Cleveland,
Ohio, USA
Cleveland,
Ohio, USA
_________________________________________________________
Direct phone line to MUSEUM :
(216)
289-9400
The Hungarian Heritage Museum
is located in the
EUCLID SQUARE MALL !
Please note: volunteers are needed !
-- Friends and Patrons of the Museum --
your help is requested !
Please contact:
Hungarian Heritage Society
P. O. Box 24134
Cleveland, Ohio 44124
(440) 442-3466 [phone & fax]
click here to e-mail us
Hungarian Embroidery and Fancy Needlework
The exhibition began February 1, 1997,
and was extended through March 15, 1997
8
This exhibition of antique Hungarian embroidery
and needlework covered all regions of Hungary,
with noble house and peasant embroidery,
and included dresses, gowns, pillowcases, tablecloths,
wall coverings, towels, handkerchiefs, aprons, vest,
jackets, headdresses and much, much more!
On the tapestry of embroidery, the Hungarian embroideries
stand out with their beauty,rich colors, and harmonious
designs. They vary from the simple to the majestic
to the delicate and fanciful. They come from the
depth of the Hungarian soul. With roots in a glorious past
as wellas incenturies of wars and adversities, the beauty and
nobility of the people's spirit manifests itself through
these gems of folk art. Just as the pearl that comes in many
colors, shapes, and forms,Hungarian embroidery shows an
endless variety in its designs andtechniques. We
carefully selected a treasure chest from available sources and
would like to share the contents with you.
(From Hungarian Embroideries
by K. Kristó-Nagy and M. Nagy-Jara).
The exhibition featured noble house as well as peasant
embroideries. It also included examples of appliques, "szür"
and embroideries on leather, cross stitch embroideries
and needle lace. Several examples dated from the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Examples
included a bride and bridegroom in the folk dress of
the Kazár region as well as several adaptations of
ladies court attire (díszmagyar).
One section of the exhibition was devoted to
descriptions
and illustrations of the various stitches (fifty-two) of
Hungarian embroidery. Maria Undi indicates (in
Hungarian Fancy Needlework and Weaving)
that certain stitches were used with certain designs,
and that the beauty of the embroidery depends
not only upon the composition of the drawing, but also
upon the actual stitches used to carry out the composition.
There is also a special balance between coloring and
stitches in Hungarian embroidery: whenever many colors
are in evidence, only a few and relatively simple stitches are
utilized in the design. But when only a few colors or only one
color are in evidence, a great variety of stitches are used.
Therefore, the beauty of Hungarian embroidery is found
in its design, its color combinations and
its use of decorative stitches.
The particular combination of these elements of
designs,
color and stitch are determined by the region from which
the embroidery originates; and therefore embroideries
are named after the geographical region from which they
derive. These regional embroideries are usually divided into
four basic groups: the Northern Upland group (which comprises
the Palóc and Matyó regions), the
Great-Plains group (which
include Ecser, Kalocsa, and
Hódmezövásárhely as well as the
Kunság regions); the Transdanubian group (which includes
Hövej, Buzsák and Göcsej as well as the
Rábaköz, Sárköz, and
Drávaszög regions); and the Transylvanian group
(which
includes Torockó as well as as the Kalotaszeg,
Mezöség and
Székely regions). Visitors to the exhibition were presented
with beautiful examples of the embroidery and
needlework of all these regions.
It has been said that the art of Hungarian
embroidery stands out not only as a
crystallization of beauty and harmony but
also as a statement of a centuries long endurance
for survival. It has been not only a joyful art
but also a quiet tool to carry on in difficult times with
grace and dignity. The largest number
and most opulent pieces of embroidery were often
produced during Hungary's most adverse
periods.
(From an article in the REVIEW of the
CHH Society by Dr. Magdolna Mészáros)
Message from the
"In the name of the Cleveland Hungarian Heritage
Society, I wish thank Rev. Alex Demetzky,
Zsolt
Gregora, Albertina Halácsy, Katalin Horváth and
Edith Molnár for their wonderful cooperation
and help in obtaining items of needlework from numerous
sources for his exhibition, and also for loaning items
from their own private collections.
I also want to acknowledge the loan of a
beautifully carved bench and cradle (bölcsö)
made by Mary and Andrew Temesváry. I
thank Anna Lázár for loaning many pieces
of furniture which served as "props" to
set off items in this exhibition.
Finally I wish to acknowledge with great appreciation,
the wonderful collaborative efforts of Katalin
Horváth
and Andrea Lázár in setting up this fine
exhibition.
It was through the unselfish sacrifices of their time
and effort that the wonderful embroidery items were
so tastefully and artfully displayed. In addition,
Katalin Horváth's extensive knowledge of Hungarian
needlework and embroidery has been of inestimable importance
inidentifying and cataloging the items used in this exhibition. . .
. . . I hope that everyone who came and saw the embroidery
exhibition left with a little more knowledge and a deeper
appreciation for the many wonderful, colorful,
and artistic forms of Hungarian
embroidery."
(From an article in the REVIEW of the CHH Society)
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Gala Reception & Opening at the Museum was 6-9 PM, Friday, May 30.
This exhibition featured
paintings and other artistic works
by recognized contemporary
Hungarian-American artists
with ties to the Western Reserve.
Featured artists:
László Dús
Zsolt Gregora
Steven Keményffy
Susan Keményffy
George Kozmon
Edith Németh
Anna Mária Place
John Puskás
Phyllis Seltzer
Gabriella Verbovszky
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"Photographs - Images of Hungary"
Magyarországi látványok - Fénykép
kiállítás
by Robin Hlobeczy
From August 2 - 30, 1997, at the Museum
This exhibition of black & white photographs by Robin Hlobeczy
represented her attempt to capture the spirit of Hungary.
Her goal was to take pictures of everyday scenes
which would glow with the beauty and inner sense of moodiness,
emotional complexity, and dignity that she felt while living in Hungary.
Background image courtesy of László Élö
Page last updated August 2, 2007
Copyright 2007, Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Museum
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