Among the objects on display - which represent the best from the private collection of Budapest's Korompay family - are decorative pins as fine as a hair from the mid-19th century, busts of famous people such as the Hungarian poet Petőfi, pocket watch stands, decorative pitchers and smoking sets. One of the most valuable objects is a table centrepiece with two hunters made by the Glanz Foundry in Vienna in the 19th century.
The technology for turning cast iron into objects of art came to Hungary around the same time as the industrial revolution. But cast iron was used for the purpose much earlier, after the Napoleonic Wars created a shortage of semi-precious metal. The craftsmen of the period were able to create decorative objects and statues that rivaled any made from bronze or silver.
Though cast iron as art enjoyed its heyday around the end of the 19th century, it still remained popular well into the 1940s.
The exhibition can be seen until October 10.
The Foundry Museum is located at Bem József u. 20 in Budapest's District II.
Photo: Foundry Museum
