From Carmen Sylva and Empress Sissi to Carol II. The History of a Romanian National Costume
Bianca ȘENDREA
Abstract. In 1932, Baroness Ilona Nopcsa wrote a letter to King Carol II of Romania in which she informed him about a Romanian national costume that was in her possession. This traditional dress, which originally belonged to Carmen Sylva, was a gift from King Carol I and the ladies from the Romanian elite. At Vienna International Exhibition, this dress had been a central exhibit in Romania‟s gallery. The Romanian traditional costume hadbecome a part of Nopcsa‟s family patrimony thanks to Ilona‟s uncle, Ferenc Nopcsa, master of the court to Empress Sissi between 1868 and 1894. She had proffered the Romanian dress to the Baron for his services. In exchange for the Romanian costume, Ilona Nopcsa asked the King of Romania for 300 jugars from her former domain located in Aradul Nou and Zădârlac from Arad County which had been expropriated in the 1920s, or from State reserves.This paper will analyse the journey of this Romanian traditional costume, from the middle 19th century until 1932, emphasising on the contexts in which it was presented. The second part of this paper will focus on the social and economic circumstances in which Ilona Nopcsa proposed to return the dress to Romania‟s king
Keywords: Romanian national costume, Vienna International Exhibition of 1873, agrarian reform of 1921, Ilona Nopcsa, gift