Edmund de Unger

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Edmund de Unger (born August 6, 1918 in Budapest , Austria-Hungary , † January 25, 2011 in Ham , London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ) was a real estate agent and a collector of Islamic art since the 1950s .

Life

Edmund de Unger was born on August 16, 1918 as the son of a Hungarian aristocratic family in Budapest. His family built the Hungarian National Museum in 1830 and his father was also a passionate collector of carpets. When he was seven or eight years old, de Unger began to design his own patterns, inspired by his father's carpets. His father, who died when Edmund was ten years old, took him to various museums and exhibitions and even to auctions at an early age. After his death, Edmund's mother encouraged his interest in collecting as she was fascinated by the beauty and color of the carpets. De Unger was already collecting stamps and coins in his school days. At the age of eleven he bought the first object in his collection, an iron box from southern Germany, which he paid off in installments for a year and a half. In 1934 Edmund traveled to London for the first time to learn English and later to study history at Oxford. When the Second World War broke out, he went back to Hungary to look after his family and saved some pieces from his father's collection from the war by having them transported to Belgium with the help of his cousin. Here in Hungary he took up a law degree but was often the focus of the secret police. For this reason, among other reasons, he returned to Great Britain in 1949 to continue his law studies. After completing his studies, he was appointed to the bar and worked as a lawyer in the colonial office in Ghana and Nigeria. When he returned to England, he decided to start working in the real estate market from now on.

In 1945 he married Eva Spicht, who died in 1959. His second marriage was in 1965 with Elizabeth Allan. From this marriage two sons were born.

Although the passion for Turkish carpets was awakened early on by various exhibitions, Edmund de Unger can only be called a serious collector from 1958. The reason for this was a stay in Cairo and a visit to the local museum, in which he especially admired the Fatimid luster ceramics. In Egypt he also acquired his first Islamic object, a Fatimid fragment with a face on it. Three years later he got to know Islamic metal art in the Hermitage in Leningrad, today's St. Petersburg. His own collection initially consisted mainly of carpets. Gradually objects from other areas of art were added. In 1970 he moved to Ham (Surrey) and lived in a house here. However, he limited his passion only to objects of Islamic culture. In 1970 and then in a second installment in 1971, he acquired the Kofler-Truniger-Collection (a medieval art collection by E. and M. Kofler - Lucerne - compiled).

For more than five decades, Edmund de Unger acquired a considerable collection of mainly Islamic, but also European art, which was named after the collector's previous house, The Keir, in Wimbledon Common . For him, collecting is, he said, "similar to hunting, since one not only derives aesthetic pleasure from the collected objects, but actually striving for them is also pleasant". In 1964 he founded the Islamic Art Circle with like-minded people. From 2004 he conducted negotiations with the Staatliche Museen von Berlin about public exhibitions of his collection. He chose Berlin as a location primarily because he saw good opportunities here for his collection to attract a great deal of attention from the public. In both London and Paris he saw the danger that his objects could be drowned in the abundance of public offerings. In addition, his father had personal contacts with Wilhelm von Bode (1845 - 1929), the founder and director of the Berlin Kaiser Friedrich Museum , today's Bode Museum , from the time the Hungarian National Museum was being established . He was also a passionate collector of carpets. From November 27, 2007 to February 17, 2008, the Museum of Islamic Art showed 112 objects from the “Keir Collection” by Edmund de Unger under the title "Collector's Luck". While looking for more collectibles, de Unger struck gold at Christie in 2008. Here he acquired a Fatimid crystal ball for £ 3.2 million.

In 2009 the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin received de Unger's "Keir Collection", which consisted of 1,500 works of Islamic art, on loan for 15 years. The collection, which has been compiled over a period of over 50 years, includes works of art from 2,000 years ago and is one of the largest private collections of Islamic art. A short time later, the Pergamon Museum Berlin organized an exhibition with 117 exhibits from the “Keir Collection” under the title "Collector's Luck". This exhibition opened on March 18, 2010 and ran until June 17, 2012. It was extremely well received by the public.

Edmund de Unger lived in Ham (Surrey) in England from 1970 until his death in 2011 . He died here on January 25, 2011.

Aftermath

In July 2012, the collaboration between the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the heirs of the Edmund de Unger Collection ended. The loan originally intended for long-term retention ended prematurely and the collection withdrawn from Berlin. The reasons given were different ideas about further work with the collection .

In 2014, the heirs and thus current owners of the Keir Collection signed a new long-term contract with the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) in Texas. On April 28, 2017, an exhibition of Islamic art with over 100 objects from Edmund de Unger's collection was opened here.

collection

Carpets and textiles

“My love for Islamic art began with carpets. I noticed the first at the age of six when my father Richard forbade me to go into it. [...] Gradually the floors and walls of my apartment were covered with new acquisitions. The end came when I discovered three layers of carpets everywhere on the floor - it couldn't go on like this. "

The de Ungers carpet collection is one of the most important and largest private collections of oriental carpets. The collection consists mainly of Holbein, Lotto, Ushak, Transylvanian and Persian carpets as well as other carpets with plant and animal motifs, which are difficult to divide into groups. In addition to carpets, the de Unger collection also includes “a diverse fund, primarily of silk fabrics […]”, the majority of which consists of European textiles (200 objects), closely followed by Persian fabrics from the Safavid period.

