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Not currently on display at the V&A

Stocking

Stocking
1800s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

People

This stocking comes from Baranya county in Southern Hungary, a region known for its ethnic diversity under the Austro-Hungarian Empire . The stocking is typical of a style made by German craftsmen living in the region at the time and was a popular fashion with Croatian women (also known as Šokci). The stocking formed a part of both the daily and festive dress of the women.

Collection History

The stocking is from a collection of 120 items of folk dress and textiles presented to the South Kensington Museum in 1883, most of which are still in the V&A’s collection today. The collection was given by the ‘Royal Hungarian Minister of Public Instruction’ who at that time was Ágoston Trefort (1817-1888), a pioneer of Hungarian educational reform. Trefort was a played a key role in the establishment of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest (1896) that in turn, was central to the movement of Hungarian artists and designers that used folk art to develop a Hungarian national style.

Decoration and Technique

The stocking has been knit from colourful yarns. The symmetrical bird and tulip motif is common to the region (the tulip is the national flower of Hungary). The unusual 'arrow' shape on the heel is an exaggerated gusset-heel. The style of the gusset-heel and decoration surrounding it reminds us of earlier clocked-heel stocking designs. The small flowers surrounding the gusset-heel have been embroidered with thick wool, probably to provide extra warmth for the wearer as well as decoration. The pattern tells us that this stocking was made by a skilled knitter, probably a craftsman.

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read Knitted underwear Whether socks or swimwear, long johns or leggings, knitting has been as important to what we put on under our clothes as to the clothes themselves. Some of the earliest knitted items were underwear and the growth of the machine-knitting industry was based on underwear's popularity. Even on...

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleStocking
Materials and techniques
knitted coloured wool
Brief description
Stocking, wool, Hungary, around 1800-1883.
Physical description
Knitted stocking of multicoloured wool. It is predominantly red, black and white with blue, yellow and green detailing on the flower and bird motifs. The top is encircled with a red pattern of poppies and crosses, which is itself permeated with a plain blue band. The rest of the stocking is decorated with birds and flowers, split by a vaguely arrow-shaped figure filled with shapes and a heart.
Dimensions
  • Whole (opening to toe) length: 22in
  • Foot length: 7in
  • Width: 6in (Note: width across the leg)
Credit line
Given by the ‘Royal Hungarian Minister of Public Instruction’ who at that time was Ágoston Trefort (1817-1888).
Object history
From a collection of 120 items of folk dress and textiles presented to the South Kensington Museum in 1883, most of which are still in the V&A’s collection today (see 862-1883 to 940-1883). The collection was given by the ‘Royal Hungarian Minister of Public Instruction’ who at that time was Ágoston Trefort (1817-1888), a pioneer of Hungarian educational reform. Trefort was a played a key role in the establishment of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest (1896) that in turn, was central to the movement of Hungarian artists and designers that used folk art to develop a Hungarian national style.
Subjects depicted
Summary
People

This stocking comes from Baranya county in Southern Hungary, a region known for its ethnic diversity under the Austro-Hungarian Empire . The stocking is typical of a style made by German craftsmen living in the region at the time and was a popular fashion with Croatian women (also known as Šokci). The stocking formed a part of both the daily and festive dress of the women.

Collection History

The stocking is from a collection of 120 items of folk dress and textiles presented to the South Kensington Museum in 1883, most of which are still in the V&A’s collection today. The collection was given by the ‘Royal Hungarian Minister of Public Instruction’ who at that time was Ágoston Trefort (1817-1888), a pioneer of Hungarian educational reform. Trefort was a played a key role in the establishment of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest (1896) that in turn, was central to the movement of Hungarian artists and designers that used folk art to develop a Hungarian national style.

Decoration and Technique

The stocking has been knit from colourful yarns. The symmetrical bird and tulip motif is common to the region (the tulip is the national flower of Hungary). The unusual 'arrow' shape on the heel is an exaggerated gusset-heel. The style of the gusset-heel and decoration surrounding it reminds us of earlier clocked-heel stocking designs. The small flowers surrounding the gusset-heel have been embroidered with thick wool, probably to provide extra warmth for the wearer as well as decoration. The pattern tells us that this stocking was made by a skilled knitter, probably a craftsman.

Bibliographic reference
Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild, Ungarn, Vol. 2 & 4, (Vienna: k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Alfred von Hölder, 1891) Fél, Edit, Hofer, Tamás, and K.-Csillery, Klára, Hungarian Peasant Art, (Budapest: Corvina: 1958) ‘Guide to the Culin Archival Collection’, compiled by Deirdre E. Lawrence and Deborah Wythe, Subseries 1.4: Correspondence (Incoming and Outgoing), https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/research/culin/culin.php [accessed 7 January 2016] Piffl, E., Deutsche Bauern in Ungarn, (Berlin: Verlag Grenze und Ausland, 1938) Gécseg, O., (2016) A Good Yarn: Tale of a Hand Knitted Stocking from Hungary. Unpublished MA essay. Royal College of Art/V&A Museum
Collection
Accession number
901-1883

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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