Costume Museum of Lykeion ton Ellinidon

Women’s long shirt made of striped silk, taisto, loom-woven fabric in off-white colour. The front part consists of three pieces joined with seams. The middle piece is 47 cm. wide, and the two lateral pieces 30 cm. The fabric of the middle part continues as a single piece to the back, with a total length of 230 cm. The two side pieces have a height of 83 cm. and are joined under the armpits. The height of the middle part is 115 cm. at the front and back. The sleeves consist of a single piece each with an inner seam, and they are sewn vertically onto the body. The neck opening continues as a vertical opening of 15 cm. on the chest, and is adorned with fine pipilla lace edging, 2 cm. wide, forming a rosette pattern. The edges of the sleeves are also decorated with needle lace made of thicker thread. It is 3cm. wide and forms consecutive triangles on top of tiny pillars. All the seams show fine herringbone stitching, while the hem is sewn with the same silk thread of the shirt. 

Dimensions: height 120 cm., width at the chest 65 cm.

Sleeves: length 60 cm., width 36 cm.

Hem circumference 106 cm.

Women’s fez of red felt, without lining. It has two black tassels with silk thread fringes, one short and one long. The short tassel starts from the centre on the top and forms the tepeliki, which covers the upper part of the fez. Its fringes fall all around, covering the fez, onto which it is secured with two rows of stitches. The second tassel, a long dangling tassel, flokkos, of 37 cm, falls on the side and reaches the shoulder. The perimeter of the fez is decorated with a band of golden-yellow velvet with fine embroidery consisting of continuous spirals with flowers and small leaves in between. The band closes by overlapping its edges above the forehead. The four edges are slightly broader than the band itself and are decorated with tulip-type flowers, stems and leaves, also embroidered with golden thread. The overlap of the ends of the band is covered with a round piece of the same velvet, embroidered with an eight-petalled rosette. All pieces are decorated all around with handmade golden-thread lace. This example can be compared with the decorative band of a fez in the Benaki Museum (item no. EE2571), a red velvet band embroidered with golden thread and pearls that form a continuous branch with leaves and flowers. The band, measuring 58 cm. in length and 3.5 cm. in width, has a tongue-shaped termination at one end (12.2 x 6 cm) and is adorned with lace edging (pipilla) of golden thread (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 150, fig. 128).

Dimensions: Fez: height 9 cm., diameter 17 cm.

Overlap of the fez band edges: height 15 cm., width 14 cm.

Central circular element: diameter 3.5 cm.

Selected Pieces of Women's Costumes

Tripartite silver buckle (poukla) with exuberant decoration that covers the whole surface of all three parts. Various techniques were used in the manufacture of the buckle, including casting, forging, and engraving, while the embellishment was completed with overlaid elements and inlaid coloured glass stones. Two parts of the buckle are integrated, while the third is independent and connected to the central part with a pin. A triple chain begins at a ring on one of the lateral parts and is connected with a pin through another ring. To close the buckle, the pin enters tubular receptacles on both the central and independent parts, securing it.

The two lateral parts of the buckle are almost identical in terms of design and decoration, while all three have a very similar outline, consisting of two opposite horn-like protrusions and floral patterns at the tip. The middle section is larger and more striking. It is oriented vertically, as opposed to the lateral sections, which are horizontal and serve to frame the central piece. The perimeters of all three pieces are emphasised with a series of dots, and all three have a similar decoration of dense patterns, leaves, branches and rosette-type flowers with dots in their centres and small overlaid prismatic squares arranged sporadically across the whole surface. In the centre of each piece is an inlaid glass stone, green on the lateral pieces and red in the central piece. The glass stones are surrounded by tiny flowers, creating the impression of a rosette. These central elements of each section are screwed on, and their surface, like the silver surface of other parts of the buckle, glistens and appears to have been gilded. On the reverse side, the buckle has four copper clasps for securing a fabric belt.

A similar example of a cast buckle is included in the collection of the Leventis Municipal Museum in Nicosia (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou and Loizou Hadjigavriel 2003, 61, no. C/1992/1242). A similar version of the distinctive outline seen here is found on a buckle with filigree decoration in the same collection (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou and Loizou Hadjigavriel 2003, 60, no. C/1989/174), as well as on a filigree buckle in a private collection in Nicosia (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 229, fig. 245) and on a Cypriot buckle in the National Historical Museum in Athens (Gangadi et al. 1999, 137, fig. 120). The antiquity of tripartite buckles of this type, with their common characteristic outline, but usually with motifs in filigree technique, is attested by their presence in collections dating from the second half of the 19th century, such as that of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Papadimitriou 2000, 73, 98-99, Catalogue 31, 34; see also another sample of the same type with dense spirals and hexagons and inlaid glass stones at their centres, in Ohnefalsch-Richter (1913) 1994, plate 761).

Dimensions: Height 23 cm., Width 14 cm.

