Pierides Museum - Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation

Ind. no. 27: An almost square headscarf, decorated with flowers that sparsely cover the entire surface, arranged around a central flower in a wreath of buds. Soft colours are accentuated with bright oil green and deep red. The edges are decorated with pipilla (needle lace) made from light brown cord (the design and arrangement are comparable to, among others, the embroidery of Istanbul with a similar straight and pressed stitch, at the National History Museum of Athens: Greek Embroidery 1989, 88, no. 90. See also turban cover: Berker, s.a., 295, 1/70).

Dimensions: 46 x 53 cm.

Ind. no. 24: Long and narrow belt of two pieces of woven fabric joined in the middle, with embroidery at both ends. The depicted theme is a stylised tree with branches extending horizontally in two different levels on both sides of the trunk. Vertical, leafy branches extend  downwards in a herringbone pattern. They are repeated in a smaller size at the border that surrounds the tree on three sides. Empty spaces of the composition are filled with four small floral motifs. The ground from which the tree emerges is rendered with absolute stylisation. Soft, natural shades (brown, oil green) are combined with a little pink, light blue, and gold. A tree with a similar but less standardised arrangement of branches is found in a tsevres from Bursa (Ther 1993, 211).

Dimensions: 18-24 x 198 cm.

Ind. no. 23: Long and narrow belt made from two pieces of woven taisto fabric joined in the middle, and decorated with embroidery at both ends. Emerging from a disproportionately small vase is a vine with leaves and grapes, and with a large inclining flower at the top. The composition is surrounded on three sides by a similar vine with leaves and grapes. The pattern is entirely stylised and symmetrical, embroidered with a tight single stitch (misovelonia, half cross stitch, namely of one diagonal arm of a full cross stitch) that gives the impression of fil tiré. The colours of the decoration are vivid, in silk and gold.

Dimensions: 15/20 x 212 cm.

Ind. no. 105: Silver, tripartite filigree poukla (buckle, clasp). It consists of two paisley-shaped pieces, one of which has a central vertical element attached. All three pieces consist of hammered sheet silver with applied decoration of filigree work and granules that form flower designs. Each outer piece features a prominent boss with a nailed filigree rosette, set with a central paste (glass stone). The outer edges and the rosette of the central piece are also set with pastes, which add touches of colour to the bright silver. On the back of each piece there are two vertical bars for attaching the clasp to a belt.

Dimensions: Total length: 16.5 cm. Paisley-shaped elements: 6.2 x 4.9 cm. Height of central element: 6.2 cm.

Inv. no. 101: Silver-gilt poukla (buckle, clasp) consisting of three pieces. The outer two, horizontal pieces are paisley-shaped, while the central, vertical piece is oblong with a wavy outline. On all three parts, the applied filigree decoration forms large rosettes, nailed to the center and to the curved ends, as well as other smaller floral designs such as stems, leaves and flowers. The decoration is completed with applied granules, hemispheres and lozenges. On the back of each piece there are vertical bars for attaching the clasp to a belt. The central piece is joined to one outer piece. This type of clasp is well known in Greece (see Hatzimichali 1978, 75, fig. 64, Kaplani 1997, 119, no. 4118, Zora 1981 fig. 56, Mazarakis-Ainian and Iacovou 1995, 71).

Dimensions: Total length: 23 cm. Paisley-shaped pieces: 10.5 x 6.5 cm and 10 x 6.5 cm. Central piece: 9.5 x 5 cm.

Inv. no. 119: Silver splinga (pin). Its head is a filigree spherical bead with a red paste (glass stone) at the top. Five chains with five ottoman coin imitations and two tiny, heart-shaped elements of sheet silver,  hang from a ring at the upper end of the shank. This type of pin was used as the central part of a “chest pin” or for fastening and decorating the headscarf. 

Dimensions: Height: 11.6 cm. Chain length: 8.8 cm.

Inv. no. 284: Black vraka (breeches). It features the characteristic middle part, which is longer and made of rich fabric with many folds. This was called vakla (meaning the fat tail of the Cyprus sheep) and it was usually tucked inside the waist sash at the back and untucked when entering a church. The vraka was dyed by local craftsmen called poyiatzides (Papadimitriou 1991, 41). It is gathered at the waist, where a white cotton drawstring, the vrakozoni, passed through the hem using a wooden stick called vrakorehtis, is tied at the front.

Inv. no. 208: Traditional men's costume. It consists of a shirt worn under a vest, a vraka (breeches), a zostra (sash) worn around the waist, a headscarf and a pair of black podines (boots). The striped silk shirt is buttoned, with collar and cuffs. The breeches are black with many pleats and the zostra is black with red stripes and fringes at the ends. A black scarf is tied around the head. The knee-high podines are made of leather. Podines worn by villagers at work were hob-nailed, without distinction of left and right foot, in contrast to the more elegant frangopodines, which were common in the cities. The most prominent element of this costume is the richly decorated vest: it is made of black felt and closes crosswise at the front. The decoration here is made with black cords. A vase-shaped pocket of red fabric decorated with cord is sewn onto the right side and, further up the chest, there is a colourful, stylised floral pattern. Mat patterns made of cord run along the edges of the vest and along the central opening, extending vertically from the waist to the upper back. The top of the opening is decorated with an embroidered lozenge and leaves. The opening closes with a yellow lace that passes crosswise through corresponding holes, allowing for a better fit on the body. This type of vest, sometimes with more elaborate decoration of floral motifs and even birds and lions, was admired by travellers during the first years of British rule, and was also worn in the first decades of the 20th century. Many examples are preserved in museums and private collections and some have an embroidered date on their characteristic pocket.

Inv. no. 294: Urban-style dress made of silk fabric. The entire surface of the dress is embroidered with delicate flower branches in soft shades of white, green, and pink on a light blue background. The bouquets are surrounded by double curvilinear frames, embroidered with a fine chain-stitch.

The ankle-length dress has long sleeves and a deep opening at the chest. The bodice consists of a separate piece of fabric, as also the sleeves. White fabric with a ribbon lacing, like that of male vests, has been added to the back for an adjustable fit. The lower part of the dress consists of a single piece of fabric with many folds. At the height where pockets are usually found, there are two 17cm openings with a black finish. The edges of the chest opening and the sleeves, as well as the hem are decorated with a wavy blue ribbon trimmed with sewn-on sequins. The chest opening is covered with an off-white tulle embroidered with delicate flowers and decorated with handmade sewn-on daisies and pipilla (needle lace). The dress belonged to the family of Georgios Sivitanides, in Limassol. 19th century.

Dress length: 131 cm.

Inv. no. 211: Female costume of a later, “modern” type. It consists of a white shirt with a ready-made fringe, a skirt of dark-coloured, striped alatzia, a long, sleeved jacket made of burgundy fabric, and a headscarf. The jacket is fitted at the waist and closes with hooks and a button at the waistband. The design appears to copy a European-style jacket. The printed headscarf is made of kouroukla (fine cotton fabric) in vinegar colour. Printed floral designs adorn the edges and the corners, and all four sides are trimmed with ready-made lace. Such printed scarves were produced in the workshop of Kakoullis brothers, who continued the craft of their uncle Evris Mantilaris, in Nicosia, until the death of Nikos Kakoullis in 2004.

The costume is completed with white socks, black laced shoes, and a bronze cross pendant, worn around the neck. This type of costume was fashionable in Cyprus around the mid-20th century.