Book art

"In my childhood I was particularly fond of the stories from 'A Thousand and One Nights', and their colorful descriptions and richly pictorial advantages must have shaped me."

Edmund de Unger's collected book art objects form a collection of the greatest importance and uniqueness. The development of book art can be clearly seen in the objects in the collection. Starting with Arabic painting of the 13th century, through some illustrated pages from the Shahnama of Firdausi from the 14th century and two miniatures from "Layla wa Majnun" by Nizami (Herat school) from the 15th century, up to "Five youths and two girls enjoying themselves in the country" by Riza-i 'Abbasi (Isfahan School) from the 17th century.

metal

“I don't think any collection of Islamic art would be complete without the metalwork. [...] I recognize the diverse quality of Islamic metalwork, which is based on first-class technology and workshop. [...] Here it is the form and, above all, the ornament and the handicraft that show mastery. "

The Keir Collection only contains a small number of metal objects (21). Most appeal for their quality and beauty, while others are of scientific interest and can enrich research. The objects are mainly made of bronze and decorated with a wide variety of techniques, for example gold and copper inlays. Most of the pieces come from Egypt.

Rock crystal

Rock crystal jug, Fatimid, 10. – 11. Century, version 1854, Keir Collection

The rock crystal objects in the de Unger collection come from Fatimid Egypt, with the exception of two objects. The specialty of the objects lies in the different shapes and decorations.

Ceramics

“It was then that I first encountered Islamic ceramics. Like their knotted counterparts, they show the same combination of bright colors, delicacy and daring of the ornamental design. I especially admire the luster ceramics - in my opinion the greatest gift that Muslim potters made to mankind [...] and it is probably closest to my heart. "

The ceramic collection is an impressive collection due to its diversity. It can be roughly divided into three large groups, early luster ceramics, luster ceramics from the 12th and 13th centuries and Fatimid ceramics from Egypt, which is probably the most impressive part of the collection. There are also objects from other areas and epochs, such as the Abbasids and Umayyads.

literature

  • Claus-Peter Haase (Ed.): Collector's luck - Islamic art from the Edmund de Unger collection. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-7774-4075-0 .
  • BW Robinson (Ed.): Islamic Art in the Keir Collection. Faber and Faber Limited, London 1988, ISBN 0-571-13753-9 .
  • Géza Fehérvári: Islamic Metalwork of the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century in the Keir Collection. Faber and Faber Limited, London 1976, ISBN 0-571-09740-5 .
  • Ernst J. Grube: Islamic Pottery of the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century in the Keir Collection. Faber and Faber Limited, London 1976, ISBN 0-571-09953-X .
  • BW Robinson: Islamic Painting and the Arts of the Book. Faber and Faber Limited, London 1976, ISBN 0-571-10866-0 .
  • John Carswell: Edmund de Unger. Prime Collector. In: Hali - Carpet, Textile and Islamic Art. Issue 156, 2008. Hali Publications, London ISSN  0142-0798 , p. ...
  • Friedrich Spuhler: Islamic carpets and textiles in the Keir Collection. Faber and Faber Limited, London 1978, ISBN 0-571-09783-9 .
  • Edmund de Unger in: The Telegraph, December 15, 2011
  • Uta Baier, Berlin gets famous private collection, in: Berliner Morgenpost from 06/10/2009
  • Salaam to the Keir Collection in Dallas in: The Magazin Antiques on June 27, 2017

Web links

Commons : Islamic Art in the Keir Collection  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Edmund de Unger. In: The Telegraph. February 15, 2011, accessed January 28, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Edmund de Unger in: The Telegraph of February 15, 2011
  3. ↑ Communication from the National Museums in Berlin of June 10, 2009
  4. ↑ Extensive permanent loan from the Edmund de Ungers collection
  5. ^ Death of Edmund de Unger
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated September 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. State Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage - press release from July 13, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.smb.museum
  7. ^ Museum for Islamic Art waives collection , Berliner Morgenpost , July 14, 2012
  8. ↑ Salaam te the Keir Collection in Dallas in: The Magazin Antique from June 27, 2017
  9. ↑ a b c d Edmund de Unger, Zum Geleit , in: Claus-Peter Haase (ed.), Collector's luck - Islamic art from the Edmund de Unger collection , Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Hirmer Verlag, Munich, 2007
  10. ↑ Gisela Helmecke , Brokate und Samte , in: Claus-Peter Haase (Ed.), Collector's Gluck - Islamic Art from the Edmund de Unger Collection , Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Hirmer Verlag, Munich, 2007, p. 81
personal data
SURNAME Unger, Edmund de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian-British art collector
DATE OF BIRTH August 6, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Budapest
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 2011
Place of death Ham (Surrey), England