Peter Korompai

Works 8 photographs

The old traveller

An old stove given a new place and a new life.

A tall cream tiled stove with relief panels standing against a bare wall.
Nice old lady This old style stove was made in the 1920's. She is still in a reasonable condition. It was necessary to deconstruct because of the flats modernisation. Every piece was numbered carefully. The dismounted pieces were cleaned, and repaired if needed.
Rows of dismantled stove tiles laid out on a rug in a workshop.
Return The reconstruction has started already. Pieces spread out on the floor, each one will go back to where it was. Old peaces having long history, this one has been rebuilt at least twice by different masters before. Each master left different "fingerprints" during their work. So, I'm the third one...
An empty square opening in a floor, with tools and a level nearby.
Numbers Numbers in order, helps a lot during construction.
A man measuring a stack of stove tiles beside a wall.
Again and again... Measuring, measuring, measuring. As these old tiles are not precisely sized, there are no spare pieces, this process goes with continuous matching/cheating to achieve a good look.
The rebuilt stove standing in its new place against a bare wall.
Final place of the stove Unfortunately-fortunately not. The young owners sold their flat after a few years, and decided to take the old stove with them. So it started again.
The long stove lying on its side on a white platform.
New flat After the deconstruction/reconstruction the old lady finaly warming the living room.
The stove on its side beneath a ceiling, in a room being finished.
Typical problem The old pianino stands nearby the stove. Music will not damage the heating stove,....
Carved relief panels on the cream stove, with an oval motif.
Detail Simple, elegant & a century old.