Cabinet

In an exhibition held in the autumn of 1929, the Museum of Applied Arts showed additions made to its collection in the previous two years. According to the account given in the periodical Magyar Iparműveszet, among these was ‘the most significant new acquisition, a decorative cabinet designed by Lajos Kozma and wonderfully made under his personal direction by the artist-cabinetmaker Karoly Kozma. This will fittingly represent in the museum the designer’s individual style, which is already well known abroad, as well as the highly developed artistic crafts to be found in Hungary’. Expressly designed for the Museum of Applied Arts, the cabinet – whose plans can be found in the Museum’s archive – is an interesting example with regard to form and decoration alike of the brief creative period in the late 1920s that represented transition from the distinctive ‘Kozma baroque’ (which brought the designer great popularity) to the trend of functional furniture design. The cabinet opens by means of two large hinged doors. On these, inside and out, the figural scenes are bound together by arabesque-like decoration composed of folk-like stylised plant ornamentation. Inlay inscriptions on the two outer wings of the doors name the designer and maker of the furniture: FECIT CAROLUS KOZMA and DELINEAVIT LUDOVICUS KOZMA. As well as the inventiveness of the artistic design, the high-standard execution of the artefact is astonishing. The silky-smooth walnut veneer, which shows perfectly the natural structure of the wood, and the technical solutions in connection with the inlay do credit to the efforts of the outstanding cabinetmaker Karoly Kozma, who worked together with Lajos Kozma (1884–1948) for many years.