The third China-themed exhibition of 2023 opened in Szeged

With the newly-opened exhibit in the downstairs exhibition space of Fekete ház — a branch of Móra Ferenc Museum — the number of China-themed exhibitions in Szeged increased to three.

An exhibition about the Franciscan mission in China opened in the Fekete ház (Black House), where a selection of objects collected during the mission is presented, showcasing beautiful paintings and porcelains, various household and ornamental objects.

The exhibition was opened on Friday, July 28, by archeologists Szabolcs Felföldi and Csilla Molnár, accompanied by Kelemen Bezzegh, chaplain of the Franciscan Parish in Szeged.

In his opening talk, Szabolcs Felföldi, associate professor at the University of Szeged, walked the audience through the history of Christianity in China, while Brother Kelemen talked about the Franciscan mission in China in detail. Csilla Molnár, the curator of the exhibition gave a guided tour and introduced all the artifacts on display.

The exhibition guides visitors to the first half of the 20th century when the Hungarian Franciscans took over a mission center in the Chinese province of Huan in 1929. The mission was started by seven Franciscan monks, who learned the language in one year and then prepared a 2,000-word Hungarian-Chinese dictionary. They also operated a hospital, an orphanage, a school, and a religious education institute. During their work, they collected various objects, from which exhibitions were organized in Hungary.

The missionary work had its ups and downs, until finally, after Mao Zedong came to power in 1952, all the Hungarian Franciscans were expelled from China.

The newly-opened exhibition features a selection of objects from this Chinese mission. The collection was kept at the Franciscan Monastery at Szeged-Alsóváros, thanks to one of the missionaries who lived there after he returned from China.

Visitors can find porcelain objects, Chinese footwear, musical instruments, an abacus, and household items, and also explore a series of paintings by Luke Chen — Chen Yuandu — a leading figure of Christian Chinese painting at the newly opened exhibition at Fekete ház.

The exhibition — similar to the other two China-themed exhibits at Móra Museum — will be open until the end of 2023.

Photos by Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify

Related: This year’s Night of Museums in Szeged was also dedicated to the China-themed exhibitions. Read more here.