This vase combines popular folk art MOTIFS, which look back to the roots of the Hungarian (Magyar) people, with the flowing plant and animal forms called Art Nouveau (New Art). The continuous scene on the sides and mouth blend these two influences. Abstracted tree branches spread across a vibrant purple and gold sky. Flying birds encircle the mouth of the vessel. They have been STYLIZED as rounded, streamlined shapes of head, wings, and body represented by a few BRUSHSTROKES of blue and green glazes. The birds are similar to ones found embroidered on aprons and other garments worn by peasant women in remote Hungarian villages at the time the vase was made. Artists recorded and studied such motifs from native hand-crafts in a search for continuity with Hungary's past.
|