white

Silk pipilla (lace) forming flowers.

Headscarf (tsemberi) made of fine cotton cloth (kouroukla), with black (karakalemi) printed floral decoration consisting of continuous, narrow wreaths of printed patterns around the borders (kenarin) and branches with flowers in the corners. 

Headscarf (tsemberi) made of fine cotton cloth (kouroukla), with black (karakalemi) printed floral decoration consisting of continuous, narrow wreaths of printed patterns around the borders (kenarin) and branches with flowers in the corners. 

Headscarf (tsemberi) made of fine cotton cloth (kouroukla), with black (karakalemi) printed floral decoration consisting of continuous, narrow wreaths of printed patterns around the borders (kenarin) and branches with flowers in the corners. 

Headscarf (tsemberi) made of fine cotton cloth (kouroukla), with black (karakalemi) printed floral decoration consisting of continuous, narrow wreaths of printed patterns around the borders (kenarin) and branches with flowers in the corners. 

Purse made of cotton thread in its natural off-white colour. It is hand-knitted with decorative patterns in nine horizontal rows. The four of them have perforated patterns. The lower part is plain, densely knitted. The lower part has two decorative additional tassels and also one at the bottom of the purse. All of them are made from the same material and of the same colour with the purse. The openning is closed with a string.

ΜΓ 349

Wide cream silk chemise with long sleeves. The fine fabric of the garment features alternating broad and fine, light brown stripes, vertically arranged across all the main pieces.

The central front part is made of a single fabric panel, 44 cm wide, which extends to the back. A long vertical curved opening reaches from the neck to the middle, at a height of 52 cm. Another two fabric panels make up the sides of the garment (one on each side) and also the sleeves, which feature a seam along the outer side of the arm. A triangular fabric segment, 15 cm long, has been added on each shoulder, extending to the upper arm. The separate fabric sections of the chemise have a selvedge of black and beige stripes, which forms a decorative band across the two vertical joints front and back, as well as on the triangular segments on the shoulders and sleeves.

The edge of the sleeves is decorated with fine lace, beige and black. A similar lace trims the neckline and the breast opening, down to a height of 41 cm. The bottom part of the front opening (height: 11 cm) has a finish of very fine lace with consecutive arches. A low hem runs along the bottom of the chemise.

Height: 84 cm.

Width: 85 cm.

Sleeve length: 52-53 cm.

Sleeve width: 20 cm.

Date of entry to the Collection: 18.9.1981

Provenance: Unknown.

ΜΓ 22

Women’s pantaloons of thick loom-woven cotton.

They consist of eight fabric sections. At the centre front and back, two pieces (one on each side)  extend from the waist downward across both legs, tapering from 20 cm at their top to 2.5-3 cm at the hem. Attached to these sections are two more, one across the inner side of each leg, tapering from 12 cm at the top to 4 cm at the hem. The left leg has two successive outer pieces whereas the right leg features a single outer piece. On the right side of the pantaloons, a small added fabric piece extends horizontally under the waist, front and back, across a total length of 23 cm.

Embroidered decoration in red and blue covers the lower part of both legs, externally. The dense (pefkoto) embroidery, in a design known as the karpasitikon (of the Karpasia area), features consecutive lozenges arranged in successive rows. The lozenges enclose smaller ones, while in their side corners’ cut-offs they contain single triangles. The pefkoto embroidery is crowned by a row of korou(d)es [girls] on the left leg and finikou(d)es [palm trees] on the right. Both motifs consist of a lozenge above a vertical line with two opposite-facing oblique projections that may depict leaves or hands. The korou(d)es are rendered with more elongated lozenges of two triangles joined along their base. The white-coloured woven fabric peeks through an uncovered vertical line in the middle.  The korou(d)es crafted with blue yarn feature red-coloured triangle fillings, while for those crafted with red yarn the fillings are blue. The pantaloon legs gather at the bottom.

All fabric sections at the upper part of the garment are folded outwards, forming a hollow hem casing (height: 3-3.5 cm) with a threaded drawstring.

Height: 80 cm.

Maximum width: 72 cm.

Width of leg opening: 21 cm.

Date of entry to the Collection: 26.10.1948

Provenance: Fyti, Pafos – Donation.

ΜΓ 808

Waisted foustanin with long sleeves, made of off-white, loom-woven, cotton-silk(?) taiston fabric.

Along general lines, it repeats the design of previous dresses. The bodice consists of six pieces in all, joined to each other with handmade stitching. The front is made of two panels, one on either side of the breast, that extend under the armpits and form the side pieces at the back. The centre of the back is made of four elongated segments forming a gore from the shoulders to the upper part of the waistband, widening upwards. These segments are bias-cut, with the stripes of each segment following a different direction. A fine, ready-made woven band in purple, sewn with white thread, accents four joints at the back. The two diagonal seams on the outer edges are accentuated with a single piece of ribbon, which also continues along the upper edge of the waistband, in-between the seams. The simple oval neckline, crafted by hand with a hollow hem, extends to the front side into a vertical opening that reaches quite long under the waistband, at a total height of 49 cm. Up on the neck, purple bands, each sewn to either side of the opening, are tied together as fastening elements. Lower, the opening on the breast fastens with three hooks: two near the neckline and one further down, close to the waistband.

