György Ráth (1828–1905) was the first director general of the Museum of Applied Arts. Thanks to his art collection, he was considered one of the greatest private collectors of his day.
Ráth left all his worldly goods to his wife, Gizella Melcsiczky, who carried out his wish that his art collection be given to the Museum of Applied Arts after his death, with the stipulation that they would form “the National Hungarian György Ráth Museum constituting an auxiliary part of the Museum of Applied Arts, which is inalienable and must be maintained together with its collection”.
As a result, the National Ráth György Museum was established in the ground floor rooms of the villa from Ráth's collection. The front hall, study, Gems room, parlor, sitting room, and picture gallery of the villa were opened to the public. These rooms preserved the furnishings as they were in Ráth’s lifetime, with only a few display cabinets added. The former library became the museum office. In November 1906, the new attraction in the capital was opened to members of the press in a solemn ceremony.
Interior photograph – Parlor in the György Ráth Villa (1906) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Parlor
The largest room on the ground floor was centrally located in the rear part of the house, facing the back garden. Until the museum opened, Mrs György Ráth used this room, whose décor was dominated by the color gold, as a parlor.
Settee from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (19th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Settee
The primary furniture for entertaining guests was the Italian suite (a sofa with six chairs), but the room had other seating as well. Despite the different stylistic features of the various furniture pieces from different eras, the overall effect was harmonious.
Settee (detail)
Armchair from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (late 18th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Armchair
The four fluted legs resting on balls are combined with the seat rail, which is slightly curved at the front. The horizontal arm-rest joins the support in a scroll with rosette. The supports are decorated with bent acanthus leaves. The back legs are combined with the back, which is carved at the top. The frame of the back and the seat rail show twisted ribbons, typical of early Neo-Classicism.
Stool from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (late 19th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Stool
The stool stands on four flooted legs that are joint by two semicircular stretchers with a carved rosette at the juncture in the middle. The seat rail is carved with ribbon motifs, while the corners are decorated with carved rosettes in squares. The burgundy upholstery has leaf pattern. The furniture was made in Louis XVI style.
Interior photograph – Parlor in the György Ráth Villa (1906) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Parlor (detail)
A cachepot by the great early twentieth-century Hungarian enamellist Jakab Rappaport stood on the eighteenth-century oval table in the center of the room.
Cachepot from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (circa 1900) by Jakab Rapoport (Rappaport)Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Cachepot
The focal point of the furnishing in the parlor was the enormous Italian cabinet whose display case was supported by two figures, one representing youth and the other old age. Here Mrs. Ráth’s ceramics—mostly porcelain—were kept. Standing out in this collection were an eighteenth-century Meissen porcelain cask and a two-person Viennese porcelain set from the 1770s.
The windows were bookended by two Chinese porcelain ornamental vessels on nineteenth-century stands. Under the Netherlandish painting stood a carved, gilt console table. On it was a carved, gilt cabinet containing Mrs. Ráth’s silver objects, dolls and knick-knacks.
Parlor of the György Ráth Villa (archive photograph) (1938/1945) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Parlor—metal work collection
While György Ráth’s set of metalworks was a quality bourgeois collection, it could not compete with the lavish pieces found in the well-known Esterházy treasury or the collections of Jewish magnates. What arrests the viewer is the great variety. Ráth clearly strove to collect as many different types of objects as possible, which he arranged in groups in his display cabinets. He had not only European but Far-Eastern metalworks in his collection, and even Russian, Turkish and Caucasian objects.
Cup from the collection of György Ráth (1654) by M. B.Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Cup from the collection of György Ráth
The object types include variously shaped cups as well as plates, beakers, saucers, cups, baskets, and boxes. Several antique and truly high-quality art works stand out among the metalworks, such as the Transylvanian cup made in 1654, whose surface is densely stippled to imitate sharkskin.
Viaticum from the collection of György Ráth (18th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Viaticum from the collection of György Ráth
A set of art objects from the mid-eighteenth century, used for storing the oil of St. Walburga, are indeed rare in Hungarian collections. A liquid flowed from the tomb of this abbess, who was little known in Hungary. Because of its medicinal properties, this liquid was collected, stored, and transported in small containers to distant lands.
Brooch from the collection of György Ráth (late 18th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Brooch from the collection of György Ráth
Although the most beautiful of the jewelry was presented in the Gems room, a few remarkable objects from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could be found in the parlor. While small, the jewelry collection nevertheless contained a variety of objects: buttons, a pair of clips, a brooch, a buckle, a hairpin, and a chatelaine chain mounted with small tools.