Sarka, a women's short jacket with long sleeves, made of black felt, with intricate applied decoration. It consists of two front pieces that extend to the sides to join the trapezoidal piece at the back. The front has a deep oval-shaped opening that becomes straight at the lower part, where the edges are fastened together with three hook-and-eye clasps. The lining of both sides of the vertical opening at the lower part of the front, is reinforced with red satin. The sleeves widen towards the edge and are sewn vertically onto the body, with inner seams. The edges of all the openings are covered with sewn-on decoration of twisted cord made of golden thread, which forms floral motifs, curved branches, and leaves. The finish consists of a thin band with a chain-like pattern. This applied decoration, with variations in the patterns, is very common in Cypriot sarkes. It typically covers the bottom edges of the sleeves, the opening of the chest and the edge of the lower part of the sarka at the waist. The garment is lined with beige cotton fabric. A similar type of sarka, with an almost identical sewn-on decoration, is worn by the woman in a couple’s portrait in festive costume, at the Saint Herakleidios monastery fair in the late 19th century (photograph in the Album of Max and Magda Ohnefalsch-Richter; see Marangou and Malekos 1990, p. 70a).

Dimensions: height 37 cm., width 29 cm. Sleeves: length 50 cm., width 18 cm. at the top and 23 cm. at the bottom.

Wide belt made of purple velvet, densely embroidered with gold thread. The neoclassical design consists of continuous spirals in a contrary arrangement, with curving acanthus leaves and various floral motifs in between. The flat stitch embroidery motifs are reinforced with paper underneath, creating the impression of relief. The entire length of the embroidered surface is bordered with an elaborate, fine edging, also made of gold thread. The back of the belt is lined and reinforced with purple satin and cotton fabric.

Dimensions: length 86 cm., width 6 cm., embroidery length 77 cm.

Skirt of satakrouta, a pure silk fabric made from coarse unboiled silk. The name derives from the Italian term seta cruda. The colour of the fabric is somon (from the French saumon, salmon). The light-coloured field is interrupted at intervals by three parallel horizontal bands formed in the weft. Each band consists of six stripes – three fine and three broader. The colours (from top to bottom) are light green, deep red and purple. There is a wide band in dark/cypress green at the lower edge of the skirt, below the bottom group of stripes. The fine stripes are 0.5 cm. wide, the wide stripes are 1 cm. wide, and the green band at the bottom has a width of 4 cm. The skirt is ankle-length and wide. It gathers at the waist, where a thin belt of the same fabric has been sewn on. At the side, there is a vertical opening of 15 cm, with two cotton ribbons which tie at the waist. The skirt is lined with off-white cotton fabric (hases) and has a simple hem at the bottom. The fabric has some stains and shows signs of wear.

This is a characteristic Cypriot urban skirt, particularly of Nicosia. This type of skirt was worn in Cyprus as part of a more recent variation of the national dress inspired by the costume of Queen Amalia, dating back to the late 19th/early 20th century. For examples of the same skirt as part of a complete Amalia-type costume, see: Papantoniou 1996, p. 100; similar examples can be found in Papadimitriou 1991, p. 15; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, p. 76, fig. 38; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, p. 136-137, no. 91b, and pp. 138-139, no. 92b.

Dimensions: height 90 cm., width 40 cm.

Acquisition: 03/12/1956. Price: 275 drachmas.

A women's long shirt made of off-white woven silk-cotton taisto fabric, with lengthwise puckered bands of varying width, created by warp threads of two different tensions. The seams are hand-sewn and serve a decorative purpose. The front and back of the shirt are seamless, and there is a vertical opening of 25 cm. on the chest, curving at the neckline on both sides. Ready-made decorative lace, 2 cm. wide, is sewn with hemstitching onto the neckline and chest opening. The edges of the neck and chest openings are decorated with zigzag lines using flat stitch embroidery in the colour of the shirt. The sleeves are sewn vertically to the body until the midpoint of their width, widening with the addition of three gores on each side. The edge of each sleeve is decorated with ready-made lace with linear patterns, 3.5 cm. wide. The lower hem of the shirt has a delicate cord finish, made by twisting the threads of the warp. The shirt shows signs of wear and later interventions.

Dimensions: height 120 cm. Chest width 65 cm. Sleeves: length 47 cm., width 22 cm. Hem circumference 106 cm.

Reconstruction of women's traditional costume from Cyprus from the CMLE Collection. The following pages contain the various parts of the costume: shirt (CMLE 822/5a), skirt (CMLE 2196/11), belt (CMLE 2117/10), sarka (CMLE 6088), belt buckle (CMLE 14521), and women's red fez (CMLE 818/1).

A square scarf made of white georgette fabric, decorated all around with delicate needle lace (pipilla), sewn with gold thread and green thread. In the four corners, there is a simple decoration made of tiny golden beads, fastened with green thread. Across the surface, one can see the marks left by folding the handkerchief multiple times, in order to be sewn onto the fez. It is paired with the fez with registration number 2213/11.

Dimensions: height 10 cm., length 10 cm.

It was purchased at the price of 35 drachmas, along with the fez 2213/11, which cost 149 drachmas.

Women's red fez made of felt, without lining. It features two tassels made of black silk threads, one short and the other long. The short tassel starts from the centre of the top and forms the tepeliki, which covers the upper part of the fez. Its fringes fall all around, covering the fez, onto which it is secured with two rows of stitches. The second tassel, a long dangling tassel, flokkos, falls on the side and reaches shoulder height. The fez is paired with the white handkerchief 2145.

Dimensions: height 12 cm., diameter 14 cm., tassel length 63 cm.

Purchase Price: 149 drachmas.