pots, pans, platters and even the characteristic. wolf shaped tobacco-bolders were made of clay of high quality. Besides the various regions of the Great Hungarian Plain having already been mentioned ceramics got to Nagykőrös also from Szeged. Crockery although pots of cast- iron, tin-plates were used in well-to-do households-was of importance and much sought after in Nagykőrös. By way of illustration it can be mentioned that potters from Tószeg called pitchers "Kőrösgreen" as they could sell this kind, of pitchers in Nagykőrös.

The oldest one is a green glazed pitcher of the Tanners' Guild, which dates from 1698, bordering on miracle. Its speciality is that pitchers of other guilds were destroyed and only this one refers to the fact that also other guilds must have had pitchers. Duc to the fragility of crockery, only valuable earthenware which played a special role in households survived from the early periods. The candle-dipper of "Nemzetes Csók Mózes", the past master of the Weavers' Guild, in the middle of the 18th century belongs to these pieces. It was made in Csákvár. Nagykőrös was considered a market-town with a high number of inhabitants, with respectable members of the lower nobility and peasants, cives and honoraciori. Large amounts of candles, which were used to light with, became necessary. Candles were produced domestically, they were moulded (candles were dipped in wax several times, which was kept in an earthenware vessel, thus they grew thicker and thicker (The name candle-dipper comes from here). Another decorative black ceramic candle-dipper was made in Szentes in 1831.

There remained only one object with date on from the l8th century i.e. a dark-green glazed vase from 1791. The reticulated decoration suggests that it must have been made in Hódmezővásárhely. The two snake-shaped handles are of special interest.

Various dishes of use were without date and most of them came from the middle or the second part of the l9th century. Beautiful three-footed pots from Csákvár, pots without feet pans smaller and bigger pots used for cooking, also unglazed (so called "linen") pots whose majority came from Gömör (character- istic thin walled, brown-glazed, furthermore big-bellied pots unglazed on the outer surface with characteristic reddish-brown wavy-lined decoration at the shoulder) and from Csákvár (big-sized, with smaller fingerprint-line decoration) beolnged to them.

Households required various storing crockery; thus, characteristic big-bellied jugs with big handles from Csákvár, jars (to keep tard in) from Mezőtúr, pots for jam. The bright green, light brown glazed pots with rich flower ornamentation from Mezőtúr and Tószeg, which were in close connection with each other, were extraordinarily beautiful. High numbers of jugs used to store and curdle milk were brought to Nagykőrös from Mezőtúr and Tószeg. However, a lot of jugs arrived from more distant places like Csákvár. Both big, light brown, white glazed dishes with line and flower decoration and a lot of plates were brought to the markets in Nagykőrös from Hódmezővásárhely (Újváros, Csúcs).

Households could not go without earthenware cullenders, which were either similar to dishes or could have a handle, they could be green-glazed or made of black earthenware, produced in Mezőtúr or in the far away Csákvár. Water jugs were very important pieces of crockery in cives house- holds just like other kinds of jugs and watering cans. Green-glazed water jugs were made in Tószeg and in Mezőtúr, but water jugs and watering cans made of black earthenware were produced here, too. Crockery with the same functions were brought to Nagykőrös also from Kalocsa near the Danube.

At the beginning of the l9th century an interesting prismatic earthenware bottle was in general use on the Great Hungarian Plain. Its name comes from the French word "bouteille". In an inventory in Nagykőrös from 1802 three bottles were already mentioned. This crockery, which was used to store brandy, could have the shape of a flask, a book (Bible) or of a simple prism or a flattened cylinder with rounded shoulders and norrow neck. Most bottles came from Hódmezővásárhely, but such bottles were produced also in Mezőtúr, Tószeg and the nearby Kecskemét and of course in Nagykőrös. These bottles were usually decorated with etching and texts were engraved on the sides. These are humorous inscriptions and refer to the ritual consumption of brandy. The book-shaped bottles i.c. Which had the shape of the Bible provided with a clasp and with religious inscriptions and sings (cross), demonstrate the mantolles inflammation to joking (They drank brandy early morning, thus, the use of the bottle and the morning prayer from the Bible connected the two objects with different functions with each other).

Tobacco consumption won special significance in the l8th and l9th centuries. Authorities usually prohibited smoking in the l8th centuries, smoking the pipe meant serious danger of contlagration in market towns and villages. Smoking was prosecuted by law among bondsmen and even more among herdsmen, not only upon consideration of anti-fire precautions but it was also considered a showy habit or a phenomenon which caused lavishness. The soldiers billed in villages and market towns were living images for the inhabitants. Smoking a pipe became the symbol of manliness and it was not by accident that clay-pipes in large numbers were in use among herdsmen and farmers, cotters as in the course of time (no clay-pipes remained in Nagykőrös) lower noblemen of higher position and wealthy commoners preferred the more expensive meerschaum pipes. Tobacco itself was a very important requisite of smoking. It was cut into tiny pieces and pot into a tobacco-holder to mature and become aromatic. Tobacco-holders were made by potters and they had a strange shape. Certain pottery centres usually produced tobacco-holders, too, but tobacco-holders were brought to Nagykőrös from Csákvár, Hódmezővásárhely, Tószeg, as a rule. Tobacco-holders from Csákvár were wolf shaped, dark brown, glazed, their

"fur" was spiky. Bear-shape was often used too. In Hódmezővásárhely the bear was holding some musical instrument (clarinet, trumpet) in its paws. The animal figure holding some dumb-bell- like object or a musical instrument brought gaiety into the house. They were suitable to frighten children.

In bigger pottery centres earthenware production and decoration underwent qualitative changes as a result of tendencies in applied arts and manufacture. Balázs Badár started making his sitange shaped artistic ceramics with extraordinarily rich flower and plant ornamentation in the famous pottery centre of Mezőtúr. Kálmán Bozsik from Kunszentmárton who created an individual style representing Art Nouveau at the beginning of the 20^th century studied in his workshop. In Nagykőrös both the gentry and well-to-do peasants bought these ceramics with pleasure. Similar, Art Nouveau-like ceramics were made in the workshop of, János Novák in Hódmezővásárhely at the beginning of the 20th century. The production of hard earthenware developed from the pottery of Hódmezővásárhely, whose products (dishes, plates) became indispensable objects of the households in Nagykőrös.

In Nagykőrös tile stove production became professional. At the end of the l9th century the production of tile stoves which were bearing marks of eclecticism furthermore the characteristics of Art Nouveau of the early 20th century began in the cives houses with high cubic capacity.

(Extract Novák László: Kerámia Nagykőrösön)

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