Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 16. (Budapest, 1997)

FAJCSÁK Györgyi-Z. FIKÓ Katalin: Kínai szoknya a 19. század végéről - Restaurálás és dokumentáció

particular garment when describing Chinese women's attire: "A roomful of Chinese ladies presents a very pretty appearance from the exquisite gradations of colour of their embroidered skirts and jackets, the brilliancy of the head ornaments, and their rouge... Their skirts are very prettily made, in a succession of tiny pleats longitudinally down the skirt, and only loosely fastened together over the hips, so as to feather round the feet when they move in the balancing way that Chinese poets liken to the waying of the willow."

2 Scenes depicted on New Year woodcuts from the time also show female figures dressed in skirts of this type.

3 Among the skirts held in the Chinese textile collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, a number of fishscale-pleated skirts are to be found. The skirt now restored (111. 1) reached the Museum in 1992, from the bequest of Mrs. István Mezei (Inv. No. 92.11.1-2). Mrs. Mezei's husband was a diplomat in Japan in the 1930s, during which time he and his wife made a number of shorter journeys in the Far East. The red silk atlas skirt, consisting of two panels, was probably purchased by them at a port in Southern China. The cut of the skirt, the choice of its ornamental motifs and the high standard of the embroidery work all suggest a high-ranking owner. In the bottom third of both main fields (111. 2) two giant peony heads can be seen above the waves, together with a bat (a symbol of good fortune). Branches of coral, plants and pearls rise up from the waves. The rectangular-shaped fields are bordered by a woven, U-shaped line consisting of small blue-and-white flowers, while their two bottom corners are ornamented with stylized mushroom (a symbol of long life) appliqué work (111. 14). In the seven trapezium-shaped fields on each side the patterns of the main fields re-emerge in a narrow cut appropriate to the shape of the trapezium-shaped fields, and are narrowed still further by the pleating in the bisecting line (111. 3). Above the waves, seen at the bottom, there are leafy branches and delicate cherry blossoms. Here too the patterns extend to the line of the height of the patterns in the main fields. The narrow, woven ribbon crossing the trapezium-shaped fields in an L-shape reaches halfway down the skirt beyond the patterns. Special mention should be made of the linking of fields applied at the edges of both sides of the skirt, at the bisecting line of the trapezium-shaped fields. The black silk atlas frames of the two trapezium-shaped fields reach only the bisecting line of the fields and end in applied ruji motifs with curved tips. With regard to the description of the skirt presented, the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts holds two skirts consisting of large panels (Chinese: zhejian mamian qun) which yield parallels. One of these skirts is made of patterned blue silk atlas (Inv. No. 53.166.1-2). Between its rectangular-shaped front and back panels, twelve trapeziumshaped fields are inserted on each side (111. 4). The fields are decorated with metal-thread embroidery, depicting peony and butterfly motifs (111. 5). The edging strips made of black silk atlas are embellished with peony, plum blossom and lotus patterns. The front and back ornamental fields are framed by colourful U-shaped strips depicting two types of small floral pattern. On the trapezium-shaped fields on the sides these are arranged in an L-shape. Made of a luxurious, patterned fabric, the skirt is supplied with finely-worked ornamentation. Both the luxurious pleating of the twelve trapezium-shaped fields and the adornment of the front and back skirt panels which remain covered confirm the impression that the lady who owned it came from a wealthy family, and also point to the time it was made: the second half of the 19th century. The other skirt (Inv. No. 53.238.1), although different in cut from the type fitted together from rectangular- and trapeziumshaped fields, can be linked with the garment presented here, on the basis of the technique used in its making. This skirt was originally made of two panels, but only one of them is