44 C O N T E X T 1 0 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 8 supervise, teach and themselves imbibe the way of life of a community that still retained a centuriesold congruity of man, nature and architecture. We were able to rediscover long-lost skills and crafts which had once thrived throughout the Saxon and Hungarian communities.We had made copies of 19th century Saxon beds, and placed them in the principal bedrooms.We found Hungarian bedsteads of painted flowers on tin, and wood-burning kilns that fired hand-made bricks and tiles. We collected stucco workers; stone masons whose business had passed from father to son since the reign of Maria Theresa; ladies who embroidered and wove; locksmiths and iron makers; linen makers; basket weavers; sheep’s wool insulators; painters and carvers and carpenters. The house, built and furnished by these gentle craftsmen, surely derives from them its peaceful and harmonious atmosphere – remarked upon by all who come through the doors. As we were nearing the stages of painting and planning the interior, we brought the designer David Mlinaric to see the house. For two years on and off he freely dedicated time and thought to every detail, be it the delicate-coloured wash on the walls, the door handles or the subtle grey for our new shutters taken from what he had observed in the village. The most satisfying work was replicating the painted friezes and flowered murals we had found on the walls and ceiling of the library.We traced over them and reapplied their exact form and colour. It was to the library that we gave our most special attention.Transylvanian princes had aimed to emulate the glamorous renaissance court of King Matthias and his famous Corvina library. Of these 16th century medieval collections, that of Mihály Apafi I (1661– 1690) is recorded in an inventory dated 1714 as containing 165 works in 187 volumes, including 72 items printed during his principality, all reflecting the prince’s classical education and secular interests. To mention but a few: the works of Descartes, Bacon, Machiavelli and an 11-volume cosmographic atlas. His wide interest in languages was confirmed by books he owned in Latin, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew, French andTurkish.The jewel of his collection was an original Corvina: Catullus-Tibullus-Propertius, now held in the Hofbibliothek, Vienna. For the new library we had made in Mãlâncrav Manor we took Count Teleki’s rare books library, existing to this day in nearby Târgu Mures as in the 18th century, as our architectural inspiration. The main room there is painted white, with bookcases behind grilled doors and a balustered gallery. Black plaster busts of writers stand on top of the bookcases and a full-length portrait of the founder in his robes as chancellor of Transylvania faces the entrance at gallery level. We could not hope to emulate Teleki’s 16th century imprints, but we decided to specialise in East European history. The British Library and several private individuals were extremely generous. One friend, Ilinca Bossy, gave us most of her collection as well as emptying half the antiques of her house to furnish the manor. She threw in the uniform of her father, who had been Romanian ambassador in Budapest during the war years. This we stood, with its plumed hat and elegant sword, in a corner of the drawing room. Apafi Manor has become both a symbol and a part of the revived rural economy, justifying our attempt to conserve it by giving employment to indigenous skills. People complain against the habit of restoring monuments, that it is little better than taxidermy – preserving the past in aspic, to be gawped at by people who belong to another world. On the contrary, when properly done, employing local labour in ways that revive the tacit knowledge of a community, the past is conserved and so provides for the future, thus giving new hope to a community that has the will to stay where it belongs. Jessica DouglasHome, a champion of Romanian culture, is the founder and a trustee of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, named after Romania’s national poet. The unrestored north side set in its landscape
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