Hungarian Silver [antikvár]

FOREWORD What prompts anybody to move from casually acquiring aesthetically pleasing objects to gathering together a well-defined and serious collection? This is a question that I have often pondered. I must say that I am quick to admire the work of artistic hands, or even works of nature whenever the results are pleasing to the senses. However it is a long way from appreciating - even acquiring - a masterwork to creating a significant assemblage of magnificent objects with enough of a unifying theme for it to be dubbed a "collection". The beginnings can be accidental; a fortuitous single event, for example, or a brilliant sales pitch from a dealer, a gift, maybe, or a discovery, anything in fact that raises a thirst in the future collector to acquire. What motives lie behind building a collection? They are certainly multifarious but might include: aesthetic satisfaction; curiosity; a spirit of inquiry; the possibility of acquiring kindred pieces at some time in the future; a willingness to devote time, effort and involvement to such an endeavor coupled with an ability to cope with all the sacrifice and frustration, and the sense of accomplishment at every step along the road toward achieving a particular goal. Beside the presence of all those components in creating my collection of Hungarian silver, there was one particular thing that started me off. One day I was in a most awe-inspiring antique shop in Paris, handling what was to become the veiy first piece of my Hungarian silver collection and listening to the proficient patter of the owner, when an idea came into my head. There must be many other pieces like this one around the world in the hands of fortunate owners, I thought, pieces that would in time come on the market and change hands often far away from where the objects were made. It was there and then that I made up my mind to start collecting old Hungarian silver. I wanted to amass a collection of unique silver objects that would complement each other and serve as a showcase for the remarkable talents of their makers. I also wanted in a modest way to pay homage to the many patrons who through their patronage challenged the craftsmen to create exquisite objects such as those in this book, and thus made it possible for those treasures to come into being. My first purchase with a serious Hungarian silver collection in mind was in Paris in 1967. My latest acquisition for this catalogue was made in New York in 1995. It is time to go to press with this book, but not to stop collecting! All the basic elements which urged me to make that purchase in Paris are still present.