Balassi Literary Translation Award Ceremony in Budapest

At this year’s sword ceremony, priest-poet Ferenc Bozók and literary translator Béla Szomi from the Mura region received the border castle sabre.

The special feature of the ceremony is that for more than twenty years now, Herend Porcelain Manufactory has been participating in raising the status of the award: the two-hundred-year-old, world-famous Manufactory presents the awardees with a finely crafted Balassi statuette every year. In addition to the sword, the Herend creation is also a symbol of Hungarian craft tradition and the preservation of values.

CEO Dr. Attila Simon emphasized: Herend and the Balassi sword have a common mission: the protection and increase of values. The figure of the medieval Hungarian poet created from porcelain is thus not only an art object, but also a spiritual message, embodying the timelessness of Hungarian culture.

At the anniversary event, it was mentioned that the award has reached many countries around the world in the past three decades, contributing to the international recognition of Balassi’s poetry. The Herend statuette accompanying the sword serves as a reminder year after year that Hungarian art, whether it is literature or porcelain art, lives on when tradition and innovation meet.