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BGC Gallery will resume its exhibition programming this September with the return of Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until Today, originally slated for fall 2024.
Bard Graduate Center is an advanced graduate research institute in New York City dedicated to the cultural histories of the material world. Our MA and PhD degree programs, Gallery exhibitions, research initiatives, scholarly publications and public programs explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture.

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BGC Gallery reopens this September with the return of Sèvres Extraordinaire: Sculpture from 1740 until Today, originally slated for fall 2024.

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The Bard Graduate Center Gallery produces multiple exhibitions and publications each year, serving as a vital center of learning and a catalyst for engagement in the interrelated disciplines of decorative arts, design, and material culture. The gallery is celebrated in the museum world for its longstanding legacy of landmark projects dedicated to significant—yet often understudied—figures and movements in the history of decorative arts and design; these exhibitions and publications typically represent the definitive intervention on the artists and objects they investigate. BGC Gallery is also committed to generating and supporting a vast range of diverse presentations, small and large, that challenge traditional approaches to object inquiry; these examinations of material culture explore the human experience as manifest in our creation and use of “things” of all kinds. Whether originating in internal research and expertise, or in collaboration with external subject specialists, these endeavors prioritize rigorous scholarship while seeking to adhere to the field’s highest standards in production and design.



Baroque Splendor: The Art of the Hungarian Goldsmith brought to public view in the United States an exemplary selection of objects from the Magyar Nemzeti Museum (Hungarian National Museum), Budapest, one of Europe’s largest collections of works by goldsmiths.

The exhibition spanned the historical era beginning with the defeat of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1526 by the Turks and culminating with the start of Hapsburg rule in the 18th century. During the time of Turkish occupation, Hungary was divided into three parts: Turkish-controlled central and eastern regions, and self-governing Transylvania in the east. As goldsmiths fled the war-torn regions and settled in the towns of North Hungary and Transylvania, protected by high mountains, their workshops and gold metalwork flourished. Memberships in the guilds safeguarded the financial interests of goldsmiths and assured the quality of their products. In the 16th century, it became mandatory for goldsmiths to apply a maker’s mark on every article made. This stamp of assurance proclaimed the identity of the goldsmith, and as a result, many of the names of artists featured in the exhibition are still known.

On display were more than 200 works by Hungarian artisans from the Renaissance to the Baroque period, including silver and silver-gelt vessels, ecclesiastical treasures, jewelry, arms and armor, textiles. These objects were displayed alongside paintings, which revealed how they were functionally utilized, or how jewelry and other decorative accessories were worn.

Organized by Bard Graduate Center in collaboration with the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington, D.C., and the Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum, Budapest, this exhibition was an expanded version of one curated by Dr. Judit Hajto-Kolba of the Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum.
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This exhibition was curated by Judit Hajto-Kolba. Organized by Bard Graduate Center with The Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington D.C., and the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest.