The Fekiač brothers' pillar

Ján and Jozef Fekiač, makers of wooden crosses from Detva, carved this pillar in the 1930s. It was commissioned by chief notary Jozef Rovný to serve two purposes: strengthen the ceiling and give the interior a character rooted in local tradition. Its painted wood carries motifs from Detva's folk culture.

The pillar was made for the former municipal office, a building whose occupants and uses later changed. It was not created for a museum display case: it had to function as a support in a working building. In the second half of the twentieth century it was repainted and a bench was added. It remained in this altered state until conservation work in 2022.

The conservators began by investigating the layers, then removed overpainting and later alterations. They reconstructed damaged and missing sections and filled losses with wood fillers. Look at how the carving and painted decoration work with the substantial shape of the support.