The Godmather of our best-known décor

Herend's best known décor is linked to one of the longest reigning monarchs, Queen Victoria.
The British royals are traditionally great fans of Herend porcelain. This is probably due to the fact that their queen caught sight of a colourful Herend dinner service at the first World?s Fair, the Great Exhibition in London. She took an immediate liking to the elegant porcelain, ordered a whole service and used it with relish the rest of her life. Her name at once became associated with the pattern, which has been known as the Victoria décor ever since. The reign of Queen Victoria was an era of contradictions yet of great glory in British history. Her name hallmarks strict morality, economic prosperity, splendid isolation, the rise of the middle classes and an easily recognisable, typical style of decoration. After a childhood of introversion and prejudice, Victoria, a headstrong young woman, ascended the throne at the age of 18 upon the death of her uncle, William IV. She had been on the throne for three years when she married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, with whom she lived in love and harmony for two decades and who fathered nine children with her. Prince Albert, a German, was not popular with the British. He was denied the political power he coveted and it was not until he had been married to the queen for 17 years that he was granted the title of Prince Consort. A man of vision and of interest in science and technology, he was instrumental in staging the Great Exhibition of 1851 in The Crystal Palace in London. At that first World?s Fair the Herend Porcelain Manufactory presented, among other things, a décor of stylish colourful butterflies and boughs in bloom, bearing a certain Chinese influence, yet thoroughly Herend in style, which fired the Queen?s imagination to such an extent that she ordered a full service right away. That pattern bears her name to this very day and is one of Herend?s best known décors.
In 1861 Prince Albert died of typhoid fever. Queen Victoria was devastated and retired from public life, going into self-imposed exile on the Isle of Wight for ten years. The monarchy had lost much of its popularity by 1870. In later years she regained the love of her people and by the end of her life she had become the ?Mother of England?, a symbol of the middle-class family and a kind of living monument. During her reign the British Empire doubled in size, incorporating India, Australia, Canada and some parts of Africa as well as South-East Asia. The Queen came out of her seclusion at the time of her Golden Jubilee and took centre stage in the celebrations. She reigned for 64 years over England and the British Empire, had 37 grandchildren, and when she died in 1901 at the age of 82, Britain felt her loss as an ?unnatural catastrophe?. It is easy to see why: most of them had not even been born when she ascended the throne.
Her name has been synonymous with the golden age of Britain and is still borne by a museum, a station as well as a world-famous Herend porcelain décor.

A more than 150-year-old design for the most influential banking dynasty of the 20th century.

The pattern is named after the Baron de Rothschild family, connoisseurs of Herend china. From the 1860s members of the family regularly ordered dinner sets decorated with this pattern. The golden necklace constituting a part of the pattern might be a reference to the legendary wealth of the banking dynasty. At the same time, there is a popular anecdote in Herend about Baroness Rothschild, who lost her expensive necklace one day, only to find it somewhat later in her garden, draped over a tree branch, surrounded by singing birds. The story caught the ear of Mór Fischer and inspired him to design this decorative pattern to commemorate the scene. Being one of the most famous designs among vintage Herend patterns, the vividly coloured, extremely lively Rothschild Oiseaux (bird) rightfully enjoys worldwide popularity even today.

Our muse for the Gödöllő décor

The daughter of Maximilian II, Duke of Bavaria, was fifteen when she married Emperor Franz Joseph I. Always a free spirit, the Princess abhorred the strict etiquette of the Viennese court. She was denied influence on her own children?s upbringing, and her children were raised by her mother-in-law, Princess Sophie. Elisabeth sympathized with the Hungarians and in 1868 gave birth to her fourth child, Marie Valerie, in Buda, which made the little archduchess the first royal offspring for centuries to have been born in Hungary.
Using her feminine wiles on her husband, she played an active part in reaching a compromise between Hungary and the monarch.
The imperial palace at Gödöllő was her favourite summer residence. It was for that mansion that the famous Herend service known as the Gödöllő décor was first manufactured.
In her later years Queen Elisabeth spent longer periods in the Achilleion on the island of Corfu and enjoyed Greek culture tremendously. Following the suicide of her son she retired from public life and the Viennese court. Her much desired release from suffering came when she was stabbed to death with a needle file in Geneva by and Italian anarchist called Lucheni. She was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. Her tomb is the only grave in the crypt of the Capuchins to bear the inscription ?Queen of Hungary?.
She has always been a cult figure in Hungary. A road named after her and the Elisabeth lookout tower on János Hill in Budapest both kept her name even during communist times, and her statue was retrieved from some storeroom and erected on the Buda side of Elisabeth Bridge once the bridge had been rebuilt.

