Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 28. (Budapest, 2012)

Lilla ERDEI T.: Metallic Thread Lace Ornaments on the Textiles of the Esterházy Treasury

LILLA ERDEI T. METALLIC THREAD LACE ORNAMENTS ON THE TEXTILES OF THE ESTERHÁZY TREASURY The textile collection of the Esterházy treasury - a significant collection by European standards as well

1 - is an important document of aristocratic dressing and home culture in Hungary in the early modern age. Not spared by the vicissitudes of history, these textiles testify to a peculiar alloy of the richness of the East and the West. The subject of the study is a little-researched ornament of the textiles: the metal thread bobbin lace produced in West Europe. The stress is laid on the technical specificities and usage

2 of these luxury items made from extremely expensive materials with a technique that required great expertise. The metallic thread laces in the treasury are mainly found on male garments, but a few nice specimens adorn a bishop's mitre, two covering cloths and a horse-head cover. Studying the 17th century paintings in the ancestors' gallery of the Esterházy family, one is startled to find that only few of the men in the portraits wear lace. By contrast, the female portraits feature laces frequently as frill or collar, edging of sleeves, shawls and aprons, yet not a single item survives. Owing to their less durable material and smaller value these garments adorned with ethereal linen and silk laces did not belong to the treasury, nor did the tempestuous centuries of Hungarian history favour their survival chances.

3 Metallic laces Today all garments in the treasury are adorned with metallic thread laces thanks to their inherent value, careful preservation and not least their durable raw materials. The material was silver-gilt or silver from which wires were drawn, and the wires were often rolled to strips (lamellae). The wire or lamella was often wound round a core thread - mostly silk for silver-gilt and silver - and that was called "true" gold and silver thread in the 16-17th centuries. False metal threads made of copper or brass and covered with some precious metal were also often used, mostly around linen, rarely silk, cores.

4 Valuable metallic threads were made in Hungarian metal drawing workshops, too, but great volumes were purchased from Turkey and West Europe, which clearly indicates how great the demand was. The threads were used for gold embroidery, ornate buttons and button loops, trimmings and passementerie. Although in historical Hungary there was considerable lace-making in the noble manorial households and as home craft from the second half of the 16th century, no source has been found so far with allusion to local metal lace making. The main place of acquisition was Vienna where the main trade routes of Europe converged. The West European luxury articles arrived 55