LÁSZLÓ EMŐKE - PÁSZTOR EMESE:
THE HISTORY OF HALAS LACE
From the 1880s a movement grew in European applied arts based around the revival of handmade craft techniques which had been dying due to the spread of industrial manufacture. The cradle of this movement was England but due to the great international fairs and world expositions, as well as the applied arts journals, it spread through the whole of the continent at the same time. Before the turn of the century, the main ainr of Hungarian applied arts was to raise the standard of the domestic arts industríes, to preserve their national characters and to become familiar with modern European art trends. Towards these goals, as in other northern European countries, cottage industries were supported in Hungary. These not only provided work for village-dwellers but also kept folk art alive whilst matring it more widely-known.
One of the founders of Hungarian cottage industry was Árpád Dékáni (b. Alsójára, 1861-d. Borbánd, 1931.) He is to be thanked for creating modern Hungarian needlepoint lace as exemplified by Halas Lace. Since its first appearance in 1902, Halas Lace has become an important part of Hungarian folk art and the Halas Lace workshop is one of vert' few built at the turn of the century and still functioning today, despite often di rcult conditions. The first designer of Halas laces was Arpád Dékáni. However, the needles behind this unique technology belonged not to Dékáni but to Kiskunhalas-born Mária Markovits (b. Kiskunhalas, 1875 - d. Kiskunhalas, 1954.) The distinction of the Halas technique is Ihat the decorative motifs of the lace are surrounded bt' strong outlines. The innen part of these is completed with so-called `weaving stitches' (or `daruing stitches') rather than the commonly-used Basic stitches (`snare stitches'.) This technique was developed to such a standard of perfection that it became similar to the finest cambric. Although the material of the Laces was originally guite rough, it fater became `gossamer-fene' unbleached flax. In contrast to the majority of needlepoint laces, the designs of Dékáni between 1902 and 1911 were sewn with coloured threads and sometimes decorated with metallic yarn. The linking stitches of the decorative motifs of the early laces were extremely simple; bar-linking, net-linking and spiderweb decoration was vert' common. In the first years, between ten and fifteen kinds of linking stitches were esed, fater, still in the lifetime of Mária Markovits, this number increased to thirty-nine.
Between 1902 and 1906 every lace was designed by Árpád Dékáni. His laces dealt with traditional Hungarian motifs and can be divided into three groups: flower- and leaf-patterned lace trimmings; collars, ruffs, animal-figured trimmings and fan laces; patterned laces with peasants dressed in national costume. Utilizing the latter motifs, Dékáni designed fans, small bags and lace tablecloths. On his laces he linked the typical Hungarian flowers, animals (deer, doves, peacocks) and peasant youths with Secession plant-stylization and line play.
For a decade the Hungarian and European applied arts establishments gave attention to and showed appreciation of Halas Lace. In 1904 it was awarded a Grand Prix at the St. Louis World Fair; in 1905 laces were exhibited in Uenice; in 1906 another Grand Prix was won at the Milan International Exhibition; in 1908 and 1910 an English Journal, The Studio, published richly-illustrated articles on Halas Lace. Durrog this period, in 1906, Árpád Dékáni was transferred to Budapest and entrusted with the organization and supervision of the national lace industry.
After Dékáni's departure the Halas Lace workshop fell upon harder Limes. Although the technical control was fulfilled by Mária Markovits, the viability of the workshop became uncertain because of a lack of money and the absence of a designer. In 1911 artistic control was taken over by the School of Applied Arts under the leadership of Antal Tar. The early laces of Antal Tar bore marks of the Secession and his designs were very similar to those of Dékáni. After the First World War, Halas Lace could hardly be heard of or read about. This was despite Antal Tar having returned from wartime confinement, Ernő Stepanek being actively involved in the design work and Margit Pongrácz having started to work for the Halas workshop.
