cotton

Part of a female costume consists of a sayia and a white shirt. The festive sayia from Karpasia, made of thick cotton cloth. The garment is adorned with white embroidery and threaded beads. It was worn over a chemise. The back and front parts consist of a single fabric panel. At the front, a vertical slit extends all the way down. A deep opening is also formed at the bust, leaving a large part of the chest uncovered. Just below the chest, the sayia closes with  loops and buttons.  The long and narrow sleeves, sewn vertically to the shoulders, have two additional triangular pieces joined diagonally below each armpit to facilitate movement. The back part below the neck is  lined with white cotton fabric; the same applies for the part surrounding the chest opening, which is embellished with white embroidery in delicate scrolls or zigzag patterns, enriched with threaded red and green petroues (beads). The same embroidery covers the seams of the sleeves at the shoulders and, in a thinner band, the shistres (side openings) of the sayia. Threaded beads decorate also the openings of the sleeves.

Costume with sayia. It consists of a woven shirt embellished with silk pipilla (needle lace) and fine embroidery of light blue flowers at the visible part of the chest. The sayia is worn on top of the shirt. It is made of silk-cotton striped alatzia with alternating white and yellow stripes, and has brown thread decoration at the edges. The garment is long-sleeved and open at the front. The lower part of the sleeves is lined with a colourful printed fabric, which is visible in the opening of the sleeves and on the small pocket on the right side of the chest. The sayia is long enough to cover the knees, revealing the rich loom embroidery on the lower part of the cotton pantaloons, which are worn as underwear. The sayia closes at the waist with a colourful sash made of striped fabric. (for sayies made of a similar striped fabric, see Cypriot Costumes 1999, 133, and Papadimitriou 1995, 112).

The costume consists of ypokamison (chemise), foustani (dress), a headscarf and and black shoes. The chemise is short and made of taiston cotton fabric (woven material with crinkled stripes running lengthwise). The fustani is made of striped cotton alatzia, with white and blue stripes. It is entirely hand-sewn and has a body with a large V-shaped opening, passing beneath the breast, which is covered by the chemise. The long sleeves are attached to the body by sleeve-seams, as in modern garments. The long skirt is gathered at the waist.  The head is covered by a brown square kerchief. The shoes are made of black leather.    

Traditional men's costume. It consists of a shirt worn under a vest, a vraka (breeches), a zostra (sash) worn around the waist, and a headscarf. The striped silk shirt is buttoned, with collar and cuffs. The breeches are black with many pleats and the zostra is black. A black scarf is tied around the head. The man wears a sleeved waistcoat with stripes.  

Ind. no. 221: A rectangular piece of cotton, woven textile with dense fythkiotika patterns and a series of stylised trees at the upper end. The principal colours of the embroidered decoration are red and blue, with a little yellow and light green in the fills, which illuminate the design. This piece of textile served as the lower end of women's pantaloons (povratzin, underpants). A selvedge is discernible at one end (for a similar design, see a 19th century povratzin of Karpass in Papadimitriou 1996, 13, fig. 17).

Dimensions: 46 x 30 cm. Embroidery height: 25 cm.

The povratzia inv. nos. 222, 220 and 221 were bought by Loukis Pierides from Mrs. Lewis.

Ind. no. 220: A rectangular piece of cotton woven textile with dense, pefkoto embroidery, typical of the Karpas (karpasitiko) style, with a series of stylised trees at the upper end. It adorned the lower part of a pantaloon. The predominant colours are red and blue, namely the oldest colours used in such embroideries, with a touch of olive green and yellow. One edge is finished with thick crochet lace (pipilla smiliou) (see a similar design in a povratzin from Fyti, in Pierides 1980, pl. I:b).

Dimensions: 47.5 x 28.5 cm. The embroidery extends to a height of 24 cm.

Ind. no. 222: Piece of thick cotton, woven textile, covered with dense, pefkoto embroidery made on the loom. The design consists of two different compositions of consecutive lozenges in black and red. Yellow/gold and silver threads, used in a lesser extend for the fillings, illuminate the dark-coloured embroidery. The fabric is rectangular in shape. On one side, there is a finish of thick decorative braid, roughly made of blue thread. This textile piece comprises the lower end of women's pantaloons (povratzin), a characteristic element of the costume of Paphos and Karpass. The embroidered lower part of pantaloons was visible under the chemise and the sayia (for similar examples see Pieridou 1976, pl. III).

Dimensions: 57 x 24.5 cm.

Inv. no. 284: Black vraka (breeches). It features the characteristic middle part, which is longer and made of rich fabric with many folds. This was called vakla (meaning the fat tail of the Cyprus sheep) and it was usually tucked inside the waist sash at the back and untucked when entering a church. The vraka was dyed by local craftsmen called poyiatzides (Papadimitriou 1991, 41). It is gathered at the waist, where a white cotton drawstring, the vrakozoni, passed through the hem using a wooden stick called vrakorehtis, is tied at the front.

Inv. no. 208: Traditional men's costume. It consists of a shirt worn under a vest, a vraka (breeches), a zostra (sash) worn around the waist, a headscarf and a pair of black podines (boots). The striped silk shirt is buttoned, with collar and cuffs. The breeches are black with many pleats and the zostra is black with red stripes and fringes at the ends. A black scarf is tied around the head. The knee-high podines are made of leather. Podines worn by villagers at work were hob-nailed, without distinction of left and right foot, in contrast to the more elegant frangopodines, which were common in the cities. The most prominent element of this costume is the richly decorated vest: it is made of black felt and closes crosswise at the front. The decoration here is made with black cords. A vase-shaped pocket of red fabric decorated with cord is sewn onto the right side and, further up the chest, there is a colourful, stylised floral pattern. Mat patterns made of cord run along the edges of the vest and along the central opening, extending vertically from the waist to the upper back. The top of the opening is decorated with an embroidered lozenge and leaves. The opening closes with a yellow lace that passes crosswise through corresponding holes, allowing for a better fit on the body. This type of vest, sometimes with more elaborate decoration of floral motifs and even birds and lions, was admired by travellers during the first years of British rule, and was also worn in the first decades of the 20th century. Many examples are preserved in museums and private collections and some have an embroidered date on their characteristic pocket.

Inv. no. 211: Female costume of a later, “modern” type. It consists of a white shirt with a ready-made fringe, a skirt of dark-coloured, striped alatzia, a long, sleeved jacket made of burgundy fabric, and a headscarf. The jacket is fitted at the waist and closes with hooks and a button at the waistband. The design appears to copy a European-style jacket. The printed headscarf is made of kouroukla (fine cotton fabric) in vinegar colour. Printed floral designs adorn the edges and the corners, and all four sides are trimmed with ready-made lace. Such printed scarves were produced in the workshop of Kakoullis brothers, who continued the craft of their uncle Evris Mantilaris, in Nicosia, until the death of Nikos Kakoullis in 2004.

The costume is completed with white socks, black laced shoes, and a bronze cross pendant, worn around the neck. This type of costume was fashionable in Cyprus around the mid-20th century.