Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)
LÁSZLÓ Emőke: Hímzett magyar oltárterítők a 18. század első feléből
were quite popular all over Hungary and were used for the best pieces of both ecclesiastical and aristocratic wear. The inner drawing of roses and tulips, however, is different on the tablecloths. The pieces with unscathed side borders show a kind of marking. The middle of the rose of the first altar tablecloth (see pict.l) is surmounted by a standing cross, while the tulip is enriched with three vertical stripes. Towards the right side, a half tulip and a complete rosette are embroidered in silk and there is a letter "F" embroidered above the fifth and sixth flowers. To the left side, a complete tulip is embroidered in silk 3 . Tablecloth No. 2 (see pict.2) shows Virgin Mary's name "MARIA", embroidered in silk thread in the rose on the fragment of the right border, while the tulip is decorated with Christ's initials 4 . The IHS initials were mainly used by the Dominicans and Franciscans in the late Middle Ages and from 1534 onwards it was also used by the Jésuites. In this case, the horizontal part of the letter "H" is enriched with a cross, while a heart with three nails springing from it, embroidered below, is the symbol of love and torture. Except for the few altar tablecloths that survived from the 18th century, these initials appear first of all on antependiums and chalice kerchiefs. Mary's name in the form of "MARIA" was rarely used, mainly on embroideries and on small icon pictures. The right end of the border is unscathed; the initials in the two last flowers are turned with 180 grades, and the date 1514 is also embroidered there, though it has nothing to do with the dating of the work. Only the right half of the third altar tablecloth (see pict.3) enriches the collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts 5 . The drawing of the rosettes is much more delicate here, with a small rosette of eight petals in the centre of each. The tulip centres are decorated with pine boughs. There is an inscription SZENTHÁROMSÁG (The Holy Trinity) embroidered above the flowers. The last rosette is embroidered exclusively in silk, with the letter A in the middle. The meaning of such marking has not been identified clearly. The side motifs embroidered in a different way might have meant the start and end of the embroidery. The letters F and A probably refer to the altar for which the tablecloth was made (St. Francis and St. Antonius) or to the name of the embroiderers. A fragment of an other tablecloth is attached to the one described above (see pict.4) The inside of the rosette on the attachment is filled with zig-zag lines, while the tulip is enriched with small ornaments resembling pine trees 6 . The simplest one among the tablecloths is faded, embroidered in yellow silk (see pict.5). The inside of the motifs here are also enriched with small pinetrecs, but every fourth of the rosettes is embroidered with a chalice that refers to Christ's blood. The bottom border shows the date 1763 under the first rosette 7 . Researching the original place and date of making of these altar tablecloths, I have found only two pieces. One is a fragment in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum 8 whose size, drawing and technique are so similar to fragment No.2 described above, that they must have been parts of the same tablecloth. The embroidery was brought to the Hungarian National Museum from the Wolfnei collection; previously, it belonged to Mrs. I. Balassa - it was probably also her collection where the later seller acquired the fragment, which is now in the collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts. The altar tablecloth, illustrated by József Huszka (1854-1934) when describing the embroideries at the Franciscan nunnery of Csiksomlyó 9 , most likely provides us with more details. Wandering in Transylvania in