The most excellent designer of the 1920s and 1930s was Ernő Stepanek (b. Cegléd, 1881 - d. Kiskunhalas,1934.) Not even his earliest designs can one feel the style of the Secession, his inspiration being, rather, traditional Hungarian embroideries and laces. Even the stylization of his laces differs from preceeding methods; in the place of lively sketching is a calmer, more geometriacal design. On his tablecloths and mats a pair of doves or deer stand on flower stalks or tree branches, swans swim in still pools. Stepanek's fgured laces depict shepherds playing the flute or fairy-tale characters. His name is also associated with lace coat of arms designs, which became very popular between the wars and were made to order or presented as gifts. His most famous work was a lace cloth posthumously. presented to the Dutch Crown Princess, Julianne.
In the depression-years of the early 1930s the plight of Halas Lace was attended to by the Mayor of Kiskunhalas, Dr. Imre Fekete. Thanks to his enthusiastic state funded public relations work and his organization of cultural projects, the fame of Halas Lace soon revived, both domestically and abroad. To protect the unique craft, a trademark of three fish (taken from the Kiskunhalas coat of arms) was incorporated into the lace designs from 1934. A year later, funded by the Ministry of Trade and the town of Kiskunhalas, a Lace House was built. This brought the lace makers who had previously worked at their own premises together under one roof and became the home of Kiskunhalas's lace and folk art collection.
Alongside Margit Pongrácz and Antal Tar, some other designers of the mid-30s must be mentioned: Tibor Sz. Csorba, Eszter Keleti, Ilona Országh, Anna Rucsinszky, Júlia Demjén, Béla Tóth and Béla Molnár By 1936, Halas Lace - "the splendid handiwork of simple womenfolk from the Hungarian Brussels" - had become an irrternationally-known brand name. Besides foreign interest, large state orders started to be regularly placed. In 1936 the Hungarian National Ladies Association presented the wife of Prime Minister Gyula Gömbös with a Halas lace; the next year, the Dutch Crown Princess, Julianne, was sent a wedding present. To celebrate the births of their respective children in 1937, the Italian Crown Prince, Umberto, and the marshal of the Empire, Göhring, were Bent a carriage-blanket and a cradle-blanket by the Hungarian government in 1937. This was also the year when the greatest state order was placed, being for the lace altar-cloth of the chapel of the Polish ship, István Báthory. Halas Lace's next foreign success was in Paris, where it won a Grand Prix in the 1937 International Craft Exhibition, surpassing the previously-unchallenged lace of Brussels. A year later, in 1938, Hungary was represented at the Berlin International Craft Exhibition with a selection of Halas laces. The most famous of these was a gift from the Hungarian Minister of Industry to Chancellor Adolf Hitler.
By 1940 the Lace House could no longer maintain its standards or its workability due to the cessation of tourism and a shortage of further orders. Although Halas Lace had been awarded a Diploma of Honour at the seventh Milan International Applied Arts Exhibition, the absence of large orders concentrated tlte activities of the Lace House on the production of small tablecloths, badges and family and town coats of arms. From this period come the tablecloths `With a Small Lion' by Antal Tar and `With a Coat of Arms' by Margit Pongrácz, also a lace apron with a coat of arms produced for the daughter of the owner of the furniture factory in Győr. In 1942 the Lace House ceased production due to the war, though lace makers continued their work at home.
Despite damage and theft, work in the Lace House resumed after the Second World War, although restoration of the building could not immediately be undertaken. The previously-erratic turnover of trade was stabilized and increased by the 1949 Budapest International Autumn Fair. The most important state orders of the period were for a 150cm.-diameter tablecloth, made for Stalin's birthday in 1952 and for a 80cm.-diameter tablecloth commemorating the sixtieth birthday of Mátyás Rákosi. In 1952 the Kiskunhalas Cottage Industries Association was founded with 140 members. This led, in the spring of 1953, to the reconstruction and rnodernization of the Lace House, at considerable expense. Despite the arousal of press interest at the reopening of the Lace House and foreign orders from England and Switzerland, the productivity of the Lace House was still not satisfactory. In 1957, in order to strengthen itself, the Cottage Industries Association (formerly the organization of the Lace House) increased its membership to 542 and established other needlework and craft sections, whilst giving piece-work for seamstresses to complete at home.
