Revista Analele Banatului S.N. Arheologie-Istorie

Nicoleta Demian

Medalii și diplome ale meșterului Peter Schwarz din Jimbolia în colecţia Muzeului Banatului din Timișoara / Medals and Diplomas Awarded to Peter Schwarz from Jimbolia Found in the Collections of the Banat Museum in Timişoara

1 Ianuarie 2011

Abstract

In 1980 the Banat Museum in Timişoara purchased from Johann Vastag, a resident of Jimbolia and former clerk of the local Craftsmen’s Guild, some items belonging to the guilds from Jimbolia, including four medals, one plaque and five diplomas, awarded to the local craftsman Peter Schwarz. He was born on January 13, 1873 in Jimbolia. Between 1887 and 1892 he was apprentice for Anton Hicke, barber from Jimbolia, then between 1892 and 1899 he trained in Budapest. During this period he specialized in several crafts, including bandaging. Returning to Jimbolia, he worked as barber and wig maker, but also as bandager, orthopedist and prostheses maker. He owned a workshop for prostheses in Jimbolia. There, under the guidance of a specialized doctor, a wide variety of specific articles were manually produced. This included prostheses and parts of them, support devices (for articular inflammations), orthopaedic corsets (for backbone’s affections), bandages for fractures, elastic bandages, orthopaedic shoes and others. Peter Schwarz became known throughout the entire Banat. Until 1914 he had “branches” in Bega-Sankt Georgen (today Žitište in Serbia) and Modosch (today Jaša Tomić in Serbia). He collaborated for many years with Dr. Karl Diel (1855-1930), a renowned surgeon and director of the Hospital in Jimbolia. Schwarz participated in local and regional exhibitions but also in famous international fairs. Most of the distinctions received were for orthopaedic works. He was awarded several gold and silver medals, numerous diplomas and letters of recognitions. Between 1931 and 1949 Peter Schwarz acted as president of the Craftsmen’s Guild and president of the Craftsmen’s and Merchants’ Casino from Jimbolia. He was married to Margarethe Vaczi and had four children: Margarethe, Peter, Stefan and Mathias. He died on September 24, 1963 in Jimbolia and was interred on 26 September in the local cemetery. This paper presents the medals and diplomas issued to Peter Schwarz, from the collections of the Banat Museum in Timişoara: the merit medal of the Industrial exhibition in Jimbolia (1908); the Grand Prix, the golden medal and diploma of the International exhibition in Paris (1910); the golden medal and diploma of the Industrial, agricultural and modern inventions exhibition in Rome (1911/1912); the golden plaque and honorary diploma of the Industrial, agricultural and domestic industries exhibition in Jimbolia (1925). Beside these are presented the honorary diploma of the Agricultural and industrial exhibition in Biled (1924); the “Obermeister” diploma of the “Eisenring” Merchants’ and Craftsmen’s Association from Timişoara (1929) and the certificate for the medal for “Industrial and commercial merit”, 1st class (1935), awarded to Peter Schwarz on the anniversary of 50 years of craftsmanship. The medals and diplomas of Peter Schwarz are proof of a special professional career and of his remarkable skills. His entire life and work in Jimbolia is being remembered, alongside the other personalities of the city from the late 19th century and early 20th century.