{363.} Ornamental Folk Art

CHAPTERS

Hungarian folk art embraces on the one hand traditionally ornamented objects and items of material culture, and on the other, the art of folk poetry, folk music and folk dance. However, this comprehensive use of the word has come to be established only in recent Hungarian ethnographical research. Formerly, Hungarian ethnographers and people at large used the concept of folk art to designate primarily and principally ornamental folk art, such as carving, weaving, embroidery, ceramics, etc. However, here and in what follows, we are using folk art as a comprehensive term, one of the important and generally known branches of which is ornamental folk art.

Ornamental folk art in its traditional form does not, in most cases, appear on objects without practical use; rather this type of decoration appears on functionally useful objects. Thus a richly patterned homespun may be made into an apron, embroidery may make articles of clothing more beautiful, a whip handle is embellished by colourful insets and is at the same time a constantly used tool of a herdsman, and more or less decorated pottery is used for drinking, or keeping milk in, or for cooking. From the point of view of its character, ornamental art stands closest to applied art, and during the last decades of development of ornamental folk art has approached the latter, which is the reason why we call the ornamental folk art of the most recent times népi iparművészet (popular applied arts).

Ornamental folk art is a historical formation always reflecting economic and social conditions. Its more detailed history is known only from the last two centuries, since few objects have survived from previous ages, and records referring to the existence of such are rare. From the end of the 18th century, and even more so since the beginning of the 19th, the peasantry has tried to make its environment more beautiful with objects increasingly decorated and colourful. After the liberation of the serfs in 1848 it was made possible, at least for one segment of the peasantry, to create a flourishing folk art with the aid of more expensive basic materials. From then until the First World War is the period of unfolding and fulfilling. Museums in Hungary primarily preserve works of art from this period. Between the two wars, ornamental folk art declined, and in certain areas ceased altogether.

The examination of ornamental folk art is a manifold and extremely complicated task. First of all, a certain work of art or group of such must be evaluated from the aesthetic point of view. However, this is by no means sufficient, because the characteristic tastes of its makers and users have to be taken into consideration, and these in many cases differ from the general norm. This norm, too, changed and is changing by periods, and accordingly, the investigation must be done from the historical point of view, each work being examined within the framework of its own period and, furthermore, always within a larger social, geographic, {364.} and ethnic unit. We must also take into account internal development and historical influences, because only then can we survey the entire progress of development. Nor can we neglect social considerations, because certain branches of ornamental folk art are connected with social classes and strata, and naturally this connection is expressed in its forms. However, the points of view of ethnology are decisive, because these not only summarize the directions of the above investigation, but also elucidate the methods of creating art and functions to explain the symbolic system of ornamentations.

Ornamental folk art is a collective art, since generally a smaller or larger community uses and inspects its works; however, outstanding individuals have their role in developing and reshaping it. On the basis of patterns and traditions, many people could perform a certain decorating activity in a village. Thus, in the villages of certain regions almost every woman knew how to weave ornamental homespun, while in other places the men were masters of woodcarving. Even among the makers of the most widely spread kind of ornamental folk art outstanding artists were widely known. Thus, for example, in Mezőkövesd a few women excelled in the drawing of embroidery patterns, and they practically established a school around themselves. In every village there were one or two woodcarvers, from whose hands came the most beautiful grave posts and the most ornamented gates. They lived and worked just like everybody else in the village, but allowed the community to use their particular talents as a favour or for payments in kind.

In other cases, a certain decorating skill is attached to an entire social stratum. Thus in various parts of the Hungarian linguistic region the best woodcarvers came from among the herdsmen, who excelled first of all in the decorating of smaller utensils. In other places, entire villages were widely known for certain branches of ornamental folk art. A proverb says about Csíkmadaras of Székelyland:

This village is Madaras

Even the priest is fazekas [potter].

Among the pieces included in the concept of ornamental folk art, an outstanding place is due to those made by artisans who primarily worked for the peasantry. Some produced various basic material for clothing (weavers, tanners), while furriers and szűr makers not only made garments but also lavishly embroidered fur coats, vests, and szűrs mostly with flower designs. Certain centres for these skills played an important role in forming a taste of visual art over a large area. Such a centre was Jászberény, where in certain periods more than 300 furriers worked. The centres of pottery were known far and wide, thus for example, the products of Hódmezővásárhely’s potters, whose members periodically exceeded 400, and which sold throughout the entire Southern Great Plain. Millers were regarded as the masters of large-scale woodcarving, since they built and maintained their mills themselves. And a string of such handicrafts existed in Hungarian villages and market towns (szűr tailors, comb makers, boot makers, honey-cake makers, etc.) who supplied ornate consumer commodities entirely or largely to peasants.

{365.} Such an artist often works for himself only, or else he still maintains a direct contact and acquaintance with his buyer or with the person commissioning his product, who can express his desires and criticize the exhibited objects at the fair, which are in most cases sold by the makers themselves.

The masters of ornamental art have remained anonymous in many cases. Stated so definitely, this observation is valid only when looking at folk art from the point of view of late posterity, and even then it is valid only with certain reservations. The memory of certain women excelling in weaving and embroidering as well as their relation to their products has survived not only in the tradition of their families but in the knowledge of the entire village. Other works of art–because they were made at a place distant from where they were sold–have been designated by the name of a village or town, e.g. water pitcher of Túr (túri korsó), suba of Berény, szűr of Debrecen, jug of Csát. However, behind these always stand the makers, the masters, whose immediate and more distant surroundings not only know and keep track of them by name, but whose names, in the case of the most outstanding among them, have survived, their descendants talking about them as their masters.

