THE PEACOCKS OF BUDAPEST: SOURCE AND STYLE IN HUNGARIAN ART NOUVEAU DESIGN
THE PEACOCKS OF BUDAPEST: SOURCE AND STYLE IN HUNGARIAN ART NOUVEAU DESIGN

Summary/Abstract: The peacock has always been an important symbol in many different cultures throughout Asia (from where the bird originates), the Middle East, Northern Africa and Europe. For the ancient Greeks it was the bird of Hera (Juno), whose one-hundred-eyed, blue tail feathers symbolised the vault of heaven with its stars. In the Hindu faith it is the mount of Karthikeya, the god of war, and its tail displays the shape of the sacred syllable – the Omkara. The Shahs of Persia sat on the Peacock Throne. And in Christian religion it appeared in the Roman catacombs in the 3rd century as a symbol of the resurrection. This undoubtedly came from an earlier belief that a peacock’s flesh did not decay after death. The “eyes” in the tail also represented the all-seeing eyes of God. It is found widely portrayed in Christian churches in sculpture, mosaics and paintings. A typical example of this is the floor mosaic from the church of St Maria & St Donato, Murano, Italy from 1141. The arrangement is the usual one of two peacocks facing each other across a drinking vessel; in this case they are asymmetrical, though they are frequently symmetrically positioned. And, of course, regardless of these connections, the male bird with its brilliant bluegreen body feathers and stupendous tail has always been an extravagant symbol of beauty for everyone.

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