Sugar box with lid (part of a set) - Prototype of the Kitchen Program for Prefabricated Houses

Ceramics and Glass Collection

Accession Nr.: 87.103.18.1.1-2
Artist/Maker:
Ambrus, Éva (1941 - 2023) / ceramic designer
Manufacturer: Fine Ceramics Industry Works Alföld Porcelain Factory
Date of production:
1974 - 1975
Place of production: Hódmezővásárhely
Inscription: jelzetlen
Materials: porcelain
Techniques: cast
Dimensions:
height (with lid): 11,5 cm
maximum width: 10,6 cm

In the three factories of the Fine Ceramics Industry Works – the Alföld Porcelain Factory, the Városlőd Majolica Factory and the Granite Polishing Stone and Earthenware Factory – they joined the system-based design experiment of the Kitchen Program for Prefabricated Houses, unfortunately, none of them developed products.

The design collective of the Alföld Porcelain factory was headed by Éva Ambrus. Her designs for the Prefabricated House tableware series were completed in 1974–1975; they were exhibited in a lavish display at the Budapest International Fair in the autumn of 1975, where the results of the Kitchen Program for Prefabricated Houses – over 400 different objects – were shown. The service included a tea and coffee set as well as a dinner set, with numerous pieces performing various functions, thereby minimizing the total number of pieces. The forms were rounded, yet still stackable, allowing space for other kitchenware to be stored in the cupboard.

A colourful transfer print pattern (decal) was also made for Éva Ambrus’s tableware set, designed not by her but by textile designer Zsuzsa Péreli and graphic designer László Zsótér (see here).

Literature

  • Novák Piroska, Ambrus Éva: Ambrus Éva. Keramikus, iparművész. MMA Kiadó Nonprofit Kft., Budapest, 2021. - p. 36-37. Nr. 12-13.
  • Szerk.: Prékopa Ágnes: On the porcelain designer career of Éva Ambrus. Ars Decorativa 32, 2018. Iparművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 2018. - p. 110. Nr. 8-9. (Novák Piroska)
  • tanulmányíró: Csenkey Éva, Ambrus Éva: Ambrus Éva keramikusművész. Eva Ambrus ceramic artist. Magyar Képző- és Iparművészek Szövetsége, Budapest, 2012.