Silk

Double-breasted vest with a standing collar. The front consists of four pieces of imported purple silk fabric The vest has a small triangular opening on the chest and fastens diagonally on the left side with a black cord. All the openings are adorned with soutache. At the edge of the front opening, there is a series of loops made of cord, forming a festoon pattern. Each arm opening, is decorated with a black tassel. The right side features an internal pocket with soutache at the opening.

Christening dress made of fine silk taffeta fabric. It has a round neck opening, short sleeves and a belt tied at the waist. The lower part of the dress is adorned with three horizontal bands of cutwork embroidery.

Private collection, Larnaca.

Headscarf made of crimson-dyed silk with goldwork. Independent clusters of undyed lozenges (reserved patterns) form a cross in the middle of the headscarf. The disc-shaped centre of the cross comprises 17 little lozenges, while its four sides consist of five or six lozenges in a rosette arrangement. An undyed zigzag band runs along the edges of the scarf, and a bit further inside a branch with stylised leaves and flowers forms a continuous border, embroidered with gold thread in satin stitches, and thinner gold threads for fillings. Each corner of this border is decorated with a small bouquet comprising three similarly-embroidered flowers. The scarf’s edges are adorned with thin goldwork lace. Dimensions: 53x56 cm. Publication Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 154, fig. 139.

This craftwork may be compared to examples of similar technique from Syria (Zernickel 1992, 195).

Inv. No. 2569: Square scarf made of silk and decorated with the tie-dye technique. The design, although similar to the one of no. 2570 of the Benaki Collection, is better defined and features brighter colours: white, blue, red, crimson, green and yellow. Two of the scarf’s sides end in a hem, while tassels in the crimson colour of the background decorate the other two sides. Dimensions: 74x74 cm. Publication Hadjimichali 1983, 395, fig. 424.

Inv. No. EE 2570: Square scarf made of silk and decorated with the tie-dye technique. A big cross, formed by slightly wavy bands with a lozenge at their intersection, divides the scarf in four square panels. Each panel contains designs that are variants of the lozenge motif. Two diagonally positioned lozenges are similar; their centre is filled with six oblique lines consisting of yellow dots on a green background. The third lozenge contains a cross and the fourth encloses a four-petaled flower. The entire background of the scarf is filled with smaller lozenge in white, yellow, green, red and crimson colours. These are defined by dots, which are typical of the applied tie-dye technique. In many cases the red thread, used for tying the knots, is still preserved in the fabric. Two of the four sides of the scarf end in a hem, while the other two feature a fringe of small, crimson-coloured tassels, consisting of tied warp threads (see similar examples in Egoumenidou 1997, 43 fig. 12; Papademetriou 2008, 15, 29). Dimensions: 77x77 cm.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four parts, each of which contains a different lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing rows of yellow dots. At the top left, the lozenge is divided into four squares with small pairs of designs. The top right part contains a flower with three petals. In the bottom left square part, the lozenge has seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The bottom right square contains concentric circles made of white, green and yellow dots. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition. For similar examples, see Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12; Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four square parts, three of which contain a central lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing nine small squares with three white dots in their centres. The bottom left and top right square parts have the same lozenge variation, consisting of eight oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The bottom right part is divided by yellow dots into thirty small squares, containing flowers with four white dots at their centres, in alternating red, burgundy and green colours. The top left part has a flower with five petals at its centre. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition. For similar examples, see Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12; Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four square parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing nine small squares with three white dots at their centre. The bottom left, top left and top right squares have the same lozenge variation, consisting of six oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The bottom right square contains a flower with three petals. The background of the shawl is covered with smaller lozenges and other linear and curvilinear designs. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition. This shawl is depicted in Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12. Other similar samples can be seen in Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Donation by L. Drandakis, 2017. Purchased from the antiquarian shop "Homeros," Soutsou Street, Athens.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four square parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing nine small squares with three white dots at their centre. The bottom left and top right squares have the same lozenge variation, with seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The top left square contains a cross with pairs of small flowers between its arms, while the bottom right square has a flower with four petals in its centre. The background of the shawl is covered with smaller lozenges and other linear and curvilinear designs. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition and is similar to the two Koilani shawls in the Cypriot ethnographic collection in the Benaki Museum (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74 and 108, no. 75).

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Donation by L. Drandakis, 2017. Purchased from the antiquarian shop "Homeros," Soutsou Street, Athens.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. The bottom left and top right parts have the same lozenge variation, with seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The top left square contains a cross with pairs of small flowers between its arms, while the bottom right square has a flower with four petals in its centre. The background of the shawl is covered with smaller lozenges and asymmetrical linear designs. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition and is similar to the two Koilani shawls in the Cypriot ethnographic collection in the Benaki Museum (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74 and 108, no. 75).

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Donation by L. Drandakis, 2017. Purchased from the antiquarian shop "Homeros," Soutsou Street, Athens.