Not until 1958 did Kiskunhalas resume the exhibition of its laces, when entries were went to the Brussels World Fair. `Brussels Coat of Arms' and `Brussels Tablecloth', designed by Béla Molnár, won Grand Prix. In 1960 and 1964 the Hungarian Post Office published two series of eight stamps called `Halas Lace'. To popularize Halas Lace throughout the country, the János Thorma Museum of Kiskunhalas organized a travelling exhibition of its Halas Lace collection between the years 1961 and 1963. For alt this publicity, the Lace House could still provide no real living, for its workers. The number of apprentice lace makers gradually fell, by 1964 there was no longer any training and lace makers capable of producing all forty styles of Halas Lace numbered only twelve. In 1965 Ákos Janó and József Vorák published a study called `Halas Lace' which became the first in a series of volumen on Kiskunhalas's local history (a broader work was completed in 1969.) This was the first publication dealing with the history of Halas Lace since József Sütős writings in 1935 and it was amply illustrated. The year 1965 brought new successes. Halas Lace won first prize at the Budapest International Fair and at the same time it was granted the title of Most Beautiful Cottage Industry Product, 1964. The following year the Lace House's ever-expanding collection of awards was added to with a conferment from the National Association of Small Industries.
In the second-half of the 1950s the sample collection of Halas Lace had fallen in need of renovation and expansion. Although the classical laces featuring swans, pelicans and dancing couples were being continuously made, Béla Molnár and Lili Nagy Kálózi produced a number of high-standard modern laces which enriched the collection of lace samples. Some lace designs of István Nagy Szeder and József Vorák also deserve mentioning. 1967 saw the creation of a 100cm.-diameter `Collective' tablecloth which had, indeed, been collectively designed and executed by workers of the Lace House. Because of the lack of new designs during the 1970s, the lace makers applied some more decorative stitches to try to introduce variety into the already-known designs. With the intentions of replenishing the design collection of the Lace House, representing the country's modern art and creating designs for new products, the town council of Kiskunhalas and the Kiskunhalas Cottage Industries Association, in 1976, announced a competition in the design and execution of Halas Lace. On January 26, 1977 - the 75th anniversary of the conception of Halas Lace - the Folk Art Council qualified the making of Halas Lace as an independent branch of folk art. However, after the publicity surrounding this jubilee, Halas Lace, which had always struggled for its existence, relapsed into inactivity for a long period. In 1981 financial support from the state ceased and demand for laces was restricted to a few pieces sold in hardcurrency shops for foreign tourists. In 1982 Györgyi Lengyel wrote a book - `Kiskunhalas - The Town of Lace' - which was published by the Halas Lace House.
It was only exhibition which kept Halas Lace alive in the 1980s. In August, 1983 there was the first International Lace Biennial in Brussels where the folk artists, Mrs László Nagy Szeder and Mrs Ferenc Püspöki participated with pieces of their own creation and design. A further volume was added to the literature on Halas Lace with the publication in England of a needlepoint manual, `Outlines and Stitches - a Guide to Design with Special Reference to Halas Needlelaces', written by seamstress Pat Earnshaw in 1992.
In recept years only very rarely have new designs been produced. These include `The New Kiskunhalas Coat of Arms' (1991), designed and executed by Mrs László Nagy Szeder and Mrs Attila Bakony, and `The Coat of Arms of Kronach' (1993). In 1988, on the 950th anniversary of the death of the Hungarian king and saint, István, a Kiskunhalas graphic artist, Miklós Bodor, designed a tablecloth for the Lace House using the motifs of the Coronation robe. The 50cm.-diameter lace was presented to Pope John Paul II by the Hungarian state to mark the occasion of his visit to Hungary in the autumn of 1996.
By the end of the 1980s, the state of Halas Lace was critical. After the 1989 political reforms, Kiskunhalas established the Halas Lace Foundation (1992), which, like previous lace-supporting organizations, considered its main purposes to be the resurrection of Halas Lace and its popularization both in Hungary and abroad. Amongst the activities of the Foundation so far has been the erection of a statue to Mária Markovits and Árpád Dékáni, the stocktaking of the design and lace collections and the documents of the Lace House and the commisioning of this memorial publication on Halas Lace.
