A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 11. (Szeged, 2008)

KATKÓNÉ BAGI Éva: „Megbántott emlékednek”. Koszorúszalagok a Kossuth szobor talapzatáról

ÉVA KATKÓ BAGI WREATH RIBBONS FROM THE PEDESTAL OF THE KOSSUTH STATUE Ribbons of wreaths covering graves and pedestals of monuments lose their significance right after the funeral and memorial ceremonies. Among the great number of precious silk ribbons the Móra Ferenc Museum of Szeged has the lucky opportunity to preserve a collection of 700. Each ribbon of the collection was made for the funeral or memorial ceremony of outstanding Hungarian personalities. These ribbons became part of the collection mainly in the first half of the 20

th century. However, for years they were not handled and preserved properly as part of the textile collection of the museum. Some items were given a reference number in 1955. Some ribbons were given two separate reference numbers for the two legs thus making identification rather difficult. However, in due course of a project when the flag collection of the museum was photographed and documented, 638 wreath ribbons were also photographed. This encouraged and accelerated the documentation and categorization of the ribbons as well. The work did not lack difficulties, since some ribbons were torn apart and had to be matched, also the ribbons without a name were to be identified. Present study introduces the 170 wreath ribbons made for the dedication of the Kossuth statue. The ribbons make up a peculiar and appealing collection revealing the atmosphere of the period.