colorful

Inv. No. EE 1622: Sayia made of alatzia with white cotton background and stripes in blue, light blue and light brown colours in the warp. Brown stripes also run through the weft at intervals, thus creating plaid. At the back of the hem there are denser plaids with brown and blue horizontal stripes. The sayia has a small upright collar, a deep narrow opening at the chest and a vertical slit all the way down. At the base of the chest opening, it closes with two knitted buttons, one red/reddish-brown and the other yellow/honey-coloured.

The back of the garment consists of a single fabric panel, which extends to the front. Two gores (loxes) have been added from the base of the chest opening to the hem, one on each side, made of the same fabric. Similar gores on both sides of the garment’s lower part bear the side openings, each 0.24 m long. The sleeves, long and vertical, are fixed to the shoulders with their stripes arranged in a horizontal position. They end in an opening 0.16 m. long, lined internally with a piece of the same alatzia. The usual square piece of fabric has been added under the armpits to facilitate movement.

In term of colours, the rich decoration of the sayia agrees with the woven fabric. The finish of the collar and of the chest opening, extending to the upper part of the vertical opening, consists of a cord braided with honey-coloured and reddish-brown threads. A similar cord adorns the opening of a small pocket on the right side of the chest, the inside of which is lined with purple silk. At the side openings and the sleeves, the cord also includes green thread. Parallel to the cord, a zigzag line is formed of black thread. This simple design is the only decorative element at the lower part of the vertical slit and at the hem.

More elaborate decoration encloses the opening of the chest, which is trimmed with sewn-on green and rose cord forming a wavy line. A zigzag line of reddish-brown and metal threads runs internally along the green cord. All around the opening, lattice-filled triangles embroidered with reddish-brown silk alternate with black triangles, of which only traces are preserved. Small lozenges around the collar, made of black thread, are also worn. A zigzag line, with lozenges on every other of its points, borders the seam of the sleeves. The line consists of twisted metallic and black threads. Black thread, alternating at intervals with reddish-brown one, is also employed for the fly stitch of the seam.

The sayia has no lining. Only the part under the appliqué decoration, all around the chest opening, is lined with the same alatzia.

Embroideries similar in patterns and colours, characterise many surviving sayies from Karpasia (see for example Papademetriou 1991, 100-101 fig. 64, 65, 114-116; The Cypriot Costumes 1999, 170-173, 176-177). Donated by Fokion Tanos in 1948.

Length of the sayia: 116 cm. Length of sleeves: 50 cm.

Inv. No. EE 117: Female costume from Karpasia, consisting of a chemise (EE 951), a black inner headscarf (EE 2567), baggy pantaloons (vratzia, EE 1586) and a sayia (EE 1623). The costume also comprises a deep red, stamped headscarf (EE 2568), worn loose over the black one, as well as black socks (EE2200), and black leather shoes (EE 2301). Two stamped kerchiefs (EE 3122 and EE 3122a) were donated along with this costume, which was also complemented by earrings (Ea 1885) and a pendant cross (Ea 1884). Donated by Fokion Tanos, Cairo 1948. Hadjimichali 1983, 383, fig. 410.

Inv. No. EE 951: Long chemise made of silk and cotton, woven taiston fabric, namely with puckered bands along the warp, which result in vertical stripes on the woven fabric. The chemise consists of two pieces of fabric, with an additional gore (loxa) on each side and simple stitched joints. The front and back are made of a single piece, without seams at the shoulders. The sleeves, long with a vertical seam, have stitched ends. The chemise’s vertical opening along the chest closes with two mother-of-pearl buttons. Length: 98 cm. Publication: Hadjimichali 1983, 389, fig. 417.

Inv. No. EE 2567: Black scarf made of thin cotton cloth (kouroukla), with a selvage along two of its four sides. The other two sides have no finish. The scarf served as an inner headcover (skoufoma). Women wore an inner headscarf, which they covered with a second scarf, worn on top.

Inv. No. EE 2200: Pair of black cotton, woven socks.

Inv. No. 2301: Pair of shoes made by a shoemaker (skarparisima). Each one consists of two pieces of leather: one for the round front, and another for the heel counter. The shoes are tied with laces and have a low heel made of sole leather. Simple stitches are employed at the joints.   

Inv. No. EE 1586: Vratzin of woven cotton. The povratzia, stitched at both lower ends of the vratzin and tightened around the ankles, are made of thicker cotton fabric decorated with loom embroideries. The latter cover a zone 24 cm. in height, which is visible under the shirt and the sayia. The embroideries belong to the type of the red embroideries (kotsinoplouma) of the loom and are called pefkota because of their density. Their pattern is the karpasitikon (of the Karpasia area) in its older and more basic colours, namely the red and the black of the dyer (deep blue).  The embroidered decoration further features lazarin (bright yellow), orange, vazanin (deep purple), and brown/cinnamon colours, but also gold made of ttellourka, i.e. metal wires, placed at the choliasmata, that is, in the fillings of the central lozenges. Above the embroidered zone there is a row of stylized palm trees.