Bestowed the title of Court Purveyor upon Mór Fischer

Franz Joseph I (1830-1916) Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary

He became emperor in 1848 and was faced with the challenge of putting down the Hungarian freedom fight right at the outset of his reign. In the early days his policies were characterized by rigid absolutism, coupled with the intention to gain full control of German-speaking territories. His imperial absolutism slackened somewhat after his defeat at Solferino in 1859, and the defeat he suffered at the hands of Prussia in 1866 put a definite end to his ambitions of gaining supreme power over all German-speaking peoples. The Empire became a dual monarchy in the wake of the Compromise of 1867, the year he was crowned King of Hungary. In the years that followed he adamantly refused to make any more concessions either to the Hungarians or to other nations, though he tended to be more lenient in other matters. In foreign policy he then turned his attention towards the Balkans. As his thirst for conquest went against Russian interests, he struck up an alliance with Germany first (1879), which was joined by Italy in 1882. It was this lust for power and the conflicts of interest that gradually led to the outbreak of the world war, sparked by the assassination of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After his death he was succeeded on the throne by Karl I, the son of his nephew.
Herend had excellent relations with Franz Joseph, manufacturing not only the dinner service which was a gift to Archduchess Sophie, but a dinner service for the Gödöllő Mansion, and three versions of the official dinner service of the imperial court: one for the royal table, one for the officers serving at court and one for the court staff. The dinner service manufactured for the royal table (with the imperial initials being replaced by the Hungarian coat of arms) is currently used on Hungarian state occasions hosting the highest-ranking dignitaries.

The Esterházy family, benefactor of Mór Fischer from the start, was the first to order this chinoiserie pattern, which is created using a special technique.

He has been presented with birthday dinner-set of Herend Porcela

Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769 ? 1859)
He was born in Berlin as the son of Frederick William II?s Royal Chamberlain and confidant. His family background determined his whole life later on. His activity can be divided into two main parts. On the one hand, he was a famous scientist who played an important role in the exploration of the world ? still partly unknown world - of that time. On the other hand, he was a diplomat who was a frequent visitor at the Royal Courts of Europe. As a scientist he played an important role in the development of the mining industry and metallurgy of the German states. During an important journey to Latin America, between 1799 and 1804 he toured the area surrounding the river Orinoco and a significant part of Mexico. Besides his geographical, botanical and zoological researches he made very important ethnographical observations here. On behalf of Tsar Nicholas I he made an important expedition to South Siberia 1829-30. The science of meteorology has him to thank for a lot of things. As first he edited climate- and plant geographical maps. He introduced himself as a diplomat in 1794 when he went to Frankfurt as the representative of the Prussian King. In 1796 he protected the interests of Swab land at the French military authorities. He escorted Prussian Prince William to Paris in 1808, then the Prussian King to London in 1814; he fulfilled a lot of diplomatic tasks in 1818. He was sent to Paris in 1830 in order observe the happenings. He accompanied the king to England in 1841 and to Denmark in 1846. As did not have a family, he left his considerable fortune and collection to scientific purposes. The Humboldt ? décor is one of the most beautiful patterns of Herend?s historicized patterns. It was designed by Mór Fisher in 1857 for the 88th birthday of Alexander von Humboldt, the Prussian scientist. Humboldt sent a kind letter and a signed photo to thank the magnificent gift.

"Giving name" to a highly popular Herend design.

