Gingerbread mould

This gingerbread mould is carved on both of its broader faces, bearing the same motif, a highly stylized infant in floral swaddling clothes, twice, with minor variations. Economy was probably the main motivation to carve two of the faces of a gingerbread mould, which was made of durable, good-quality wood, and could thus be used for different cakes. The floral pattern of the swaddling clothes is a legacy of the Renaissance, which survived in Hungarian folk art for centuries, and can also be seen on painted furniture and embroidered textiles.
The figure of the swaddled infant appears on gingerbread moulds in many different variations. The cakes produced with them and sold at markets and religious festivals were popular ‘fairings,’ bought in particular for small girls.