A similar design is depicted in: Pieridou 1980, pl. Ιβ; Pieridou 1976, pl. V. Hadjimichali 1983, 388, fig. 415.

Inv. No. EE 1623: Sayia made of alatzia katrelioti, namely white cotton fabric with blue, yellow and reddish-brown stripes in the warp. Reddish-brown and blue stripes are also repeated at intervals in the weft, forming a very sparse plaid pattern. The back and the front parts of the garment are made of the same piece of fabric. A deep square opening at the chest closes with a loop and a button. On both sides of the vertical opening, from the base of the chest to the lower end, additional gores (loxes) widening towards the hem facilitate the crossing of the sayia. Gores are also formed at the side openings. The sleeves, sewn vertically to the shoulders, become wider at their lower end. The hem and all the openings are decorated with a reddish-brown cotton string and a zigzag line embroidered with black thread. The opening of the chest is adorned with eight arch-shaped elements, filled with linear patterns made of gold wire, as well as black, green and reddish-brown silk threads. The design is enriched with scrolls. On both right and left sides, the second from the top arch-shaped elements are embellished with a red cross on a gold background. The surface of the cross is decorated with a zigzag line of yellow thread. On the right side of the chest there is a small pocket with an oval opening.

A similar sayia from Karpasia, dated to the 19th century, plaid, with sewn-on embroidery from arch-shaped elements ​​and crosses, is included in the Collection of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge (Papademetriou 2000, 111 cat. 3).

Length of sayia: 114 cm. Length of sleeves: 46 cm. Donated by Loukis Pierides.

Publications: Hadjimichali 1983, 392, fig. 418; COSMESIS 1984, cat. 1.

Inv. No. EE 2568: Scarf dyed in reddish-brown (xydin) colour, with stamped decoration. Its four sides are adorned by a band made of printed floral motifs, while at each corner there is a wreath with leaves and flowers. All designs are similar to those of the other scarves of the collection. Particularly interesting is the pipilla, needle lace along the edges, made of silk threads. Its design comprises small flowers with five white petals around a yellow-coloured centre, and a leaf in olive-green colour.

 Inv. No. 118: Male costume from Karpasia, comprising a shirt (EE 953), breeches (vraka, EE 1587), a waist girdle (zostra, EE 2134), a sleeved waistcoat (zimbounin, EE 1421), a fez (EE 2351), boots (podines, EE 2302), and a pair of hair-woven garters (EE 2242). The costume is complemented by a knitted pouch (pountzin, EE2908) and a leather bag (vourka, EE 3152).

Donated by Fokion Tanos, Cairo 1948.

Inv. No. EE 953: Shirt made of white cotton cloth with light blue and green stripes (alatzia). It has long sleeves and a collar with outward-folded leaves. At the front, along the waistline there is a horizontal stripe, at the endpoint of vertical pleats. At the central, front parts the cloth is sewn in such a way, so as to comprise alternating vertical and oblique stripes. The shirt is fastened by three black buttons, while higher up, under the collar, there are two more buttonholes (the buttons do not survive). The cloth stripes at the sleeve cuffs are set obliquely.

Inv. No. EE 1587: Breeches made of thick cotton cloth, dyed black. These baggy pantaloons pleat around the waste, where they are held in place by means of a girdle (vrakozonin). At the lower front part, two vertical joins cause the cloth to bunch, thus forming a fluffy part in between the calves (sella or vakla, named after the wide and full of fat tail of the sheep found in Cyprus). Breeches were dyed in special oblong jars by local dyers, who employed pomegranate skin, indigo and Rhus coriaria (roudin), a plant also used for tanning purposes (on traditional dyes in Cyprus and the dyeing process applied for breeches, see Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2001, 262-276: Ε. Ριζοπούλου-Ηγουμενίδου, «Η παραδοσιακή χρήση φυτών στην Κύπρο στη βαφική και την κοσμητική κατά τους νεότερους χρόνους», στο: Φαρμακευτικά και Αρωματικά Φυτά, Ζ΄ Τριήμερο Εργασίας , Κύπρος, Παραλίμνι, 21-25 Μαρτίου 1997 (Αθήνα 2001), 262-276.  

Inv. No. EE 2134: Waist girdle made of woven black wool, with a white strip along its edges. The warp threads extend in black tassels at the narrow sides. The girdle is characterised by its excessive length, due to which it could be wrapped around the waist multiple times. Dimensions: 220x40 cm.       

