The most interesting museum artefacts. Part 4. "Makatka"

It happens that museum staff not only conduct guided tours but also compile passports for artifacts given to the museum. During such work, the most interesting discoveries happen: discover of unique and valuable things, reveal new stories from a life of people and the town's life, new names emerge...

So today, we will tell you about one such artifact from the museum depositories, which we originally called "a pocket for combs")))

"Makatki" ... The fashion for "makatki" appeared in the Netherlands and Germany after the First World War and lasted until the 1980s in many European countries.
In addition to the functional application (protection of walls from contamination), "makatki" were primarily used for decorative purposes, as well as informative, moralistic and didactic, they testified to the good taste and sense of the beauty of the housewife, spoke of the diligence and agility of the housewife.

Originally, the raw materials for "makatka" were home-woven fabrics, in most cases flax, but also hemp (Slovakia, Czech Republic) and cotton (Bulgaria). As time passed the factory cloths replaced home woven fabrics, but mostly it was cotton fabrics.

The greatest popularity of the "fashion for makatki" was in the '60s. XX century. Originally, the embroidery or factory patterns on them were monochromatic, mostly blue, sometimes red or black. But, "traditional makatka" was blue and white, ie. this colour palette was borrowed along with images from Delftware. Since the '60s embroidery and factory patterns became more colorful, sometimes even too bright. The image on the "makatki" usually consisted of two elements: the main part of the canvas, and the inscription itself.

Today, "makatki" are exhibited in many museums in Poland, expositions and special exhibitions of "makatki" are held.

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