Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 12. (Budapest, 1992)

LÁSZLÓ Emőke: Magyar hímzett és selyemkárpitok a 16-17. századból

probably made in the first quarter of the 17th century - and that also corroborates the above hypothesis. THE CRESTED DRAPERY OF ZSUZSANNA LÓRÁNTFFY, RULING PRINCESS OF TRANSYLVANIA The drapery is entailored of three selvages of cherry-red velvet (picture 10), embroidered in silvergilt wire and in silvergilt thread.

31 The elongated shape and its cut suggest it was used as a wallhanging. Similar draperies, entailored of several parts, were used in die Gyulaferhérvár palace of Gábor Bethlen.

32 The position of the decoration follows the most typical kind of Hungarian embroidery during the Turkish hegemony, influenced by die patterns of Turkish shawls. On these kerchiefs, there are "four modfs in die comers; in the middle of each side there is a small flower, similar to those in the comers but less dominating, stemming from the border. The middle of the surface is filled with a separate decoration or an inscription."

33 Almost all pieces of Hungarian secular embroidery, including tablecloths, bedcovers, altar cloths and frontals, shawls are decorated with similar patterns. Thus they significantly differ from contemporary cloths of Western Europe, where there is a continuous pattern running along the borders and though there are motifs in the comers, the rest of the surface is usually decorated with scattered flowers (see for example die dark red tablecloth of Christian IV, from 1642, embroidered in gold and silk thread).

34 On the other hand, the oriental way of arranging patterns is applied in different variations. On the wallhanging described above, the flower bunches in the comers and on the sides are of the same size, and the edge of die drapery is also embroidered though not widi continuous motifs but with a line of slanted, flowery branches (Picture 11). There are two different branches in the embroidery; both are decorated with tiiree blossoms, and both stem from a scrolling leaf which springs from two sword-likc leaves. They are identically shaped: the bottom stem runs parallel with the edge of the drapery, the top one scrolls, while the one in the middle is slanted, slightly protruding. The blossoms, on die other hand, arc different on die two branches. The middle blossom of one is a variant of a motif called "a flower with three petals" by Jolán Balogh, according to whom "the ornamental origin of this flower is unclear, neither can it be botanically defined".

35 It is already dicre on 14th century Gothic miniatures, then appears again on Venetian woodcuts, and in 16th century embroidery pattern books. In Transylvania, it can be found on the window frieze of die Aranyosmedgyes casdc (1630s), on the carved stone door of the Szentbenedek palace, as well as on embroideries, painted wooden ceilings and tiiombs.

36 The other middle blossom is a raceme flower. It is most like hyacinth, beginning to spread in Hungary at that time; for example, in the Pozsony garden of Primate György Lippay there were various kinds of this flower. Among the side blossoms of the motifs we find stocks, violets and tulips. Arranging flower bushes on an axis is a typically Renaissance composition. The bushes in the comers are identical, so are die ones on die sides. The symmetrical flower bush is one of die most frequent motifs of Late Renaissance Hungarian embroidery. The middle branch of the bush is always straight, while the side ones are curved or - as we can often see with Transylvanian embroideries - the two branches beside die axis are slanted and only die bottom branches are curved.