KOR63 headscarf inv.no 847

Headscarf, printed, made of fine cotton material (kouroukla), dyed in dark red colour (xydín, the colour of vinegar). It is decorated all around the edges with three-masted sailing merchant ships. In each ship three lateen sails are depicted, the aft and the fore ones in white colour and the one midships with yellow. A yard with a furled sail across all three of them seems unrealistic; the furled sail is depicted with a zig-zag line parallel to this of the yard, creating a series of triangular spaces filled with red colour. Three parallel lines amidships on the hull, which is covered with light green colour, are a rather artistic addition. On the left, the stern is clearly defined with a high sternpost and the stylized rudder – a bird is possibly sitting on them? A double series of oval shaped circles running along the sternpost, could possibly depict pintles and gudgeons? On the right, an unidentified round feature is visible on the topside of the slightly curved bow. The gunwale is shaped with a pattern similar to the one used to depict the furled sail.  Two oval-shaped red features hanging from the gunwale, one on the aft and the other on the fore part, could possibly depict fenders??? (= a rather recent characteristic…) Description of the scarf pattern by Dr Stella Demesticha, Associate Professor of Maritime Archaeology.