Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 29. (2001)

A BUDAI KIRÁLYI VÁR ÉS A VÁRNEGYED MINT POLITIKAI, GAZDASÁGI ÉS KORMÁNYZATI KÖZPONT - F. Dózsa Katalin: Az udvari díszruha története 95-104

cade with a raised pattern of gold or silver thread, and lace frills. For the men she recommended a red tailcoat, with a gold-embroidered waistcoat. In 1751 Austrian army officers were permitted to appear in court wearing their uniform. In 1766 Joseph II displaced the Spanish mode in favour of the army uniform, and adopted from the habit à la Française the embroidered court tailcoat, or Staatsfrack. An ordinance issued in 1814 prescribed for court officials a formal dress (Hofstaat) which incorporated a goldembroidered, dark green cloth tailcoat and breeches. Emerging in the second half of the 16th century and becoming widespread during the 17th century in Transylvania and Upper Hungary, the Hungarian historical dress became accepted as correct in the Viennese court. Habsburg rulers would wear it on one occasion at least — when crowned king of Hungary. The most beautiful portrays of Maria Theresa, wearing a wonderful Magyar formal court dress, were made when she was crowned Hungarian queen. Dresses made of rich, silk (and imitation) Lyon brocade, woven with raised flower and fruit patterns, must have been fairly widespread, given that several of them have come down to us. Many variants of the Magyar formal dress —which consisted of the braided dolman, the pelisse, Magyar trousers, a cap of some sort— cropped up in Maria Theresa's court. As a child Joseph II was frequently portrayed wearing Magyar attire, and many dresses, said to have belonged to him, are preserved in Hungarian collections. It is interesting to see that a painting (after the artist Meytens) of Maria Theresa's children portrays Joseph, his younger brother, and sister — all wearing Magyar dresses. The European trends increasingly pervaded Hungarian modes for men after the mid18th century, and especially the more or less official Magyar formal court dress. The attire worn by Count Dénes Bánffy (1723-1780) in a portrait by Meytens is highly characteristic of the mid-century. The Count —Royal Chamberlain and Master of the Horse— wears a braided dolman with a high collar, frogged and richly embroidered with gold, tight-fitting, gored Magyar trousers, ankle shoes, and a richly embroidered, fur-lined gown-cum-dolman thrown over his shoulders. Although the gown-like form of the dolman might have come from traditional Magyar costume, more likely it was adopted from the spanische Manteltracht. The dolmans of the Habsburg children do not feature the characteristic Oriental T-design, but more closely resemble the justaucorps or the close-fitting French tailcoat. Hungarian Dolmans in the 1770s adopted the desip of the justaucorps or the French tailcoat, but preserved the frogging, as well as the fur collar and braiding. Pictures of the coronation of Francis I and his queen Maria Theresa feature many such dresses. The Hungarian formal dress was strongly influenced by army —and especially hussar— uniform. For example, the Crown Guardsmen in the 1790s wore a short, spencer-like dolman, rounded at the front, with fur braiding and dense frogging, a short waistcoat, gored Magyar trousers, and boots. Women's dresses featured a high waistline. The fullness of the skirt was drawn to the back. At the start of the 19th century the waistline gradually shifted to just below the breasts, and the Magyar character was evoked with a little lacing only. Made of fine white silk, muslin, or tulle, skirts had no separate train, but were long enough to sweep the ground up to a metre and a half behind. Embroidered with silver or gold, they lived up to the best French empire design. By then the apron and veil had become the customary accessory of the Magyar formal dress. Following the changes of French court fashion trends, the Austrian —and hence Hungarian— court dress adopted the elaborate system of sashes and trains, as well as gold and silver embroidery. Velvet in shades of white, green, and red was used most often, and frequently the dress and the sash/train were made of contrasting materials. Worn for the coronation of Charles rV in 1916 but tailored back in 1867, Archduchess Augusta's train was a characteristic example of this type. In the 1830s the Hungarian court dress, too, changed. The mode for women included dresses made of white silk, or green, red, or purple velvet or silk with gold-thread embroidery whose design followed the habit à la Française. Aprons and veils, however, were always made of silk muslin or tulle (as were the baggy, imitation shirt sleeves) with gold or silver embroidery. Dresses did not have a train draped over them, but the skirts alone were several metres long. Braided and frogged dolmans were often also worn by women. The Hungarian formal court dress for ladies ultimately included a Magyar-style head-dress, a veil, a bodice, a skirt, and an apron. Modes for men in the 1820s initially imitated the new court uniform, the Hofstaat, with its black and navy blue cloth, gold and silver embroidery, short spencer-like dolman and somewhat longer braided and frogged robe. The 1830s brought some change in that Hungarian tailors sought to create clothes that better expressed Magyar national pride. That, however, is another story: that of the so-called díszmagyar or Magyar gala-dress. It consisted of a velvet hat, a braided coat called an atilla, a frogged and braided velvet dolman called a mente, and silk jersey trousers. Together with the proper accoutrements, it was accepted as correct at most court occasions. Some of the most lavish diszmagyars were worn when Charles TV was crowned king of Hungary on 30 December 1916. That was the last royal event in Hungarian history that called for a formal court dress.