Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 28. (Budapest, 2012)
Lilla ERDEI T.: Metallic Thread Lace Ornaments on the Textiles of the Esterházy Treasury
2. Lace of coat armour 3. Genoese lace from the textile collection detail 17th century vestments and Torah curtains all over Europe. There are also two covers that have thin scalloped laces with less characteristic patterns. One is the red broadcloth tablecloth with the marital coats of arms of János Kéry and Orsolya Czobor embroidered in gold. 1 5 The other is a bedspread of blue silk ground 1 6 embellished all round the border and in the corners with applique floral embroidery and a somewhat wider lace trimming. The ground fabric, embroidery and lace of the cover are very similar to the ornaments of a Torah curtain 1 7 dated 1676 in Prague's Pinchas Synagogue. An identical cut to the coat armour was the commonly-worn so-called Hungarian shirt. One of the finest specimens is the Rákóczi shirt 1 8 dating from the 1700s. (fig. 4) Interestingly, white linen bobbin lace inserts were used for the seams of the sleeves and body of the fine linen shirt and the longitudinal decoration of the sleeves. The sleeve ends were trimmed with a narrow metal lace with the scalloped edge outward. The band of gold embroidery above the lace merges with the linen lace according to its pattern and harmoniously leads the eye across the diversity of motifs and techniques. The sleeves of festive shirts adorned with embroidery and laces stuck out from under the shorter-sleeved dolman. Such an outfit is worn by Count Pál Esterházy in the portrait painted by Benjamin von Block in 1655. 1 9 Both shirt types are mentioned in the sources: "yellow gold coat armour trimmed with old gold lace", "a Hungarian shirt with golden lace". 2 0 Dolman coat The typical Hungarian coat - dolman - was worn over the shirt. It reached down to the knees and had flapping sleeves that covered the back of the hands. The backline was straight, slightly widening at the hips. The left side of the front cut in shako shape was folded over the right side. In the treasury there are three lace-adorned dolmans. They are done up with the help of enamelled clasps and buttons made from metallic threads. As regards lace-making technique, the most peculiar piece is Palatine Pál Esterházy's wedding dolman made around 1680. 2 1 (fig. 5) The appliqué lace was produced to match the shape of the cherry-red atlas silk dolman; its symmetry is only broken by the overlapping front and the lower flower motif on the back. This is a unique 58