Inv. No. EE 1421: Zimbounin (sleeved waistcoat) made of silk and cotton cloth, with stripes in yellow/golden and crimson colours. The crimson stripes are bordered on each side by a thin band with a linear woven motif, namely a fishbone in green colour. The sequence of alternating designs is as follows: yellow stripe, fishbone, crimson stripe, fishbone etc. The waistcoat is open at the front and its two sides cross over at their lower part, which consists of an additional, obliquely positioned piece of cloth.  The back and the front parts are made of a single piece of cloth, without shoulder seams. Seams can be found along the sides, each ending in a small opening. The long sleeves, sewn vertically at the shoulders, have an opening at their lower edge and are simply sewn at their inner side. Their opening is lined with a colourful stamped cloth, the designs of which comprise yellow, green, black and white flowers on a crimson background. The stamped cloth can be seen when the sleeves are folded upwards. The neckline and the front opening are decorated with a twisted string made of black and beige threads, ending in a tassel at the front. The left sleeve is bordered by a black string which forms three decorative knots at intervals, while the middle of the sleeve’s edge is adorned by a tripartite flower with three knots at each side. The lower edge of the waistcoat doesn’t bear any decoration.   

Inv. No. EE 2351: Fez in crimson colour, with a small black cotton tassel.

Inv. No. EE 2302: Tsagkaropodines, pair of peasant boots made of goatskin. The inner light-coloured leather is discernible at the top, where the boot is folded below the knee. Each podina (boot) is made of separate pieces at the front, the heel and the sides, joined together by vertical seams. The soles are made of overlaid pieces of ox skin. Special flathead nails (the rizes or podinorizes), made by local blacksmiths (komodromoi), are fixed on the treads. After nailing, these were fastened to a screw-shaped top, a process known as tzinoma. The twisted nails can be seen in the outline of the sole. A horseshoe-shaped iron platani is nailed at the back, where the sole becomes thicker. The join between sole and upper leather is adorned with a string of twisted thread.

For men’s boots they used the skin of a two-year-old goat, lined with sheepskin on the inside. The skins were being processed in Cypriot countryside tanneries (gnafkia), the main ones of which continued to operate up to the second half of the 20th century in the villages of Psimolofou and Pedoulas. Vegetable tanning was applied, using leaves of Rhus coriaria (commonly called roudin or sumac).

For boot dyeing they used xithkia, a paint made by shoemakers from vinegar, pieces of old iron objects, usually rusty nails, and useless leather scraps (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 169-170; Kanthos 1981, 125-129).bl. bibliography Benaki

Inv. No. EE 2242: Pair of strings (pair) spun of white and brown goat hair on the adrahtas (big wooden spindle). The podinorammata (boot strings) were used to fasten the boots (podines) at the top, near the knee.

Inv. No. EE 2908: Knitted pouch (pountzin) made of silk thread in its natural off-white colour. The long and narrow purse extends to a knitted string that ends in a tassel. The same string is also connected to another double string with tassels (flokkouthkia). Four of these tassels are attached to the middle of the string and another to its end. A threaded reddish-brown bead is found at the base of each of the two bobbles at the edges. More tassels adorn the bag, surrounding it in two rows, while another is found at its bottom. Between the rows of tassels, the bag is embroidered with yellow/gold, green, red, blue and brown beads arranged in two circumferential zones with geometric patterns. Length: 42 cm.

Similar pouches are found in Cypriot private collections and museums, such as the Museum of Folk Art in Yeroskipou and Lefkara, and the Levention Municipal Museum in Nicosia. Knitted pouches with beads are published in: Papademetriou 2008, 33. 

Inv. No. EE 3152: Leather bag (vourka) for the storage of shepherds and farmers’ food. It is made of tanned goat skin, with dense and thin fringes at the top and bottom, adorned with shells and glass beads in light green and blue colours. The bag closes by pulling two strings that are spun of white and brown hair. These strings pass through the amboustes, namely the pleats at the opening of the bag. Their other end is connected to the edges formed by the two front legs of the animal, at the back side of the bag. In this way the vourka can be hanged on the shoulder.

