This bank holiday weekend, I find myself in Budapest, where it’s very warm (32 degrees) and very muggy. A quick lunch after touching down left me ready to hit the shops. First stop was Kiraly Utca, where I had been into a truly superb (and also truly tiny) shop specialising in 20th century ceramics and glass last time I was here. Having chatted with the owner then, he told me he had over 3,000 pieces at home and changed his stock regularly. You can imagine my disappointment when I found his shop had been replaced by a building site! Asking around, it seemed he had gone away late last year, and nobody knew where.
Whatever, £35 isn’t bad at all for a piece of the Rhapsody range, designed by Frantisek Zemek in 1960, and made by the Mstisov, and then the Moser, glassworks. At over 16in (41cm) high, it’s the largest I’ve handled – even better! I’ve shown it here next to the other vase I own. Based on my previous experience of Hungarians, this really was most out of character, and I’m sure it was just the unbearably muggy heat that caused any disgruntlement. Speaking of the heat, I think it’s time for a celebratory and cooling glass of gin and tonic!