Above the waistband, the opening is framed lengthwise by two added strips of the same fabric, one on either side. Fine, woven bands in two different shades of green (one shade on each side), sewn with white thread, delimit the rectangular segments, accenting their outline, and reach to the front of the neckline. The bodice tapers on either side under the breast with a pleat, sewn internally, which also extends to the waistband.

The long sleeves consist of a single fabric piece with an inseam. A low cuff is created at the edge of each sleeve with a fold, 2.5 cm in height, and a hand-sewn, 1.8-2 cm-tall band, added obliquely on the outside. Along its sides, the added band is accentuated on each sleeve with a fine green woven band, ready-made, the same as that used on the opening of the dress. The band is sewn with white thread. The two sides of the frame it creates are joined together with a vertical joint, more or less on the same straight line as the joint along the sleeve. At the joint of the sleeves to the bodice, the puffed fabric creates two pleats with folds on the bias. The bodice, including the sleeves, is lined by hand with beige cotton.

The 4 cm-tall waistband consists of a separate piece of fabric with horizontal woven stripes, and fastens with two hooks.

The wide skirt of the foustanin is made of three pieces of fabric, one narrow (width: 27 cm) and two wide ones (width: 89 cm), sewn by hand. Dense pleats, held in place by straight stitching in two rows, are formed at the waist. In this part of the dress, the skirt is reinforced internally with two added bands, one of simple beige cotton fabric and the other of white and yellow silk. A ruffle, 6 cm in height, has been added around the hem of the skirt. The ruffle consists of seven bands of bias-cut fabric, of the same type as the dress. A low, hand-sewn hem runs along the edge of the ruffle. A fine, ready-made, green woven band, sewn with white thread, accents the joint of the ruffle to the skirt.

The foustanin is entirely hand-sewn based on traditional designs. The use of the taiston fabric with the relief surfaces and its varied shades, as well as the subtle decoration with the colourful bands make this monochrome garment particularly graceful.

Height: 120.5 cm (bodice: 34.5 cm up to the waist, skirt: 86 cm).

Width: 36 cm on the shoulders, 34 cm at the waist, 100 cm around the hemline.

Length of sleeves: 47 cm.

Width of sleeves: 17 cm in the upper part, 12.5 cm in the lower part.

Date of entry to the Collection: 28.7.1994

Provenance: Nicosia – Purchased from Militsa Panayiotou.

ΜΓ 806

Long and long-sleeved foustanin of imported pique fabric with blue stripes alternating with broader bands that feature tiny purple patterns, defined on either side by a red line.

The dress comprises a bodice and a long wide skirt, joined at the waist with a waistband. At the front, the bodice consists of two 30 cm-tall panels, one on either side of the breast, with seams on the shoulders. They extend underneath the armpits, to the back (total width: 27 cm), where they are joined to two bias-cut strips of fabric (25 x 6 cm) flanking the central six-sided gore (width: 30 cm on the shoulders, 8 cm at the waist, above the waistband). The stripes on the bias-cut strips are placed diagonally as opposed to the central gore with the vertical stripes. This creates a pleasant variety which brings out the design. The joints of the different pieces are meticulously sewn by hand. The bodice is lined with various pieces of fine beige cotton fabric, ready-made, probably hand-sewn.

A round neckline with a simple hem features an opening that extends vertically to the centre, up to the waist, at a height of 29 cm. The opening continues underneath the waistband, to the skirt, at a height of 10.5 cm. A ruffle made of an added, bias-cut, slightly gathered band of fabric, 5.5 cm wide, consisting of three pieces on either side, runs along both sides of the breast, at 2.5 cm underneath the shoulders, on either side of the opening. The ruffle is bias-cut and its edge is hemmed. Its two strips converge at the bottom into a V shape.

The opening closes with five hooks: one at the base of the neck, a second at the beginning of the ruffle, another two hooks on the waistband and one slightly up. The opening is hemmed across its sides: the hem is broader up to the waistband, narrowing down from there on.

The long sleeves, joined to the body in a curve, consist of a single fabric piece with an inseam. Their finish is achieved with an added ruffle of different, bias-cut pieces of fabric (two or three), 2.5-3 cm in height.

The 4.5 cm-tall waistband consists of different pieces of fabric with horizontal stripes.

The skirt is made of three panels, 64 cm wide each. In the upper part of the skirt, underneath the waistband, dense pleats are held in place with a straight basting stitch. At this point, the skirt is slightly folded inside and reinforced with added bands: one is of the same fabric as the dress, and appears to contain a strip from a different fabric, beige with a gold stripe. The skirt has a hem, 1.5-2 cm in height, where its ruffle is secured. The ruffle is 7.5-8.5 cm-tall and consists of 11 bias-cut pieces of fabric, diagonally sewn.

In spite of the use of imported fabric and the addition of ruffles for embellishment, the design of the dress follows traditional standards, therefore preserving a very conservative character, keeping the largest surface of the body covered.

Height of bodice: 30 cm.

Height of waistband: 4.5 cm.

Height of skirt: 67 cm up to the ruffle, 75 cm at the base of the waistband.

Width of skirt at the bottom edge: 104 cm.

Width of sleeves: 19 cm in the upper part, 11 cm in the lower part and 14 cm at the ruffle.

Date of entry to the Collection: 28.7.1994

Provenance: Nicosia – Purchased from Militsa Panayiotou.