Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 12. (Budapest, 1992)

LÁSZLÓ Emőke: Magyar hímzett és selyemkárpitok a 16-17. századból

EMŐKE LÁSZLÓ HUNGARIAN EMBROIDERED AND SILK TAPESTRIES FROM THE 16TH-17TH CENTURIES Soon before the death of Gábor Bethlen, ruling prince of Transylvania, in die August of 1629, the treasures of his Gyulafehérvár palace were registered.

1 The long list of gold coins, goldsmiths' masterpieces, and ornamental amis was supplemented by a register of tapestries and caipets, of "clothing of the house", as an old Hungarian expression says. Beside "Flandrián curtains of joyful history" retailing stories from the Old Testament and from the Ancient Times, a treasury of patterned silk and embroidered velvet tapestries, bedcovers, blankets and draperies are displayed, which, togctiier with the great Persian (divan) and the small Turkish (scarlet) carpets, equal or somedmcs suqiass the wealth of a standard European court. However, this inventory is only one of die evidence proving diat there really were textile masterpieces in noble Hungarian courts, as wc see similar treasures in the inventories of the Nádasdy, Thurzó, Thököly or Rákóczi palaces and castles. More modest silk, velvet or felt tapestries were found in almost all noble mansions. Beside the necessary furniture and the glazed stove in the house or room of the lord or lady we always find a record of a corniche for wallhangings and wallcarpcts. The draperies were hung just in front of die wall, or surrounded the bed, covered the table or die window: dieir role was not only to stop the cold radiating from die walls but to decorate die home, creating a wann and friendly atmosphere with dieir colourful flowery pattern. As a young husband, Miklós Bethlen, die builder of die famous castle at the Transylvanian Betiilenszentmiklós, was living in a manor house which stood in the place of the later castie. He describes their home in his biography as "... it had fine wooden semiarches, made of oak, the window was paper and crystal; there was room enough for a bed, a small table and chairs for four or five persons. My room opened from the dining room and the garden, my wife's room was connected with the girls' with a longish porch, through which we could access the garden and each otiicr. Both rooms were covered with five or six carpets. I lived here for almost five years which was perhaps the best and most beautiful period in my life."

2 (rough translation). Most of die Flandrián pictorial tapestries, oriental caipets, silk and velvet draperies cnnched with gold tiircad or embroidery, which decorated the mansions of the Hungarian aristocracy, were taken out of die country at die time of die property confiscation that followed the Wesselényi conspiracy or the Thököly and Rákóczi revolutions. While the figurai tapestries of die Viennese court and other foreign collections give us exact information on one type of "house clothings", die odicr kinds of textiles can only be reconstnicted with the help of archive sources. Plenty of various