Chatelaine (second half of the 19th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Chatelaine
This is a historicizing version of a seventeenth-century accessory that was usually worn suspended on the belt. The suspender plate is bent, with a filigree rosette below, from which the six chain plaits start. The chains are gathered with a small plate at the top. They are connected in pairs, suspending a pair of scissors, an acorn-shaped yarn case and a baluster-shaped needle case.
Photograph of a fan
After the opening of the Ráth Museum, the more important and spectacular pieces were highlighted in separate showcases. The more interesting perfume holders and boxes were thus placed in one of the cases in front of the window, while a (now lost) fan was displayed in another.
Interior photograph – Parlor in the György Ráth Villa (1906) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Parlor (detail)
The color scheme in this room too is dominated by gold and white thanks to the painted and gilt furniture. The most prominent furnishings were an enormous mirror adorned with dolphin carvings on both sides and an armchair with swans. There were several of the latter in the room.
Armchair from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (early 19th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Armchair
Armchair (detail)
Console table from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (late 18th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Console table
On the console table beneath the mirror was an early nineteenth-century French clock with a depiction of a genius and two candlesticks.
Console table (detail)
Fireplace (mantle) clock with the Genius Figure of Science and Arts (early 19th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Fireplace clock with the Genius Figure of Science and Arts
The neo-classical clock has a Clement escapement (anchor escapement). It is a masterwork made using a serial produced device as a model. The genius figurine standing on its carved base and holds a wreath. He leans on a Greek floppy scroll with his elbow.
Fireplace clock (Deatail)
The prism-shaped clock body is enclosed by a palm stalk decorated with coins. They feature portraits with the inscriptions PAUSANIAS, XENOPHON, ENN.IO and CESAR. On the sides in two larger medallions there are HOMERE and VIRGELE on top.
Statuette from the collection of György Ráth (1842) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Statuette from the collection of György Ráth
On a richly carved console stood a statue of Venus made in the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory.
Interior photograph – Parlor in the György Ráth Villa (1906) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Tapestry – Theseus and Ariadne
No photos have survived, however, capturing this part of the room; the contours of the seventeenth-century tapestry from Brussels can only be seen reflected in the mirror. According to the contemporary invoice, György Ráth purchased the spectacular piece from the Munich art dealer Aron Siegfried Drey.
Theseus and Ariadne, Tapestry from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (circa 1700) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Tapestry – Theseus and Ariadne
“To the right, the wall is covered in a large tapestry with Thesues and Ariadne in the middle section, surrounded by flowers and birds …” (Magyarország [Hungary], 10 January 1907).
Sitting room
The innermost space in the back part of the house was the sitting room. It was distinctive because of its lead-framed glass window divided into sections. The furniture was more varied than in the parlor. Archival photos of the interior show just details, but the former inventory allows us to reconstruct the room.
Bronze bust of György Ráth
In one corner was a bronze bust of György Ráth, made by Alajos Stróbl. It was a nice gesture that Mrs. Ráth kept a bust of her husband in her sitting room, while he reciprocated, keeping a bust of his wife in the Gems room.
Settee from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (late 18th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Settee
Small table from the original furnishings of the György Ráth VillaMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Small table
Several pieces of eighteenth-century seating (sofa, chairs, and armchairs), as shown in the archival photo, were located here. Chairs were placed around the early nineteenth-century table, whose tabletop was decorated with a sepia painting.
Small table from the original furnishings of the György Ráth VillaMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Small table (detail)
Cabinet from the original furnishings of the György Ráth VillaMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Cabinet
The lacquered and gilt, eighteenth-century Netherlandish cabinet is truly exceptional.
Cabinet from the original furnishings of the György Ráth VillaMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Cabinet
Cabinet from the original furnishings of the György Ráth VillaMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Cabinet (detail)
Commode dessert (commode a étagère) from the original furnishings of the György Ráth Villa (late 18th century) by unknownMuseum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Commode dessert (commode a étagère)
A nineteenth-century fireplace surround carved from wood, partially gilt, and presumably originating from a Sicilian castle, was installed as decoration in the sitting room. A truly superb piece even today is the fan-shaped, leather-covered fire screen (c. 1900) resting on lion’s paws and decorated with putti and Renaissance-style floral motifs.
Like several rooms in the villa, the sitting room was also furnished with late nineteenth-century and even turn-of-the-century objects. Painted, neo-classical vessels by Zsolnay enhanced the room’s unique array of colors. Some of György Ráth's Art Nouveau Zsolnay vessels are among the Museum of Applied Arts’ finest pieces.
by Hilda Horváth, PhD
