A tapestries exhibition at the Hungarian Cultural Institute offers to transfer visitors into the fantastic world of travelling aristocrats from medieval Hungary.

Centuries ago, tapestries were among the most precious and irreplaceable property of the aristocracy. They were used to dress the nobles' homes, in order to protect them from the cold and to decorate the bare walls of the castles. Also, they were among the precious objects the aristocrats took along during their many travels - itinerant mirrors and blankets, pillows and tapestries embodied the magic of travelling.

A year ago, 20 contemporary Hungarian artists, mostly working with textile, decided to revive this art form as well as their national past. They created an unusual exhibition of contemporary tapestries, which would travel around Europe, just like they used to do in the old days.

The charm of the past and the romanticism of travelling are woven into the textile works, and into their titles - "Letters from Turkey," "Pompei," and "Relics." The tapestries are also large-scale projections of the personal sentiments and explorations of the artists. The materials, techniques, and motives of the works vary, but they come together into a grand theme - a reminiscence of home and the past, while you are somewhere else in time and space.

The unique mixture of past and present emanates a church-like atmosphere of humility and harmony. The bright and spacious exhibition hall of the institute by itself is an island of dreamy tranquility, although close to the busy Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard. With its atmosphere and dimensions it is a perfect exhibition place for the large and imposing art works.

Due to the size of the tapestries only 10 of the 20 works are exhibited at the Institute - and some of the works are only details of the whole pieces.

In September, the other end of the Hungarian textile spectrum will be shown to audiences in Bulgaria. An exhibition of mini-textiles will be opened at the National Art Gallery. The works, whose size is maximum 20cm by 20cm (according to world standards), will come from the Hungarian town Szombathely - an international centre of this art discipline.

Itinerant Tapestries premiered in July 2000 in Budapest, and has already been to Ankara, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Bratislava. In Sofia, the exhibition opened on August 1, and will stay there until August 20, after which it will move to Prague. The Hungarian Cultural Institute is on 16 Aksakov Street, intersecting with 6 Septemvri Street.