This design, which features a simplified, Oriental-inspired bouquet pattern first created for Count Albert Apponyi in the 1930s, combines the exotic Far East with the balanced bourgeois lifestyle. A world-renowned politician, diplomat and patriot, Count Albert Apponyi was born into an ancient aristocratic landowner family and served his country for nearly 60 years as a politician. He became a member of the Parliament in 1872; served as Minister of Religion and Education, and headed the Hungarian delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference and in the League of Nations.

The main motif of “Indian basket” pattern was originally enlarged upon his request. Subsequently the “Apponyi Fleur” took on a life of its own, and has become one of the most popular designs among the Manufactory’s numerous motifs.

Samovar gift

Nicholas II (1868-1918), Tsar of Russia (1894-1917)

A difficult character, Tsar Nicholas II was a monarch of occasionally irrational decisions. His love of peace was diametrically opposed to Russia?s great power ambitions. He was embroiled in a number of wars and suffered a heavy defeat in the 1905 Russia-Japan conflict. The 1905 revolution triggered the last phase of fall of the Tsars. From a Russian point of view, it was the First World War that struck the heaviest blow. Two days after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand the Russian army was mobilized and Russia attacked East Prussia, where Hindenburg defeated the Russian army. Subsequently, the long war gradually sapped the Russian army?s strength. Yet Nicholas failed to realize the need to make peace. By the same token, he also failed to comprehend the revolutionary movements of 1917. The same year he abdicated, but he and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Herend presented him with a porcelain samovar on the occasion of the 1901 World?s Fair in St. Petersburg, an object that was remodelled by the Manufactory in 2007.

Vase adorned with the prince’s portrait.

The Herend Porcelain Manufactory surprised Prince Antal Esterházy with a unique goblet vase on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The front of the vase shows Antal Esterházy on horseback, wearing the uniform of the Esterházy hussars; while the pattern on the back depicts the Esterházy family’s coat of arms. The letter “E” on the bags of the cavalrymen of the French hussar regiment shown in the picture designates the name Esterházy. The vase is ornately decorated in rich Baroque style.

Collector of Herend Porcelain

Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer [1]; 1st July 1961 ? 31st August 1997) was the first wife of Price Charles. Her two sons, William and Henry are in the second and in the third position in the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom and to thrones of other 15 kingdoms of the Commonwealth. Due to his marriage with Prince Charles she immediately became a celebrity. Her life was almost constantly followed by the interest of the media, which was inspired by the appeal of her royal status. They had meditated on their problems about marriage, and then Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced. [2] This event could have resulted in the loss of public interest but instead of this people sympathized with Diana because of her charity events and social causes. After her fatal car accident, a sorrowful period begun in the United Kingdom, and worldwide. The contemporary reactions to her life and to her legacy have been mixed but this magic circle around her endures until now. She collected the Herend fishnet figurines.

The heir to the British throne is also charmed by Herend porcelain.

In Kensington Palace, Secretary of State Attila Várhegyi befittingly presented Prince Charles, a late descendant of Queen Victoria, with an ornamental vase adorned with the Victoria pattern. Lady Solti received a similar Herend vase on the same occasion. The event was organised by the Hungarian Cultural Centre of London.

A gift from Ferenc Mádl, President of the Republic of Hungary at the time.

In 2002 the President of Hungary presented Queen Elizabeth II with the Grand Cross with the Chain Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. In addition, he gave an extremely remarkable gift to Her Royal Highness: he enriched the British Royal Family’s existing Herend collection with a six-piece Persian style mocha coffee set. Indeed, Queen Victoria of England famously purchased a dinner set decorated with butterflies and flowers for the Windsor Castle as early as 1851, which still remains in use today.

A Herend vase for Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis, Hungarian-born American actor, received a special gift for his 80th birthday from János Kóka, Hungary’s Minister of Economy at the time, on 25 June 2005 in Las Vegas. The 28-cm tall, Baroque style “harmonica vase” has been manufactured at Herend since the 1840s. The gift was decorated with a portrait of Tony Curtis. Naturally, this bespoke vase will not be available in shops; the estimated value of works of this nature is in the range of millions of forints. Curtis, who shot to fame after his appearance in the movie "Some Like it Hot", was filming publicity spots in Hungary in 2003 to promote the country on several television channels across the USA.

