Paper short abstract:

The collection of Dr Ottó Fettick is quite unique as it unites Western masterpieces of Japonisme as well as important works of Japanese applied arts created in the same era. In this presentation will recontextualize this dormant Hungarian collection through its surviving provenance data.

Paper long abstract:

The collection of the Hungarian bacteriologist professor, Dr Ottó Fettick (1875-1954) conveys the special aesthetic mindset of people who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. His collection of decorative arts, which counts approximately 5,000 items is quite unique from the viewpoint of collecting Japanese art since it includes a considerable number of Western masterpieces of Japonisme, as well as ca. 200 fine pieces of Japanese applied arts (kōgei) mostly from the Meiji and Taisho eras. Those two groups of objects were put on the Western art market during the same historical period and were arguably united under the same roof on purpose. Today, his Western objects are preserved at the Museum of Applied Arts, and his Japanese artworks are held at the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts, in Budapest.

The curious case of Dr Fettick is that, unlike most of the famous collectors of Japanese art, he never visited Japan, he purchased all his marvellous artworks in Europe, and he did not leave behind any information on the background of his acquisitions apart from a few breadcrumbs: a few hints on previous owners from Budapest, Vienna, Munich, London and Paris, as well as on exhibitions and auction houses where he made his purchases. So far, Dr Fettick’s collecting activity has been pushed to the periphery of the research on the history of collecting Japanese art in Hungary due to its modest size, even though through its provenance information it is tightly woven into the international scene of Japonisme.

In this presentation, we will discover Dr Fettick’s Japanese art collection through their provenance data. We will look into the patterns of object types based on their history related to earlier owners and discuss the circumstances of their way to Europe (export art, collectables, travel memorabilia, etc.). Since almost half of Dr Fettick’s collection lost its provenance information, we will provide some possible answers to the question of what can be done in similar cases of museum collections.