Jozef Lenhart Jr
Jozef Lenhart senior, from the Upper Nitra village of Jalovec, was associated with wood since childhood. His father was able to make everything for the home, and in the winter months he wove wicker baskets and brooms, and Jozef Lenhart inherited these character traits of hard workand versatility. In addition, his grandfather was a head shepherd, and so when Jozef Lenhart finished school, his father told him that he would go to his grandfather in the shepherd’s hut to toughen up. Here, he had his first experience of traditional production. He devoted himself to this alongside his other work, but after the establishment of ÚĽUV, he became one of its first producers. The basis of the wide and varied range he produced were items of shepherd art. The best-known were his Upper Nitra wooden črpák mugs, which Václav Kautman called the most beautiful črpák mugs in Slovakia. In addition, Jozef Lenhart made wooden črpáčik dippers, wooden spoons, measuring jugs, cheese moulds, flasks, salt cellars. He also proved his versatility with products made of other materials. For this reason, he was one of the first producers to be awarded the title of Master of Folk Art Production. This year, this master would have celebrated his hundredth birthday, and so we are commemorating his work on this occasion.