There is an incredibly tiny museum in the heart of Budapest called Hopp Ferenc Museum that turned one hundred years old this year and was founded after the First World War by a Hungarian traveller who was also an enthusiastic collector of Oriental art pieces. In his last will and testament he left his collection of 4000 pieces and his home to the Hungarian State to establish a museum for different kinds of Asian cultures named after him. This is how everything started.
Last week during the Night of Museums in Budapest, along with dozens of other places, the Hopp Ferenc Museum was also free of charges once the visitors had paid for the relatively cheap ticket of the main event. For a night, those who are interested in the Asian cultures could watch not only the current exhibition but also the colourful programmes that the organizers arranged with the help of the local embassies and culture centres. The visitors could put on traditional clothes like the Korean hanbok, eat delicious meals and try their best to write down their own names or other words in Chinese or Korean.
Those who preferred to remain amongst the silent observers could watch the local and foreign performers from all around the Asian continent. The representatives of the Korean Culture Centre performed traditional dances with hand-fans and swords and songs played on a long zither with twelve strings called Gayageum. Even though most of the performers were Asians, the Korean unit included many zealous students of the Culture Centre who were seemingly proud to be able to show their talents and knowledge about the country.
Being a part of the audience, it was heartwarming to see how many people were actually interested in the programmes and how long the queues were in front of the tables where the visitors could learn a pinch of the Asian culture. There was literally no open space around the stage either that might have made the experience a bit uncomfortable but overall the provided show made up for all the inconvenient factors like the mass, the hot weather and the mosquito bites. I would have never thought that Budapest has such a lovely place to treasure and appreciate the beauty of the Asian cultures but I'm grateful that it exists.
Have you ever tried to learn Korean or the Korean alphabet? How is your name in Korean?
MADE IN ASIA: Őszibarack alakú rizsboros kanna felirattal. Kína, 19. század közepe. Ón, vésett díszítéssel. Xántus János gyűjtése, 1870 A halhatatlanságot jelképező őszibarack formáját idézi a...
MADE IN ASIA: Őszibarack alakú rizsboros kanna felirattal. Kína, 19. század közepe. Ón, vésett díszítéssel. Xántus János gyűjtése, 1870
A halhatatlanságot jelképező őszibarack formáját idézi a boroskanna, leveles faágat imitáló fogófüllel és kiöntővel. Oldalán a borivás szépségét méltató vers olvasható. Belső kialakítása egészen különleges, az ital betöltésére szolgáló nyílás ugyanis a kanna legalján található, a nemes ital mégsem folyik ki az edényből alul, hanem egy speciálisan kialakított belső járatrendszeren végighaladva csak a kiöntőcsövön önthető ki.
