Frack

06/2008

"The desire of beauty" the new temporary exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum displays the history of Hungarian clothing between 1700–1815.

The most outstanding article of clothing in this exhibition is a formal wear made of lightblue velvet with black stripes. It is trimmed with a string twisted of gilded silver-thread and metal-mounted Venetian pearls. It is decorated with embroidered naturalistic rose-brunches, yellow and white flowers, spikes and bunches of lance-shaped leaves on the front, on the sleeve, on the pocket and on the back. Flowers like these are hiding also in the opening pleats of the formal wear: they can be seen at every step. The similar tails were used as court-wearings, "Staatsfracks" in Vienna at the beginning of the 19th century.

These unique articles of clothing and supplements of the 18–19th centuries will be shown from May 23th throgh August 3rd.