About the Private Collector
Péter Váczy was born at Ruttka, Túróc country on 17 March 1904. After finishing the secondary school of Kassa he studied philosophy, history and art history at the faculty of arts of the Budapest university. In 1928 he took his doctorate. In Vienna, at the Hungarian Historical Institute he carried out researches in Hungarian history of the Middle Ages, later he spent a fairly long time as a scholarship student in Rome and in Paris. From 1929 he worked at the Archival Department of the Hungarian National Museum. In 1937 he taught history of 10-12th century Western Europe as a honorary lecturer of the Budapest university, later he was deputy professor at the department of medieval universal history. In 1940 he was elected a correspond-ing member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 1940-1942 he was full professor of the department of the Middle Ages at the Kolozsvár Bolyai University, in 1942 full professor of the depart-ment of medieval universal history at the Péter Pázmány University.

In 1949 the Academy expelled him from its membership. At the beginning of the 1950s his lectures on historical subjects were suppressed, and until 1968 he was granted permission educate only students of history of art. In 1989 he was rehabilitated and in 1990 elected an ordinary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He went in for collecting objects of fine and applied arts from 1930. Mayor Ernő Kolozsváry wrote about getting of his private collection to Győr like this: "I first called on professor of history Péter Váczy two years ago. His private collection was known all over the country through the 15-18th century furniture, sculpture, porcelain, glass, carpets, paintings, ecclesiastical objects. We came to understanding in a few moments - he wanted the collection to survive by remaining together, I intended the beautiful collection of great value to get to Győr and to raise the rank of my city."
It is regrettable that Péter Váczy could not live to see the presentation of his life-work in Győr. Two weeks before the inaguration of the first seat of the museum, he went for ever.

It is Renaissance and Baroque furniture, objects of fine and applied arts that constitute the core of Péter Váczy's collection of the preceding historical epochs.

Besides a Spanish bureau with an inlay of bone (beginning of the 16th century) and armchairs upholstered with leather (16th century), an Italian round table with lions' legs and cassone with rosette decoration, Giacomo Piazzetta' s exquisite console table with angel figure as well as an Italian dresser richly carved - an abundantly decorated cabinet-on-stand commanding an entrancing spectacle also in its unrestored form among the ones from Upper Northern Hungary of the 17th century as well as a two-door wardrobe decorated with imitation marble staining, with the arms of the Pethő family belong to the most beautiful pieces of the collection.

The marquetry or stained rococo commodes, the bureau cabinet (Northern Italy), furthermore the carved chairs and those with marquetry decoration, the mirrors with gilded, carved frames as well as an epitaph of the end of the 17^th century are also splendid masterpieces.

Among the creations small in number compared with the greatness of the collection, we find masterworks like the 15^th century panting entitled "Maria with the Christ Child and the Saints" (Siena), Pietro Muttoni's "Sacrificing Iphigenia", the painting identified as Sebastian Bourdon's work which depicts a biblical scene, Gregorio Guglielmi's scene of martyrdom, the 15th century terracotta candlestick from Florence (Angel Couple), a South-German wooden relief made in about 1500 with the scene of Christ's Adoration, a Corpus Christi of the beginning of the 16th century as well as an unknown South-German master's work, a sculpture entitled "Metterzia".

Of the Hungarian Scuplture of the Baroque epoche, the wood-statues of József Lénárt Wéber's, J. T. Stammel's and two unknown master’s deserve attention.

Among the objects for personal use, the Renaissance Italian and Hispano Moresque plates, Andrea Briosco's (A. Riccio) bronze night-light, a 17th century master's silver gilt chalice (Lőcse), a pair of Spanish scissors with an inlay of metal and a column handled spoon, a bronze set for Mass, some faience, porcelain, glazed earthenware and Oriental pieces, relics of 18th century Hungarian glassart, Empire ormolu clocks, a Pest smith's Franciscus Paschperger' s silver sanctuary-lamp (1796) are note-worthy.

Also textiles are included in the collection. Apart from Iranian and Caucasian carpets and Indian printed fabrics of the 19th century, we find also 17th century fragments of velvet and silk cloth, a Gobelin tapestry from the 18th century and the back of a 15th century embroidered chasuble, this latter exquisite piece might have been made in Austria.

Among the archeological relics two more besides the Tanagra figures purchased from the Windischgrätz collection can be seen, these are the oldest pieces of the Váczy Collection. Besides the night-lights, finials, tiny bronze objects of the Roman Age - a glassvessel of small size is conspicious for its beauty.

A medieval terracotta and painted, glazed fragments of tiles, including a Dutch tile with a knight's figure have been placed in a common vitrine.