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Glass and Porcelain with Spa Motifs

This article is part of last issue of Revue Piešťany - trilingual (Slovak, English, German) magazine about town, spa and surroundings. Here it is available to read, download and print in FLASH format.

The Balneological Museum in Piešťany opened its doors, from August 10 to October 8, 2010, to present another exhibition from its collection. This time it was an exhibition of glass and porcelain adorned with spa motifs. Glass and porcelain products were used in the spas, first and foremost, for practical purposes. As such they were mostly plain, without decoration, or on occasion with the simply written name of the particular hotel or spa. Visitors to the museum were able to see a well-preserved plate from the hotel Cyrilov Dvor and a dish-cover from the spa Vyhne from the beginning of the 20th century. Making up another group of articles on display were items, which, besides daily practical usage, also served to represent the spa either as a souvenir or as form of advertisement. Of the pieces exhibited the most interest surrounded the drinking and souvenir glasses. The oldest, which come in various shapes and sizes, are from the 19th century. They can also be distinguished by the technique used in designing them. Most often they are designed with enamelled labels of the spa buildings, however, there are also those with painted and polished decorative motifs. They almost always have the name of the respective spa written on them. Drinking glasses made of clear, undecorated glass, which were used mostly for drinking mineral water during curative treatments, were also widespread. Their connection to a particular spa was known only by the inscription written on it. Attracting most interest among the exhibited pieces was a set of glasses and pitchers of clear glass decorated with stain and rubies with a plant and spa motif. Not only were the existing spa towns of Piešťany, Trenčianske Teplice, Sliač, Turčianske Teplice, Bardejovské kúpele, Sklené Teplice, Rajecké Teplice represented at the exhibition, but so too were some already non-existent spas whose surviving glass and porcelain pieces can truly be counted as rarities. Items belonging to this category include a plain drinking glass made from clear glass with the Hungarian inscription “Rozsnyófϋrdő” written on it from the Rožňava spa as well as a glass from Herľany with an enamelled label of an erupting geyser and the spa building. Drawings of the spas can be found, not only on glasses, but on other articles as well. These include glass and ceramic ashtrays, paperweights, covers for boxes or cases for storing small items, vases, pitchers, and other such things. During the exhibition two window pains were temporarily installed in the window with images of the “crutch-breaker” and the spa fountain. They originally come from the Thermia Palace Hotel’s café and, during renovation of the hotel they were donated to and hung in the Balneological Museum. After this exhibition they will be moved and become part of the museum’s permanent exhibition. During the opening ceremony visitors were treated to typical reception refreshments as well as real Piešťany mineral water.