yellow

Yellow headscarf made from an extremely fine cotton fabric. All around the edges, there is a dense printed decoration of repeated floral compositions of a variety of closely arranged, extremely delicate flowers. The floral motifs appear in green, brown and white colours, which stand out vividly against the yellow background. The four corners are occupied by a larger composition of similar flowers and leaves.

Yellow headscarf made from an extremely fine cotton fabric. All around the edges, there is a dense printed decoration of repeated floral compositions of a variety of closely arranged, extremely delicate flowers. The floral motifs appear in green, brown and white colours, which stand out vividly against the yellow background. The four corners are occupied by a larger composition of similar flowers and leaves. The centre of the headscarf features a wreath, consisting of six bouquets, similar to those that frame the corner patterns.

ΜΓ 41

Saya of silk or silk-cotton fabric with alternating red and green stripes, flanked by finer stripes in other colours.

The long-sleeved garment features a deep oval neckline that extends into a vertical opening. The upper part of this opening closes with five handmade spherical buttons of an off-white fabric core, lined with maroon thread. The buttons were originally paired with loops, yet only two posterior loops of black cord survive.

The entire back side and both front panels of the saya consist of a single fabric panel with seams along the sides. Two side openings in the lower part of the garment (height: 37 cm) are framed by two narrow gores each. These gores, which match the height of the vertical front opening, widen towards the hem to enhance movement (maximum width: 6-7 cm). The side openings are trimmed along their upper part with white braid. Two elongated trapezoid gores extend additionally on either side of the vertical front opening, again widening towards the hem (maximum width: 18 cm).

The upright collar (height: 2 cm) is lined with the fabric of the saya. Black braid edges the collar, the neckline and, further down, the upper part of the vertical opening. The saya reaches to the mid-calf, featuring a simple hem finish.

The long sleeves comprise a single fabric panel with an inseam, an additional fabric piece at the lower end, measuring 14 cm in height, as well as two triangular gussets joined lengthwise at the armpit. In their lower part, an oblong vertical opening extends from the inseam, measuring 25 cm in height. Black braid adorns the sleeve edge, while zig-zag stitching in the same colour extends further inside. The sleeve lining is made of the saya fabric, yet its stripes are arranged in the opposite direction than those on the sleeve.

The saya is lined with beige cotton fabric. On the right side, a large pocket (height: 32 cm, width: 16 cm) features an opening trimmed with white braid. Higher up on the breast, a small pocket is lined in the upper part with a colourful imported fabric, combining stripes and floral motifs. The lining is discernible on the 6 cm long sickle-shaped pocket opening, which is bordered by fine black braid and zig-zag stitching in the same colour.

Height: 117 cm.

Length of sleeves: 57.5 cm.

Width of sleeves: 15 cm.

Date of entry to the Collection: 10.11.1948

Provenance: Lasa, Pafos – Purchase.

MΓ 678

Long, long-sleeved foustanin made of thick and heavy silk-cotton (koukkoulariko?) taiston fabric, with clusters of four yellow vertical stripes, alternating with wider, whiter taiston bands against a white background.

The design of the dress is identical to that of foustanin ΜΓ 676 and ΜΓ 677. It consists of a bodice and a wide skirt, joined at the waist with a waistband. The upper front of the foustanin consists of two pieces of fabric. At the back, a central six-sided segment, widening towards the shoulders (height: 33 cm, maximum width: 35.5 cm, minimum width: 6.5 cm), is flanked by another two pieces, obliquely sewn. Front and back are joined with seams on the shoulders and under the armpits. The seams are accentuated with double black machine stitching. The entire upper part, including the sleeves, is lined with white cotton fabric.

The circular neckline extends to a vertical opening that continues below the waist (total length: 39 cm, 13 cm of which under the waistband). Decorative seams of black machine stitching run around the neckline and along the opening: a simple line around the neckline and, on either side of the vertical opening, a band of straight lines flanking a zig-zag line. The decorative band also extends to the waistband. The fabric gathers with a vertically sewn pleat below each breast and up to the waistband for better fitting at the breast. The pleat is crafted by hand with brown thread and is accentuated with double machine stitching using black thread.

The sleeves consist of a single fabric piece with a seam on the upper external side of the arm. The joint with the shoulder forms a slightly curved line. The edges of the sleeves are covered with blue trimming band, internally and externally.

The waistband, which fastens with two hooks, is made of an additional piece of fabric, 3.5 cm-tall, with its stripes in horizontal arrangement. It is lined with stamped fabric, decorated with floral motifs, geometrical patterns and paisleys. A decorative seam made with black machine stitching runs along the upper part of the waistband.

