Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 28. (Budapest, 2012)
Acquisitions between 2006 and 2010
In the composition of the item in the Museum of Applied Arts the Virgin is lamenting for her dead son with arms stretched out. Christ is being placed on a shroud held by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. The lamenting group next to the Virgin includes Martha, Mary Magdalene, the Apostle John and angels. Above the cross in the central axis God the Father in blessing, and under the right stem of the cross the dove symbolizing the Holy Ghost can be seen. In the corners of the central icon there are the evangelists in medallions with their symbols. In the background we find the Calvary, a view of Jerusalem, the temple of Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre. On either side of the cross and along the shorter sides of the composition instruments of the Passion are depicted. In the halos of the saints their names are written, and around the icon Romanian liturgical texts complete the decoration. The Romanian inscription below the icon says that this antimension was consecrated by the Orthodox bishop of Buda and Transylvania Dionisie Novákovics in 1761. The style of representation suggests a master from the Balkan, with the closest analogies being by craftsmen from Moschopolis (Voskopojé in the southeastern area of today's Albania) who adhered to the late Byzantine traditions but already applied some western iconographic prototypes. Novákovics was the first orthodox bishop in Transylvania in the modern age (1761-1767), therefore it is understandable why his successors in the 19th and 20th centuries used and still use this composition on new antimensions almost without any alteration. Acquired after public proceedings, in collaboration with the National Office of Cultural Heritage Inv. no. 2009.184.1 Szilveszter Terdik 5.5 Hungarian gala costume: two upper coats/ mente, dolman, protective cases, ties, cap, jewels János Bíró, tailor, Budapest, 1889-1900 Mente coat L.: 94 cm A straight cut coat of red velvet with red braiding and passementerie, and jags at the sides. The rounded collar stretches over the shoulders. The collar is covered and the edges are trimmed with brown mink fur. The set-in sleeves funnel out and reach to the elbows. They are jagged on the outside of the upper arm. There are twenty-nine gilded ornamental buttons with tourquois stones. The red silk satin lining carries the hallmark "János Bíró in Budapest". A cotton-linen protective case belongs to it. Mente coat L.: 117 cm A less ornate straight-cut coat also of red velvet with red braiding and lined with red silk satin. It has a cotton-linen protective case. Dolman L.: 85 cm Silk fabric of black patterns on a red ground. Cut at the waistline, slimmed, the skirt part reaching down to mid-thigh. The long sleeves are set in, the collar standing. There are eight pairs of braids for buttoning. Cap L.: 16 cm Made of the same red velvet as the coat, it is also trimmed with mink fur. The lining is silk and leather. 131
