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Nachgotik és kora barokk – Brózer István kelyhéről
Nachgotik and early baroque – about István Brózer's chalice
Abstract
The enamelled gold chalice made by the Kolozsvár goldsmith István Brózer is an emblematic and much-published work of Transylvanian goldsmithing. The communion cup made in 1641 was ordered by prince György I Rákóczi for the Calvinists of the Farkas street congregation, Kolozsvár. It is an outstanding relic not only for its material but also for the rich figural ornamentation of the cup. The narrative cycle depicts Christ's suffering from Easter Thursday to the Entombment. The graphic prototypes for the repoussé panels were 18 scenes in Adriaen Collaert's Passion published around 1610. The rich cloisonné and champlevé enamelling framing the scenes and covering the stem, node and foot attests to the experienced use of the cosses de pois decoration that evolved in the art of the Paris court in the 1630s. That was exactly where the master, István Brózer stayed during his peregrinations before reaching mastership.
The modern decorative program of the cup is paired with a highly conservative composition. There are two main gothicizing trends in Transylvanian goldsmiths' art in the early modern age. One can be interpreted as survival, when pattern sheets, forms, workshop traditions continuously lived on – in Transylvania up to the first third of the18th century. The historicist, revival or renovatio trend represented by the Brózer cup is more prevalent in Central European goldsmithing. For the liturgical vessels made in rising numbers again from the end of the 16th century the pre-Reformation style of the late gothic was the model in the Kingdom of Hungary and in the Transylvanian Principality.
István Brózer's chalice is almost the only high-quality goldsmith's piece testifying to the art patronage of the Transylvanian princely court.