A gift to the last Habsburg heir.

A politician, publicist, member of the European Parliament, the last Habsburg heir, pretender until 1961, the last heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire. In 1961 Otto renounced all claims to the Austrian throne; however, Austrian monarchists still recognise him as Emperor Otto I of Austria, while Hungarian legitimists refer to him as King Otto II of Hungary.

When Dr Otto von Habsburg visited Herend in 2005, the management of the manufactory presented him with an ornamental vase with Rothschild décor, and in 2007, accompanied by his family, he celebrated his 95th birthday at the world-famous porcelain manufactory. Since the Habsburg family’s ties to Herend go back several generations, it should be no surprise that the head of the family chose Herend as the venue for his birthday celebration.

The eldest son of the last Austrian emperor and Hungarian King, Charles IV, and Queen Zita, was born on 20 November 1912, in the lower Austrian village of Reichenau. He had been the head of the Habsburg family since the death of his father in 1922. He was President of the Pan-European Union for 31 years and the honorary president of the organisation until his death in 2011. As a representative of the Bavarian Christian Socialist Union (CSU) he had been a member of the European Parliament for twenty years from 1979 onwards.

Even the President of the International Olympic Committee owns Herend porcelain. Pál Schmitt has presented him with a Herend Hadik Hussar, originally designed in 1928 by Zsigmond Kisfaludy Stróbl.

Herend encores the Vatican I.

John Paul II (in Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, in Italian: Giovanni Paolo II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła pronunciation) (Wadowice, 18th May 1920 ? Rome, 2nd April 2005) was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 until his death. John Paul II was elected to pope on 16th October 1978. He was the first Slav pope, after 455 years the first non-Italian pope and chronologically the 264th among the heads of the Church. His activity as pope was followed until the end by the promotion of accord among the nations and among the religions. In the spirit of this he apologised for the wrongdoings of the Church in the past. His moral teaching was characterized by conservatism and supporting human life and dignity. Regarding social questions, he criticised both ?existing? socialism and capitalism. He pressed for mentioning the Christian roots in the constitution of the European Union. He was an absolute believer in peace; he spoke out against wars several times. He took more than 100 trips abroad, he visited more places than all his predecessors together. World press named him the ?Pilgrim Pope? shortly. He beatified 1338 people and sainted 482 people. He beatified, among others, Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 2003, and from the Hungarian saints he sainted Kinga in 1999, one of the daughters of King Bela IV.
John Paul II was the third longest-reigning pope after Saint Peter and Pius IX.
Herend donated special pieces to His Holiness on several occasions.

(Picture was taken by Arturo Mari (Osservatore Romano) in Pannonhalma on 6th September 1996)

Herend encores the Vatican II.

Pope Benedict XVI (in Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI), born Joseph Alois Ratzinger (Marktl am Inn, 16th April 1927) has been the head of the Roman Catholic Church since 2005. The corporate of cardinals elected him to pope on 19th April 2005, his inauguration took place on 24th April 2005. He is the eighth German pope and chronologically the 265th among the heads of the Church. The last German pope was Adrian VI (1522-1523) born on the territory of the Netherlands, and the last pope who was born on the territory of Germany of today, was Victor II (1055-1057). He received a Herend figurine of Saint Emeric for his 80th birthday in 2007.

Imperial gifts

Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan, is the 125th monarch of the Japanese imperial family which has sat on the Chrysanthemum Throne for 2600 years. He is the only emperor in the world at the moment. When he was born, the Emperor of Japan was still regarded as the descendant of the goddess Amaterasu, and as such a god himself, but in 1945 Emperor Hirohito disclaimed any form of divine ancestry so Akihito received a public education.
Akihito was formally invested as Crown Prince in 1952, and in 1953, on his first official visit, represented Japan at the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. He studied political sciences and economics at Gakusuin College but received no degree.
In 1959 he married a commoner, Miss Michiko Soda, the daughter of a Japan industrialist, thus breaking with the 2000-year-old tradition of choosing a wife for empress from among the daughters of the highest-ranking aristocratic families.
Upon the illness of Emperor Hirohito the Crown Prince temporarily assumed the duty of head of state in 1988 and was enthroned as the Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito in 1989. He is the first emperor to have begun his reign not as a living god. The new era that started with this enthronement is called Heisei, meaning ?peace everywhere?.
The emperor is a keen tennis player and rider, and he even met his wife while playing tennis. He likes to play music (plays the cello) and is known to have great interest in natural sciences. Like his father before him, he is an avid ichthyological researcher and has published studies on the taxonomy of family gobies. In 1998 he was awarded the Charles II medal of the Royal Society, the Academy of Science of the United Kingdom.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko travel extensively. In the course of their second European tour in 2002 they visited Hungary. He has been the first Japanese monarch to do so.

