Hungarian legacies: Kalocsa Embroidery
A new embroidery method had begun spreading in villages in the second half of the 19 th century and continued to develop into a unique art of embroider, passed on from generation to generation.
Kalocsa embroidery is named after the town of Kalocsa , where it originated, a town situated in Bacs-Kiskun County , a district near the left shore of the Danube River .
There were only a few women that mastered the art of Kalocsa embroidery at that time. This first generation included old women looking for ways to adorn their rather modest local clothing. The embroidered motifs were simple, inspired from nature. The needlework was originally white, having a simple pattern, made up by holes.
As young girls began learning the skills of Kalocsa embroidery from the older women, the patterns also began to diversify. By the end of the 19 th century, the technique achieved a real success through innovative black backgrounds covered with tulips, roses and carnations. It will later include colors as green, red, blue and evolve into a traditional Hungarian embroidery, well known for its mixed stitching methods.
Designed at first mainly for women wear, today the Kalocsa embroidery has found usage also in house decor as tablecloths, bedspreads and so on. Such articles are perfectly suitable for decorating traditional country houses.
The motifs may vary from flowers to leaf shapes, but always inspired in the treasures of nature. Nowadays there are 27 colors and shades used for a Kalocsa embroidery. Depending on the age of the person who wares it, the color of the traditional costumes is different: dark color tones, in blue, violet and green combinations, for elder women and colorful tones often worn by the brides.
The Kalocsa embroidery counts amongst the most fashionable embroidery techniques. The simple traditional white is now one of the most popular embroideries.
Some of the followers of this art naturalistically combine the two needlework styles into one composition. One characteristic is the direction of stitching and the shade of colors. Though initially associating it with applications to decorate leather jackets and vests in traditional costumes, the Kalocsa embroidery “prefers” linen when coming to material used. The stitching being flat and the borders all hand-fringed, it needed a softer material in order to keep the flat imprint.
As any other fashion technique, this embroidery also has its own unique feature. The motifs are not repeatable either in drawing or color so Kalocsa embroidery´s originality lies in the matchlessly patterns and motifs. Variations can be found even in rhythmically repeated motifs; otherwise it would not be original Kalocsa embroidery.
This embroidery technique will probably go through additional modifications in the future, as any other inspired method of this gender will at some point. But in any of its forms or shapes, the Kalocsa embroidery is and will remain a true Hungarian legacy for next generations to come. It is an example of how traditional arts can become fashionable with time and how a legacy has its role in the image a country has in the eyes of the world.
|
Related Tags:
Hungary, Kalocsa embroidery, kathi embroidery, English embroidery, German clothing, European apparel
|
