Agria 42. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2006)

Selmeczi Kovács Attila: Az országcímer ábrázolása a palóc huszáros lócákon

Attila Selmeczi Kovács Representations of the Hungarian Coat of Arms on Palóc Hussar Benches The end of the 19th century saw the emergence of open-work wooden furniture in the Palóc Region. This is a decorative style unique in Hungarian folk art, and one which primarily reflects the efforts of the shepherds of Nógrád County. One of their favourite objects was the open-work bench with arm rests, whose most common decorative elements were the mounted hussar and the infantryman. On some the effect is of a whole regiment parading along the backrest, the hussars playing the role of defiant national symbols. On such hussar benches the Hungarian coat of arms frequently features among the decorative motifs, in doing so adding another potent national symbol. The Hungarian coat of arms is usually given a position of prime importance in the middle of the back rest, with the hussars and infantry lined up in a guard of honour (ills. 3-4). The manner of representation at the end of the nineteenth century is particularly patriotic, as the hussars standing in front of the Hungarian coat of arms with their swords drawn have their backs turned on the Austrian Imperial coat of arms (ill. 5) Religious symbols also appear on heraldic-hussar benches (ill. 6.). The last such bench, made in 1948, shows that by the mid-20th century both the type and the means of artistic expression has gone into decline. 261