Silk

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, with fringed edges. It is decorated with the very old tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots, a yellow wavy band in the vertical and horizontal arms, and a lozenge at its centre, divides the shawl into four parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. The lozenges of the top left and bottom left are similar, filled with seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The lozenge in the top right square encloses a flower with four petals, while the bottom right square contains a cross of white dots, with pairs of small motifs between its arms. The background of the shawl is covered with small linear motifs.

All the designs, in white, yellow, green, red, and burgundy colours, are formed by dots, which are characteristic of the technique of tie-dyed shawls. Similar samples can be seen in Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12; Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

These distinctive shawls were also exported to the Dodecanese, especially to the island of Kastellorizo. This specific shawl is preserved in very good condition.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

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

Sarka, women’s short long-sleeved jacket made of black silk fabric and lined with cotton fabric in a salmon hue. The front is made of two similar pieces, 45 cm. high and 27 cm. wide, with pointed ends. The two pieces extend to the sides and join with the single piece that covers the back. The flared sleeves are sewn vertically onto the body, with inner seams. They are 46 cm. long, 17 cm. wide at the shoulders and 30 cm. wide at the flared ends. The back has a height of 32 cm. and its maximum width reaches 27 cm.

There is a sewn-on golden thread decoration of ready-made lace with a width of 2 cm. at the front opening, the bottom edge and around the ends of the sleeves. The pattern consists of continuous elaborate semi-circular motifs.

Dimensions: height 45 cm., width 54 cm. Sleeves: length 46 cm., width 17-30 cm.

Two maniketta (cuffs), made of striped silk, taisto, the same as that of the trachilia (CMLE 514), with wide and narrow bands in the warp. The upper part is closed with a drawstring. Each one consists of a single piece with an inner seam. They are adorned with elaborate handmade pipilla edging, consisting of continuous flowers with five petals and a sixth which is triangular and connected to the base of the lace. In between the flowers, there are five small leaves above arches, which connect the flower petals on either side.

Dimensions: width 66 cm., height 30 cm. Width of lace: 4 cm.

Trachilia made of striped, taisto, silk woven fabric, with wide and narrow bands in the warp. The trachilia covers the bust and is worn underneath the sarka, as an alternative to the shirt. It consists of three pieces. The two front pieces each have a height of 50 cm. and a width of 43 cm. The finish at the bottom is a simple hem, while the V-shaped neck opening, which continues as a vertical opening, is decorated with handmade pipilla lace, 1 cm. wide. The pattern consists of a series of tiny triangles, which are reminiscent of little cypress trees. At the back, the two pieces of fabric are joined to a third piece, also of striped silk, with a height of 24 cm. and a width of 43 cm. At the edges of the back piece, there are two bands of thin cord, 46 cm. each, which tie at the back.

Dimensions: front pieces: height 50 cm., width 43 cm.

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.

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.

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 parallel horizontal stripes formed in the weft. The stripes are in three groups, each of which has six stripes – three fine and three broader stripes. The colours (from top to bottom) are light green, deep red, and purple. Below the bottom group, at the lower edge of the skirt, there is a broad band in dark/cypress green. The thin stripes have a 0.5 cm width, the wide stripes have a 1 cm width, and the green band at the bottom is 4 cm wide. The width of each group is 10 cm. The skirt is ankle-length and widens towards the hem. 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 that tie at the waist. It is lined with off-white cotton fabric and it has a simple hem at the bottom. In places, the fabric is stained and shows signs of wear.

This is a characteristic urban festive traditional skirt, primarily made in Nicosia. This particular 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.

Price: 275 drachmas.

Christening hat belonging to Vartouhi Tavihan (Βαρτουχί Ταβιχαν) from Seleukia. The beige hat with flower embroidery and lace around the perimeter, is one of the pieces they embroidered for sale.

Her family created very fine embroideries by the end of the 19th century. It was the cousin of Mr. Klathig HadjiTarihan, Mrs. Ahahid Parazian, who taught Miss Varrouhi Tavihan how to embroider. During the war, they left Bandirma (Panormos) and took refuge to Kavala, wherefrom they exported their embroidery to Germany. This was the sole income they earned as refugees. 

A small piece of Zabelle Melikian's wedding veil. The tulle features embroidered swans in their natural habitat.

The costume of the town woman with festive skirt consists of: the skirt, the ypokamison (chemise), the sarka (sleeved jacket) and the headdress comprising two scarves. In the case of this costume, too, the basic garment is the long skirt. It is made of pink silk brocade with groups of parallel stripes in blue and mauve colours. the heavily pleated skirt gathered at the waist. The chemise is made of pure silk material woven on the loom.

Over the chemise is worn a short velvet jacket sarka, with applied decorations of gold braids. It has sleeves sewn vertically to the body, a small upright collar, and a vertical opening at the front.

The headdress, which indicates the social status of the woman wearing it, consists of two printed kerchiefs. The chest is covered with mirmidi made of many thin chains, a necklace called kertanes and a filigree cross with toutounia.