A műemlékek sokszínűsége (A 28. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1998 Eger, 1998)

Előadások / Presentations - POMOZI István: Village churches with wooden painted, panelled ceilings

The motives of painted coffers in wooden ceilings were adapted to the coffer frames. Renaissance patterns developed following the coffers on the ceilings of halls in royal and noblemen's palaces. Flower patterns on ceilings and furnishings were characteristic for three centuries. The coffers are rectangular or square shaped. The coffer width was made up from several planks. The length of the planks usually covers three coffers. Painted ceilings were made of pine, larch, juniper or spruce. The right side of pine boards for the ceilings were smoothed and the motifs were painted on this side with the help of tracing, after pre-drawing or without, using free hand painting. Then they were fixed with forged iron nails to the connecting beams of the roofing from below, from the direction of the church space. Thus the painted wooden ceilings have a spaceseparating function; they were not weight-bearing. The coffers were separated from each other by strips of wood. The planks of painted wooden ceilings were put parallel with the longitudinal axis of the church. Erecting a wooden ceiling took place in consideration of the weather, always between spring and autumn. The decoration of wooden ceilings shows significant differences considering age. The better the quality of painting within one geographical area, the earlier the period of its origin. Inscriptions can be read on some coffers and coffer frames, which tell us about the building of the church or the ceiling, and the followers who promoted the idea or supported the construction financially. We can often find dates but rarely do we see the masters' names. Towards the end of the 18th century the inscribed coffers were placed away from the level of the ceiling. According to tradition, a case or coffin made in this way hid valuables and old documents. The most important furnishings in Calvinist churches are the pulpit and the sounding board above and the Lord's table, which are closely connected to each other. All other items of furniture surround the above two. The pulpit is situated in about the middle of the church by the southern or northern wall according to the traditions of the Calvinist church. The theoretical essence of the pulpit is expressed by the sounding board, the crown, which is accentuated by architectural means. Its shape follows that of the pulpit. The structure and the shape of the sounding board is so rich that it is usually the most outstanding piece. The crown is closed by a richly decorated ledge at the bottom, above separating ledges divide it into several parts. Ray directional, in most cases serrated, carved elements are placed between the ledges. The ledges themselves and the peaks have other decorative elements. The rich carving is emphasised with colourful painting. The crown accentuates the pulpit, as the ideological centre of the church space. Pulpit crowns made at the end of the 18th century represent the peak of joiners' painted work. A gallery is always present in Calvinist churches, its railing has small carvings or painted coffers. The galleries are situated in the eastern or western or both ends of the church. They take up different shapes and show different types. The underneath of their wooden framed structure is usually covered with a wooden ceiling of painted coffers. The pillars supporting the galleries are usually carved. The front of the pews is similar to that of the galleries. The outline of the side panels is richly serrated, and the outside panels are decorated with painted motifs. An outline of the protected material: In Hungary the painted wooden ceilings and furnishings registered as protected monuments beside the usual objects, are situated in the Upper Tisza region, northern Hungary and the southern part of Transdanubia, and we can also find scattered monuments.