fez

Dark red female fez, timeworn in many places. A long tassel made of black silk threads passes through the centre of the top and is then secured externally. The fez supplemented the female urban dress, while at the same time it was one of the basic complementary elements of the male attire. In 18th and 19th centuries property lists of deceased persons from Larnaca and Nicosia, fezzes imported from the Barbary Coast, namely from North African countries (Tunisia, Algeria, Maroco), are recorded as parpareshika. Fezzes were also locally made. Dimensions: Height: 18 cm. Diameter: 30 cm. A sketch by D’Oulevay depicts the blocking of a fez with a mould, at a fez production workshop in Nicosia at the end of the 19th century (Deschamps 1897, III fig. 171).