Fügedi Márta: Állatábrázolások a magyar népművészetben (Officina Musei 1. Miskolc, 1993)

Representation of animals in the hungarian folk art (summary)

vidual intentions and sanctified by the customs, even the fashion - wrote Kincső Verebélyi. Owing to different reasons, we do not have always enough information on the decorated object, the relics of the folk art, to have an unambiguous knowledge concerning the connection between the functions and ornaments of the object. The application of the emerged forms and motifs shows great quality differences in the folk art, wide range of ways of application can be observed, starting from the desciplined, harmonic adoption of composition, through recomposing and awkward copying to the incoherent, mechanical, sensless, formal imitation. The available relics of popular art originate primarily from the 18th and 20th centuries cannot give us an unambiguous proof for the appplication of motifs as symbol of general concern and for the identical adoption of several hundred year old meanings. It is difficult to prove the unity of the ornament and meaning on the relics of the 18th and 20th centuries. The motifs do not have generally accepted symbolic value, merely individual emotional messages may attach to the representation of a motif. The typical composition variations occurring in the world of ornaments applied in the popular art can only be considered as the adoption and peculiar modification of préfigurations, i. e. they are pattern variations. „The whole world of objects of the peasantry, i. e. the whole range of objects used by peasants, especially the objects used on festive occasion, belonging to the „sphere of representation" can be looked upon altogether as a single system of symbols. However it does not say that the ornaments on the object - separately in themselves - can be regarded as a language consisting of elements, and carrying messages" - write Tamás Hofer and Edit Fél. However it is obvious that a concrete animal representation may have a message with significance beyond itself. The deer was almost an obligatory decoration on the mugs carved for huntsmen, and we find ram figures on the majority of shepherd's crooks. In some cases animal motifs may become the symbol of trade. The fish on a headboard of grave in the cemetery, refers to the profession of the deceased, the fish also refers to the trade on the painted fisherman's chest. The fish however, may get a totally different meaning on the psalm-shaped bottles of Hódmezővásárhely, where it is the Christ-symbol of the calvinists, and we may find some self-irony and humour in connecting the palinka-drinking with the psalmshape. Fanally it would be advisable to mention a fact to which Mária Kresz called our attention: „It is interesting and thought provoking that certain ornamental elements of the popular art, especially some flower motifs are given animal denominations in a few regions." We can raise the question if it is only due to association of ideas, metaforization, i. e. semantical changes that the animal denominations have become the names of ornamental elements. Let's see some examples: the potters of Tata call the double leaf as „rabbit-ear", the round flower as „cat-trace", the three-branched twig is called as „chicken-leg". Cat-trace, cat's claws occur on the white embroidery of Tura, and also on the long embroidered felt cloak of the shepherd of the Hungarian Plane. The eagle's clutch is the most characteristic motif on the embroideries of shepherd's felt cloak, but it appears on appliqué works as well. The denominations such as mouth trace, bird trace, cat trace, goose leg, hen leg are well known among the ornamental elements of Kalotaszeg