The exhibition, entitled The Dowry of Beatrice - The art of Italian Majolica and the Court of King Matthias Corvinus, presents the origin of the glazed ceramics in 15th century Italy, revisiting the craft's most important centres. The exhibition also examines the important centres in Hungary where majolica was made, even comparing these objects side by side with their Italian counterparts.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are three of four surviving pieces of the Corvinus-service, bearing the coats of arms of King Matthias and his wife, Beatrice of Aragon. (King Matthias is considered Hungary's "Renaissance king".) The pieces represent the peak of Italian majolica in the late 15th century and were the first big commission for the ceramics north of the Alps. They are on loan from the Metropolitan Museum (New York), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology (Berkeley).
The exhibition runs from March 26 until June 30, 2008. It is one of four planned for Hungary's Renaissance Year 2008, which marks the 550th anniversary of King Matthias's coronation. The other three, which are also opening in March, will be hosted by the Budapest History Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery and the National Széchényi Library.
Source: Múlt-kor
