The European country of Hungary is an extremely old and proud culture that has a very rich and interesting history. The country has withstood wars, losing 71% of its area, and a communist regime. They also have an abundant history of folk crafts and complex embroidery patterns, which has been chosen as the focus of the stamp project.

The oldest evidence of embroidery in Hungary is from 1031 CE. The piece was a Coronation Robe that was crafted in Veszprém, finely made with golden thread, on silk. This robe was worn by every King during their coronation ceremony.

By the 15th century embroidered dresses and housewares became much more commonplace. Elaborate gala dresses that were covered in the complex embroidered flowers were created and passed down through the generations, becoming cherished family heirlooms. Tablecloths, and other linens and textiles, were routinely and painstakingly embroidered with the colourful designs. 

There are several different regional styles of embroidery native to Hungary. This project used patterns from the following regions:

Kalocsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary, located north of the capital, Budapest. The earliest patterns in this style were pure white, with the patterns made from holes. The patterns were simple and easy to copy, and once printing was available in the mid-1800s the ease of printed patterns caused it to grow in popularity. By 1904, colour appeared in the patterns, and it became stylish for brides to adorn themselves in bright and colourful patterns on their dresses. 

Kalotaszegi 

This region is now a part of Romania, in Transylvania, but was formerly a part of the kingdom of Hungary. This style used a single colour in each design, either red, black, or dark blue. The style of this embroidery is an outline unlike the more typical filled-in patterns, and is created using a chain stitch. Many different motifs were used including flowers, animals, plants, and everyday objects.

Matyo is a Roman Catholic community in and around Mezökövesd, in North-Eastern Hungary. This is a very dense pattern style, with heavy, flat stitches commonly on a black background. Floral motifs were the most common patterns, and the colours originally used were only red, blue, yellow, green and black. In 2012 Matyo embroidery was placed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.

This region is in South-Central Hungary, and is a part of Transdanubia. This region commonly used the embroidery as a chemise smocking, and on the sleeves. This style is very geometric in nature and is usually very colourful, with black outlines. For a specific garment a black background was used with white thread, but this was not the typical style for the area.

This is another region that is a former part of Hungary, but is now in Transylvania in Romania. This style is very geometric and very gothic in its style, and is created in only red or blue. The style at times is a chain stitched outline, and at other times appears to be a woven, bitmap-like pattern.

The stamps are not completely historically accurate in their style. In order to combine them into one cohesive piece, the patterns have been modernized and at times simplified, but still hold true to their historical past. The colours are more unified than they would otherwise be, and softened to create a fresh, pretty style that would be suitable for a spring-time release.