Costume Museum of Lykeion ton Ellinidon

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four parts, each of which contains a different lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing rows of yellow dots. At the top left, the lozenge is divided into four squares with small pairs of designs. The top right part contains a flower with three petals. In the bottom left square part, the lozenge has seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The bottom right square contains concentric circles made of white, green and yellow dots. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition. For similar examples, see Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12; Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four square parts, three of which contain a central lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing nine small squares with three white dots in their centres. The bottom left and top right square parts have the same lozenge variation, consisting of eight oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The bottom right part is divided by yellow dots into thirty small squares, containing flowers with four white dots at their centres, in alternating red, burgundy and green colours. The top left part has a flower with five petals at its centre. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition. For similar examples, see Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12; Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four square parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing nine small squares with three white dots at their centre. The bottom left, top left and top right squares have the same lozenge variation, consisting of six oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The bottom right square contains a flower with three petals. The background of the shawl is covered with smaller lozenges and other linear and curvilinear designs. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition. This shawl is depicted in Egoumenidou 1997, 43, fig. 12. Other similar samples can be seen in Papadimitriou 2008, 15, 29; Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74, 108, no. 75.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

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

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four square parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. At the centre of the shawl, there is a lozenge containing nine small squares with three white dots at their centre. The bottom left and top right squares have the same lozenge variation, with seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The top left square contains a cross with pairs of small flowers between its arms, while the bottom right square has a flower with four petals in its centre. The background of the shawl is covered with smaller lozenges and other linear and curvilinear designs. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition and is similar to the two Koilani shawls in the Cypriot ethnographic collection in the Benaki Museum (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74 and 108, no. 75).

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

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

Sialin, women’s shawl, from the village of Koilani. It is made of dimiton, a silk fabric woven with four heddles, and decorated with the tie-dye technique.

The basic colours are white, yellow, green, red and burgundy. The linear designs create a complex mosaic with lozenges, crosses, rosettes, straight, zigzag and curved lines, all of which are formed with dots, a result of the tie-dye technique. A large cross with an outline of white dots divides the shawl into four parts, each of which has a central lozenge design. The bottom left and top right parts have the same lozenge variation, with seven oblique parallel lines of yellow dots on a green background. The top left square contains a cross with pairs of small flowers between its arms, while the bottom right square has a flower with four petals in its centre. The background of the shawl is covered with smaller lozenges and asymmetrical linear designs. Two sides of the shawl are finished in selvage while the other two end in tassels of warp threads, in the burgundy colour of the background.

It is preserved in very good condition and is similar to the two Koilani shawls in the Cypriot ethnographic collection in the Benaki Museum (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 2010, 107, no. 74 and 108, no. 75).

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

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

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.

Dark burgundy headscarf made of fine cotton fabric. All around the edges, there is a dense printed decoration of 21 repeated floral compositions in a variety of closely arranged, extremely delicate flowers. The floral motifs appear in green, blue, brown and white colours, and stand out vividly against the deep-coloured background. The four corners are occupied by a larger composition of similar flowers and leaves, framed by two smaller bouquets. The smaller of these motifs is repeated eight times. The centre of the headscarf features a wreath with a diameter of 43 cm., consisting of six bouquets, similar to those that frame the corner patterns. The edges of the headscarf are decorated with a fine sewn-on band of golden thread.

This is an imported headscarf, which most likely comes from a workshop in the region of Bosphorus – either from Nihori on the western coast or from Kandilli on the eastern coast.

Dimensions: length 105 cm., width 110 cm.

The three headscarves from the workshops of the Bosphorus have been identified with the help of the researcher Soula Bozi.

Dark burgundy headscarf made from an extremely fine cotton fabric. All around the edges, there is a dense printed decoration of 31 repeated floral compositions of a variety of closely arranged, extremely delicate flowers. The floral motifs appear in green, blue, brown and white colours, which stand out vividly against the deep-coloured background. The four corners are occupied by a larger composition of similar flowers and leaves, framed by two smaller bouquets. The smaller of these motifs are repeated eight times. The centre of the headscarf features a wreath with a diameter of 43 cm, consisting of six bouquets, similar to those that frame the corner patterns. The edges of the headscarf are decorated with a fine sewn-on band of golden thread. Worn pieces of the original golden thread, have been replaced with ready-made yellow thread. The headscarf shows many signs of wear, some of which have been provisionally repaired.

This is an imported headscarf, which most likely comes from a workshop in the region of Bosphorus – either from Nihori on the western coast or from Kandilli on the eastern coast.

Dimensions: length 107 cm., width 107 cm.

Women’s square headscarf of fine cotton fabric (kouroukla), dyed in bright red. It is decorated with printed floral designs along the edges and in the centre. On each side, four similar bouquets of extremely fine flowers in green, yellow, and red colours, with black outlines, are repeated, while a larger composition of flowers and leaves occupies the four corners of the headscarf. In the centre, a floral composition is surrounded by a wreath. The finish is of simple twisted cord, without lace.

The headscarf most probably originates from the workshops of the Bosphorus – either from Nihori on the western coast or Kandilli on the eastern coast – which were famous for their printed scarves.

The traditional technique of calico-printing was practiced in the Bosphorus workshops as far back as the 17th century. These workshops used fine linen, silk cotton, muslin and cotton. The headscarves were decorated with floral compositions, which included tulip bouquets and carnations, as well as almond and cherry blossoms.

The Armenian and Greek folk artisans of Istanbul developed the technique of calico-printing into an art. It is believed that in the carving of wooden blocks for printing the designs, Armenian artisans played a leading role. Both Greek and Armenian women made significant contributions to the art of stamping, specialising in the application of colour with a paintbrush within the printed outline (for the workshops in Bosphorus, see Bozi 1997, 45-57).

Dimensions: length 107 cm., width 107 cm.

Women’s headscarf made of kouroukla, dyed in a deep red colour called tzeramidin. It is decorated with printed floral motifs in red and yellow, with black outline. The designs – of the edges (kkenarin) and the four corners (the milia) – are similar to those of the other printed headscarves of the workshop of Evris Michael (or Euripides Mantilaris) and Kakoullis Brothers. Pipilla lace decorates the edges of the headscarf and is handsewn in silk thread. The pattern features tiny white flowers with green leaves, repeated in a row.

The headscarf shows signs of wear, and repair indicates that the pipilla lace had come apart in some places. Despite this, the clarity of its motifs and the brightness of its colours are well preserved. Similar samples exist in the National Historical Museum in Athens (Gangadi et al. 1999, 178, fig. 179, 180), in the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, in the Historical and Folklore Museum of Corinth, in the Municipal Museum of Folk Art in Limassol, as well as in private collections.

Dimensions: length 100 cm., width 100 cm.

Workshop of printed headscarves Evris Michael and Kakoullis Brothers, Nicosia.