Let me proudly present the latest addition to my collection: a truly marvellous handwoven tapestry from Eva Nemeth textile designer.
I immediately fell in love with the sea of meticulous details on this giant wool tapestry. There is so much to see in this scene! A couple of peacocks in the middle of a lush garden, the Moon and the Sun, and the eleven “dolls” guarding the peace of the garden. The serene color combination of olive green, beige, blue and purple introduces a calm, cool palette – which is immediately balanced by the natural coziness of the wool material and the yellow accents.
Large handwoven tapestry from Eva Nemeth textile designer – wool, 10’9″ x 6’4″ (328 x 192 cm)
This wool tapestry is a real showstopper just by its size: w10’9″ x h6’4″ (328 x 192 cm). A pictorial rug this size does require space to shine. The tapestry is nearly as large as its siblings that are displayed in common places and communal buildings like in the marriage halls in Ajka and Nyíregyháza, Hungary.
Myself, being a hungarian by birth, find Eva Nemeth’s style so genuinly rooted in hungarian folk art. Interesting enough, I could indeed feel the same if I was born to be a Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish or Danish… Nemeth’s style is uniquely pan-folkloric. Her loosely edited divisions can be recognized on nineteenth century Danish embroidery as well as the shapes and forms of human, animal and plant figurines of scandinavian folk art, all with a bit of geometric hardness. The multicultural meeting of the folk approach can be welcomed in the art of Éva Németh, in which folk motifs are condensed into symbols, a new system of signs.
Central motifs on Eva Nemeth’s beautiful tapestry
This tapestry lists many of Eva Nemeth’s frequently used motifs of peacocks, flowers that grow into trees, celestial bodies and women. These forms are placed on the rug to mediate a certain meaning / importance. Above and below, center and edges help the viewer in interpreting the scene. The blue birds of happiness facing each other in love occupy a central place, in the middle of the inner garden, surrounded by lush, diverse flora in a light beige field. The outstanding yellow of the Moon and the Sun indicates their extraterrestrial nature – the two bodies are almost lit on the carpet.
The Sun, handwoven into the tapestry
The human figures are placed way out of The Garden, where Love resides. Tell me this is not a biblical reference…! Note the connection between the love/birds and the women: it is emphasised by the common color of the green field. Do look further into it: can you see the narrow passage that connects the “human zone” and the central, love zone? Is it not like a umbilical cord that feeds the tiny human on the end with love…?
This is the greatness of Eva Nemeth’s tapestry art. She tells a lot in a rug. A rug that is not only beautiful because of its colors, motives or pattern but also because of it’s narrative.
Large Eva Nemeth tapestry placed in front of a couch for scale
This handwoven tapestry was made in the “Csaba Cottage Industry Cooperative” in Békéscsaba, Hungary in the 1970s-80s, where the designer was Eva Nemeth from 1966 right until the end of the cooperative. It is made of dyed wool.
UPDATE 6th July 2023:
A very similar large tapestry just became available in my Etsy shop. If you’re interested in buying it and want to avoid Etsy fees, please message me at hello@retrocubehome.com! Do not miss the opportunity to acquire a real investment piece!
Beautiful handwoven wool tapestry by rug designer Eva Nemeth, size w 79″ x h 55 1/2″ (201 cm x 141 cm)
With love,
Marti xx
