Chinese Porcelain Preserved in Interiors of Hungarian Aristocratic and Upper Middle Class from the 18th Century to the 19th Century

Abstract

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Hungarian aristocracy, as well as the upper middle class, began to collect Chinese art in large quantities, trying to decorate their estates with the most unusual Chinese objects. Expensive and exquisite Chinese and Japanese porcelain however became a symbol of status and wealth from then on. Chinese porcelains appeared in the interior of the Hungarian aristocracy and upper middle-class, integrated with the popular decorative styles of the same period, were an extremely important part of the collections in the 18th and 19th centuries. The study of them is therefore of great importance for the research of the domestic environment and daily life of these wealthy people in Hungary of the period. In this essay, I will rely on documentary and artifacts to illustrate Chinese porcelain collected by the Hungarian upper classes in the 18th and 19th centuries, to introduce its important role in interior decoration, and to analyse how the attitudes of European collectors toward Chinese art and society changed during this time.