Inv. No. EE 4324: Man’s waistcoat (yelekkin) made of striped cloth (alatzia) in blue, yellow and light brown (siettarin) colours. The back of this sleeveless overgarment consists of a single piece of cloth that is stitched at the sides, under the armpits, to the two front pieces, leaving two small openings at the lower part. The waistcoat has a vertical opening at the front, along the chest, and a small collar, all bordered with a blue twisted string that also forms loops for the fastening buttons, again in blue colour. The string also extends along part of the horizontal lower edge of the yelekkin. A similar string decorates the opening of a pocket, placed at the middle of the opening along the chest. The edges of the arm openings are stitched with blue thread. Both sides of the vertical opening of the waistcoat, as well as the collar, are decorated near their edge with a sewn-on weft band. The latter consists of red, yellow and blue threads and is bordered by a zig zag line made of blue thread. A similar line also borders the decorated pocket opening. The waistcoat is lined with white cotton cloth, while the pocket has a striped cloth (alatzia) lining, featuring blue, red and white colours. Dimensions: 20x20 cm. It belonged to the collection of Angeliki Pieridou and was donated to the Benaki Museum by George and Marina Pieridou , in 1981.

Inv. No. EE 4322: Man’s waistcoat (yelekkin), probably from Karavas or Lapithos, made of cotton striped cloth (alatzia) in bright colours (red, yellow, white, light green etc.). The back and the sides are made of a single piece of cloth that is stitched at the shoulders and the sides to the two pieces of the front part. The latter extend to angular edges and cross over the chest, forming a U-shaped opening. The yelekkin is fastened by seven diagonally-arranged round buttons made of silk twisted string. A vase-shaped pocket is sewn at the right front side of the waistcoat. It is made of black broadcloth at the upper part and (trimmed) velvet at the lower, and its outline is adorned with strings and braids of twisted threads (gaitania, bobbins). Similar decoration is applied along the edges and the openings of the waistcoat.

Spiral decorative motifs of black twisted threads and strings extend along the openings at the chest and along the centre of the back. The latter opening is cross-fastened by means of a yellow rubber lace (probably a later addition), which passes through holes with sequins and is tied at the lower end of the garment. The right side of the chest features a composite decorative element with lozenges, braids and chequered motifs made of orange and light blue twisted strings. Similar elements are also found on other waistcoats. The yelekkin is lined with white cotton cloth.

In regard to its design and decoration, this example is similar to the waistcoat belonging to the costume of a Cypriot villager (late 19th century), now part of the National Historical Museum collection (Cypriot Costumes 1999, 147). Dimensions: 47x44 cm.

It belonged to the collection of Angeliki Pieridou and was donated to the Benaki Museum by George and Marina Pieridou, in 1981.   

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.

Inv. No. EE 4325: Povratzia, woven cotton fabric with loom embroideries made of hand-woven cotton threads in red, blue, light blue and yellow colours. The decoration is similar to the one found on povratzia no. 26134 of the Benaki Collection. The solid pefkoton feggaroton design, which characterises the lower ends of the vratzia worn as part of the Karpasia and Pafos female attire with sayia, consists of 18 vertical rows with consecutive lozenges in alternating blue and red colours. The big lozenges contain four smaller ones, each with a yellow coloured inside filling. Stylized trees, foinitzies (=palm tree) in a row, decorate the top long side of each povratzin. The bottom long side is sewn with a hem, and at the same side a decorative band made of two blue weft lines and a red one in the middle, extend along the edge of the embroidered area. Along their top long side, the two pieces of cloth are sewn together. Their narrow sides have been cut and at the one side of each piece another small piece of cotton cloth has been stitched. Dimensions: 54x25x42 cm. Width of embroidered surface: 44 cm. Publications: to add p. 102

no. 69 Inv. No. 26134: Povratzia from Pafos. The two identical, rectangular pieces of woven cotton are covered with pefkota (=dense as in carpets, the word deriving from the Greek word επεύχιον (epefchion, peftzin in the Greek-Cypriot dialect) loom embroideries, made of finger-woven cotton threads. Blue and red are the basic featured colours, while light yellow/beige and light blue are used as complementary. Remains of metallic thread are still preserved at certain points of the decoration.

The decorative pattern, which covers the whole surface of each povratzin, consists of rows of consecutive lozenges, in alternating red and blue colours. Each lozenge contains four smaller ones, the interior of which is of lighter colour or is made of shiny metallic thread, having a red or blue dot in the middle.

12 vertical rows of lozenges survive on each povratzin. A horizontal row of stylized trees, foinikoudes (= palm trees), in alternating red and blue colours, extends at the top, long side of both povratzia. Along the edges of each povratzin there are also three horizontal weft lines. Two of them are blue, while the one in-between is red. Dimensions: 45x30 cm.; 45x31 cm.

The povratzia belonged to the collection of Angeliki Pieridou  and were donated to Benaki Museum by George and Marina Pierides in 1981.

A similar embroidery with a feggaroto pattern is featured in: Pieridou 1980, pl. XXIγ; Pieridou 1976, pl. III. Such embroideries are usually found at the lower ends of vratzia (= baggy pantaloons worn by women as underwear), which were part of the Karpasia and Pafos female attire. Obviously, the povratzia presented here had a similar use.

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.