So far we have only spoken of the ornamental objects, yet many objects exist which are artistic in form without any ornamentation at all. Let us refer to different plates and wooden mortars, seed holders, bread baskets, bee hives woven from bulrushes, carts made of wicker, and other wicker objects. Not only are their forms pleasing to the eye, but they are also ancient in origin. However, the majority of folk art includes ornamented objects on which the decoration usually expresses some inner content.

Therefore the outstanding works of ornamental folk art were attached to the great turning points and events of life. At the time of the child’s birth the godparents carry an especially fine dinner to the mother tied in a homespun kerchief woven for this occasion. The kerchief given as an engagement pledge is also attached to certain forms and at some places to certain ornamental motifs. The kerchiefs given away to the officiating members of the wedding party have a different kind of embroidery than the ones presented to the priest or to the driver. Specific wine vessels were used for guild meetings of artisans, on which the symbols of the trade were depicted. Certain symbolically ornamented objects belong to burials, such as the tablecloths or the carvings and engravings of grave posts, from which it is possible to tell if it is a man or woman resting in the grave and, not infrequently, the name of his or her occupation as well. These are symbols, equally and similarly understood and appreciated by the smaller and larger community.

The entirety of peasant life was characterized by symbols, whose detailed analysis and introduction could fill a separate book. Therefore here we only want to indicate those territories from where significant results have already been brought to the surface by recent research.

Some objects express in their entirety a meaning seemingly far removed from their specific functions. The plough, for example, is not only the key implement of agriculture but has also been the symbol of agriculture for centuries. This is why from the 16th century on, we find {366.} the plough share and the coulter in the crests of a number of Hungarian villages. And where the cultivation of grapes is the basis of economic existence, we find the vine pruning knife occupying a similar position. The bed and the chest that contained the bride’s trousseau was the symbol of the entire marriage; they were carried around the village, so that everyone could see their beauty and richness, then placed in a prominent part of the clean room.

An entire symbolic system of colours developed among the Hungarian peasantry. In general, the lighter, livelier colours designated youth, and the darker colours, old age. This can be measured especially in folk costumes, where the brightly coloured clothes of the young girls, then the more subdued coloured garments of the young wives, were replaced with age by brown and finally black. However, the meaning of the colours is not always the same. Thus, while red is generally connected with youth, it may also represent the death of a young person. In certain regions, the graves of those who died a violent death are also marked red. The colour of mourning is generally black, but in some areas even the old women mourn in white. The roots of all these symbolic significances must therefore be examined individually.

Certain motifs of folk art in ornamental art and in folk poetry are often similar in meaning. Let us consider the bird, which occurs so often in both areas. The single bird, “the dove who has lost its mate”, is the symbol of the unlucky, unhappy lover. If the bird is holding a letter in its beak, it is a good friend bringing a message. We find pairs of birds on homespun prepared for weddings, since the two young people, just like the two birds, have found each other.

Symbols are important elements of folk culture, and they form and change along with it. That is why they are characteristic of certain periods, regions, social strata and groups, and they need to be evaluated accordingly.

The creative method of ornamental folk art is primarily determined by spontaneity rooted in tradition. Thus the women who do wood-painting, when starting to make a design on a surface, do not make divisions, but connect elements as they go along in such a way that finally the entire surface is covered meanwhile; also intuitively, they follow certain aesthetic rules. Such, among others, is the attempt at symmetry, which is omitted only as a rare exception. It is characteristic of Hungarian ornamental art that it favours bright, clear colours and strong contrasts, shades of red, black and blue. However, at the same time, although only rarely and just recently, yellow, green and purple occur. The colouring emphasizes the organization of the composition. Vigour, strength, vivid imagination, and, even on small objects, massivity characterize Hungarian ornamentation.

Hungarian ornamental folk art has begun to flourish anew during the last decades, and certain branches, extinct for a long time, have been successfully revived. However, this ornamental art still differs from its predecessor in many respects. This difference shows up not so much in the wealth of form, but primarily in content. The artist of today works more and more self-consciously. This consciousness was earlier manifested in the imitation of old forms of ornamentation; however, today {367.} this stage has been passed because the wealth of forms known from ethnographical collections has been further developed and completed with symbols of modern life. In addition, technique and basic material have changed to a significant degree, to which must be added the routine that comes from making things in larger quantities. The control or desire of the purchaser is not always asserted only through strong transpositions; various marketing organizations have come into existence intermediating between the buyer and the artist. Experts in ethnology and art do exercise control, but it does not in every case substitute for the direct influence coming from the public.

The function of the objects has also changed drastically. Previously the majority consisted of ornamented consumer commodities which had a function for carrying out work or storing products. Today the primary importance of objects lies in their ornamental character. The objects are made to decorate city apartments while most are almost completely missing from the life of their former makers. There are some experiments in embellishing various modern consumer commodities with traditional or new motifs of ornamental folk art. On this basis we can conclude that the expression, popular applied art, which points to the changing role of the arts and crafts in our time, is a correct one.

Works of art uniting the elements of fine art and ornamental art are on the borderline of folk art. Such for example is glass painting, which rustically imitates the excellent frescoes and panel paintings of churches, fills them with rustic content, sometimes switching over into profane depiction. A certain peasant artist may try to paint or draw the world around him. This is already naive art, even if it bears the marks of certain inner perspectives of ornamental folk art. Thus the painter does not make any sketch, nor makes designs ahead, but begins to work on one corner of the picture and finishes in the opposite corner. This happens because he visualizes what he wants to paint, has no model nor does he look at scenery. He paints, draws, or carves from memory. However, no matter how much these features resemble the creative method of ornamental folk art, the works of naive artists are not a topic of the more restricted circle of ethnological investigation.