Herend Trophies for the Winners

Lewis Hamilton (born on 7th January 1985 in Stevenage /Hertfordshire/ Great Britain) is a British Formula 1 racing driver. He is the first black driver of Formula 1. After winning several go-kart championships, Hamilton concluded an agreement with the McLaren-Mercedes when he was 12 years old. This meant invaluable support in his driver carrier. During his carrier he competed in British Formula Renault and became the European go-kart champion in 2000. In his first year in Formula 1, in 2007 he performed splendidly and gained the second place in the championship, 1 point behind Kimi Raikkönen. ?A dream came through because my goal always was to compete for McLaren in Formula 1. I was brought up with this stable, without their control and help I wouldn?t be so far. I am aware what a big challenge is expecting me; I know how many people will watch me. But he team has reassured me that I should do my best and I should enjoy the opportunity. I will work hard in order to achieve good results.?
He was the winner at Hungaroring in 2007, and therefore the owner of the Herend Trophy.

Herend Trophy for the champion.

The Finnish Formula One Racing driver lifted an exclusive Herend porcelain victory trophy in the air in celebration of this victory of the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Even the Governor collects Herend Porcelain

He is a world famous actor, sportsman, businessman and a public figure. He was born in a remote village in Steiermark. From childhood he has lived for the sports. As a teenager he played soccer and did weight lifting, at age of 18 he changed to bodybuilding. He became Mr. Universe when he was 20 and after that he gained 12 world titles at this kind of sport. His film carrier started with ?Pumping Iron?, an all-night documentary film. Following this film, the director of the film, Bob Rafelson engaged him for a role of ?Stay Hungry?. He was awarded a Golden Globe in the category of the Best debutant for his performance. He played together with Kirk Douglas and Ann Margret in ?The Villain?, a western comedy in 1978. The breakthrough for him was ?Conan the Barbarian?, a film by John Milius in 1982 but the real success was brought by James Cameron?s ?The Terminator?. From then on ? due to his films shot in the eighties - Schwarzenegger?s name has become inseparable from the definition of the action film icon. In order to change the role-labelling, in 1988 he introduced himself as a comedian in a comedy, called ?Twins?. Enthusiastic about the success of the film, they reunited with Danny DeVito and with Ivan Reitman for a movie in 1995. ?The Junior? also won the public?s approval. Schwarzenegger?s next comedy was ?Jingle All the Way? in which he appeared with Jim Belushi. His first direction was an episode from the serial ?Tales From the Crypt?, which was followed by ?Christmas in Connecticut. Schwarzenegger has been the coach of weight-lifting at the Paralympics Games since 1979. He is the author of several bestselling books on physical fitness and healthy living. He was awarded Award for Humanity by the Association of Cinema owners in 1997. Moreover, he received awards for his activity in defence of the human rights and for supporting Holocaust-researches. He was elected to Governor of California in 2003. He has bought several pieces of Herend porcelain.

A gift from Herend on the "wedding of the century".

The future heir to the British throne and his young wife received a set of Herend porcelain, decorated with a pattern associated with the British Royal Family. The original design was made in 1851 for the Great Exhibition of London, and even Queen Victoria ordered a set with the same décor. None one other than the royal couple was to be served with this dinnerware in the castle of Windsor. On the occasion of their wedding, the young couple received a gift from the Hungarian nation decorated with a modern interpretation of this 160-year-old pattern featuring butterflies and peonies, still bearing the name of Queen Victoria.