The long wide skirt is made of five panels, four of which are 38 cm wide, and the fifth 34 cm wide. Around the upper edge it gathers with dense pleats, held in place by two consecutive parallel seams. The skirt features a black trimming band finish, which now survives in fragments. Internally, around the hem, a band lining, 5.5 cm-tall, is made of the same fabric as the lining of the waistband. Over the hem, two parallel decorative ribbons, one blue (below) and the other purple (above) are secured by hand with basting using brown thread (a line along the middle of each band).

All seams are handcrafted, whereas the decorative stitching with black thread is machine made.

Even though it appears used, the garment is preserved in very good condition. The traditional design of the dress is identical to that used on other foustania, which are made with various woven textiles.

Height: 129,5 cm (bodice: 36.5 cm up to the waistband, skirt: 93 cm).

Width: 35.5 cm on the shoulders, 36 cm at the waist, 114 cm around the hemline.

Length of sleeves: 48 cm.

Width of sleeves: 19 cm in the upper part, 12.5 cm in the lower part.

Date of entry to the Collection: 16.1.1990

Provenance: Palaiometocho, Nicosia – Purchased from Ero Farmaka.

ΜΓ 674

Long-sleeved foustanin of cotton alatzia with pairs of stripes alternating between green and red against an off-white ground. The peculiar stripes of the alatzia include double rows of tiny consecutive circles, green or red, and rest on yellow bands.

The dress comprises a bodice and a wide skirt which is held in place with a handmade stitch of thick beige thread within a banded waistband around the waist. The back of the bodice consists of a single fabric piece (width: 46 cm on the shoulders, 40 cm at the waist), which continues to the front until under the shoulders, at a height of 12-12.5 cm. The rest of the front is covered by two square pieces of fabric, one on either side of the breast (height: 21.5 cm, width: 20-21 cm), with a vertical seam under each armpit.

The simple neckline of the foustanin features a low banded collar of a height of 1.5 cm, from a separate piece of the same alatzia. A vertical opening reaches from the neckline to below the waist (total height of opening: 45 cm, 29 cm of which up to the waistband and 16 cm under it). The two sides of the opening, up to the waistband, as well as the front of the neckline, feature a black trimming band finish. Further in, a decorative edging features arches on a straight line. The sewn-on elements are secured with sparse handmade basting using black thread. Handmade fishbone stitch in brown runs between the trimming band and the edging. On the left side of the dress, the stitch continues to the middle of the back side of the neckline, at the nape.

The long sleeves are sewn vertically to the body. They consist of a single fabric piece with a seam along the centre of the external side of the arm. At the left armpit there is a small rectangular patch of a different fabric (height: 6 cm,  width: 2 cm). At the edge of the sleeves, the fabric is turned in to create internal basting, 2.5 cm in height. The same edging as the one adorning the opening on the breast has been secured with black thread around the basting. The entire bodice, including the sleeves, is lined with joined pieces of thick, off-white, loom-woven cotton fabric. The 2.5 cm-tall waistband is made of two bands of the same alatzia as the dress, albeit with its stripes in horizontal arrangement. The vertical joint of the pieces is discernible at the centre of the back, whereas at the centre of the front side the waistband fastens with a hook. Another hook is placed slightly higher up, at the base of the vertical opening on the breast.

The wide skirt of the foustanin gathers at the waist in dense pleats, formed as the fabric is folded over inwards (height: 2.5 cm) and secured with two thick beige parallel threads that cross through the pleats all around. The skirt consists of two superposed panels. Each panel has a height of 48 cm, 2.5-3 cm of which correspond to basting in the lower panel and in the upper panel to the internal folded-over part within the pleated area. The vertical seams of the two panels, using thick beige thread, extend to the middle of the front side, on the same straight line as the opening of the breast. There is basting around the hemline whereas a black/brown trimming band runs along the edge of the skirt, externally and internally. Fine red lace, now surviving in fragments, is sewn with brown thread at a height of 2.7 cm above the basting. Higher up, at a distance of 20 cm from the basting, ready-made black lace, 3 cm wide, with schematized rosettes, outlines the skirt. The upper part of the lace is sewn with basting and its lower part is unstitched. The same edging as that adorning the sleeves and the opening on the breast runs around the joint of the two superposed pieces of the skirt, at 45 cm over the basting. The various types of seams used on the dress are exclusively handmade.

Height: 126 cm (height of bodice: 33.5 cm,  height of waistband: 2.5 cm, height of skirt: 90 cm).

Width: 46 cm on the shoulders, 40 cm at the waist, 120 cm around the hemline.

Length of sleeves: 43.5 cm.

Width of sleeves: 17.5 cm in the upper part, 14 cm in the lower part.

Date of entry to the Collection: 1989

Provenance: Palaiometocho, Nicosia – Purchased from Ero Farmaka.