Chalice

The craftsperson who made this chalice enlivened the base by alternating three sections of convex curving arched lobes with three narrower sections with concave edges and surfaces. The three convex sections are decorated with one large blue cut-glass gem each (a total of three), while the concave sections have two smaller yellow cut-glass gems each placed one above the other (a total of six). The upper section of the base that narrows into a cylinder is topped by a sexfoil convex collar. The node resembles a hexagonal Rococo baluster and has three yellow gemstones on its beveled edges. The cup of the chalice has a wide mouth, and three large blue cut-glass gems alternate with three smaller yellow cut-glass gems, which are faceted and mounted in closed settings similarly to the examples on the rest of the chalice. There is an engraved inscription running around the edge of the chalice’s base, which reads, “ECLESIE KISLODIENSI OBTULIT / Joa. F. B: / HALON LOCI FERE / OFICINE curator. Anno 1760.”

The “Halon” donor noted in the inscription was in all likelihood János Bernát Hollán, who was the leaseholder of the iron foundry in Kislőd. According to the data collected by Frigyes Pesthy in the 19th century, the processing of iron began there in 1751. The bishop of Veszprém leased the works out to a József Hollán (this is certainly a misprint of his Christian name) from Bohemia, and he began operating the iron foundry (cf. Schleicher Aladár: A kislődi vashámor története [History of the Iron Foundry in Kislőd]. Az MTA Műszaki Tudományok Osztályának Közleményei, 1957, 395–411: 409, footnote 12). The explanation for the unusually large size and number of cut-glass gems set on the Kislőd chalice may be that glassmaking was the prominent industry alongside iron processing in the area at that time. Hollán may have been friends with the craftspeople working at the nearby glassworks. This is suggested by the fact that according to the data from the Veszprém registry, he and his wife Marianna Keller (Koller) were the godparents for the four children of Ferenc Adler born between 1773 and 1780 (cf. Éri István: Adatok a bakonyi üveghuták történetéhez [Data on the History of the Bakony Glassworks]. A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok közleményei 5. Veszprém, 1966, 143–175: 152, 170, footnote 83). The Roman Catholic parish of Kislőd was established in the middle of the 18th century, and the laborers working at the iron foundry gave the factory as their residence in the official registry. According to the entry in the registry of deaths, the donor of the chalice, János Hollán, passed away on the 27th of October 1782 at the age of 71 as the director of the ironworks.

by Szilveszter Terdik