Female

Foustani, a garment made of colourful striped imported fabric. The sleeveless bodice has a low-cut opening which becomes narrower as it extends towards the waist. The skirt is long with many folds at the waistline. The opening of the bodice has a black trimming all around its edges. The lining of the bodice is made of beige cotton fabric, which is visible through the opening at the chest.

Geroskipou  Folk Art Museum (inv.no 40).      

Traditional woman’s costume of Paphos

The costume comprises the following dress items: ypokamison, (chemise worn as undercloth), sayia (a long-sleeved coat worn over the chemise), vrakia (baggy trousers, pantaloons), and a mandili tis koxas (kerchief wrapped  around the waist).  The sayia is made of woven striped fabric, alatzia, with alternating red and green stripes on an off-white background. Sayia is open down the front and not cut at the waist. It has a short collar around the neck and a low-cut opening on the chest. Small buttons close part of the garment above the waist. On the right upper part of the sayia, is found the small opening of a pocket, the outline of which is embroidered. Loxes, gores set into the side of the sayia, at its lower part, add more width, thus facilitating walking. The long sleeves of the sayia have a slit on the inner side of their lower part, through which the ending of the sleeves of the chemise are visible. The chemise is made of woven, off-white fabric, which is the natural colour of cotton, and has a vertical opening on the chest. Around the neck, it is decorated with fine, simple lace. The vrakia are long and tied around the ankles. The poinarka, their lower, visible part, are ornamented with ploumia tis voufas (loom embroidery) in blue and red patterns. Red, extracted from rizari, and blue, extracted from indigo, used to be the oldest colours used in woven embroidery. The kerchief around the waist is made of thin cloth in yellow colour, decorated with printed floral designs. The costume is complemented with a silver splinga (Provençal espingla, French épingle = pin), an ornament composed of thin chains and small coins or other attachments, which decorates the chest. The chains of the splinga end in tiny hooks, which are attached on the sayia, one on each shoulder, while a pin with a small round filigree head is closing the opening of the chemise in the middle of the chest.    

The costume is dated to the first decades of the 20th century. Geroskipou Folk Art Museum.

Filigree bracelet with granulation. The clasp is covered by a rosette.

Bracelet of fine craftsmanship, filigree and granulation. The clasp is covered by a rosette with an inlaid green stone in the middle.

Filigree cross with granulation. All  parts have a silver border and are covered with spiral patterns in filigree work. There is also applied decoration forming rosettes with inserted blue, red and green stones, one in the middle part and one on each of the side parts.

A filigree cross. The arms of the cross consist of four drop-shaped elements, soldered to a central rosette-shaped part, with a blue/turquoise stone in the middle. Red beads are affixed at the angles between the drop-shaped elements.

Traditional silver-gilt earrings of Cypriot craftsmanship. They consist of two parts connected through two small intersecting rings. The upper part, which is attached onto the wire hook fastening, features three leaves in repoussé work with an inserted blue stone at their base. The lower part consists of a hanging filigree drop from which small spherical filigree beads are suspended.

Silver-gilt pendant comprising a chain of spherical filigree beads (toutounia), and a filigree cross. The arms of the cross consist of four drop-shaped elements, soldered to a central rosette-shaped part.The fourth element is connected, through a ring, to the chain, actually to a spherical filigree bead in the middle of the chain, which consists of a series of smaller filigree beads (toutounia).

Foustanin, cotton dress made of striped alatzia fabric. Red, yellow,  and black stripes are formed in the weft against a white background. The garment comprises a wide skirt and a separate bodice, which are joined at the waist. The back consists of a single piece of fabric, with a seam at the back of the shoulders. At the front, two separate pieces, sewn to the sides, form a deep opening, which leaves most of the chest uncovered and continues with a vertical slit reaching just below the waist. The opening closes with three hook-and-eye clasps. The sleeves are narrow and long, with the stripes of the fabric arranged in a horizontal position. Their edge is adorned with a sewn-on brown cord.

Female, festive sayia from Karpasia, made of thick cotton cloth. The garment is adorned with white embroidery and threaded beads. It was worn over a chemise.

The back and front parts consist of a single fabric panel. At the front, a vertical slit extends all the way down. A deep opening is also formed at the bust, leaving a large part of the chest uncovered. Just below the chest, the sayia closes with  loops and buttons. 

The long and narrow sleeves, sewn vertically to the shoulders, have two additional triangular pieces joined diagonally below each armpit to facilitate movement. The back part below the neck is  lined with white cotton fabric; the same applies for the part surrounding the chest opening, which is embellished with white embroidery in delicate scrolls or zigzag patterns, enriched with threaded red and green petroues (beads). The same embroidery covers the seams of the sleeves at the shoulders and, in a thinner band, the shistres (side openings) of the sayia. Threaded beads decorate also the openings of the sleeves.