jacket (sarka)

Women’s short long-sleeved jacket (sarka) of black felt, with sewn-on decoration. The sarka consists of a single piece of fabric, which covers the chest and the back, while additional pieces cover the body under the armpits. The sleeves are made of separate pieces of felt, which are sewn vertically onto the body. The vertical opening on the chest is deep and oval-shaped, and closes at the lower part with five hook-and-eye clasps. Around the opening of the chest, all around the bottom edge of the garment and the edges of the sleeves, there is a sewn-on decorative band of twisted cord and gold thread, formed into stylised floral patterns with a chain-like finish. In the middle, below the sewn-on decoration, three horizontal ribbons of olive green, coral and blue have been sewn into the felt. The jacket is lined with beige cotton fabric and at the lower part of the sleeve it is lined with a deep red silken material with floral motifs. The garment is preserved in fairly good condition, although in several places the sewn-on decoration had come apart and was repaired.   This type of sewn-on decoration is common and characterises many Cypriot sarkes, which are part of the formal, bridal, or festive Amalia-style costume, initially urban and later also rural (as indicative examples, see sarkes from the period 1850-1870, from Peristeronopigi Ammochostou, in Michalopoulou-Charalambous 1993, 196-197).   Dimensions: Height 39.5 cm. width 43 cm. Sleeves: length 45 cm., width 17-19 cm.