Hungarian treasures

Magazine Antiques, Jan, 2005 by Miriam Kramer

The Esterhazy family of Hungary rose to prominence during the Turkish wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Miklos Esterhazy was a charismatic military leader and astute politician who founded the family's treasury, which became a visual statement of the family's culture, wealth, and power. The precious objects in the treasury were acquired by conquest and purchase, sometimes being commissioned for special occasions.

The family was close to the Austro-Hungarian imperial family and was itself central to Hungary's history. A descendant, Miklos Jozsef Esterhazy, became captain of the Empress Maria Theresa's bodyguard, although he is now best remembered for employing Joseph Haydn as kapellmeister and court composer for some thirty years. Miklos Joseph's great-grandson Pal Antal Esterhazy played a prominent part in the Congress of Vienna that settled the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and later became the Austrian ambassador to the Court of Saint James's.

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Following World War I, the family deposited the major part of its treasury in the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest. In 1944 some of the collection in the Esterhazy palace was destroyed or irreparably damaged in a bombing raid. Since the 1960s conservators have worked on the surviving pieces, and although a significant number have been salvaged, there are still many that require attention.

About fifty pieces from the collection are included in an exhibition entitled Hungary's Heritage: Princely Treasures from the Esterhazy Collection, which is on view at the Gilbert Collection in London's Somerset House until January 23. The final section of the exhibition covers the conservation and repair work. The curator is Andras Szilagyi, who has edited the accompanying illustrated catalogue. It is published by Paul Holberton Publishing and distributed in North America by the University of Washington Press. It may be ordered by telephoning 800-441-4115.