Female costume

Translator: 
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
Petroula Hadjittofi
Author: 
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
Description: 

This later female costume (dress Inv. No. 245) comprises a dress (EE 3827), a tsemberi (EE 3828) and a pair of stivalia (EE 3829). Donated by “Demetra”, the Rural Local Union of Lysi, Cyprus, in 1973.

Inv. No. EE 3827: Dress made of European stamped fabric, with delicate pattern of five consecutive tiny triangles, repeated in two parallel rows. The white-, red- and yellow-coloured motifs appear scattered against a brown background. The dress consists of a separate, wide skirt made of three fabric panels, and a fitted top with narrow horizontal pleats forming a vertical decorative band at the chest. A vertical opening, formed along one of its sides, closes with clips. The dress has a round collar of the same fabric, and long sleeves with cuffs. The joint between the skirt and the top is covered by a belt of the same fabric.

The design of the dress follows pre-1950s’ fashion styles and denotes European influence. Such dresses were made by professional seamstresses, while simple traditional costumes were sewn and embroidered at home, by women themselves. Length of dress: 120 cm. Length and width of sleeves: 76x0,5 cm.

Inv. No. EE 3828: Tsemberi (headscarf) of kouroukla (thin cotton fabric), with stamped decoration on a brown background. The all-around print, the kkenarin, consists of a repeating floral pattern, formed with the use of oblong wooden moulds. The corners are also adorned with a milia pattern, a neoclassical-type wreath with leaves and flowers. The outline of the designs, the kara-kalemi, is black, with red and yellow as complementary colours, printed with different moulds. The design, which resembles that of other stamped headscarves in the Benaki Museum Collection, remained in use at the workshop of Kakoullis brothers until 2004.

The tsemberi is trimmed all around with continuous kamares (arches) of green thread, and knots of white thread. Dimensions: 70x70 cm.

Inv. No. EE 3829: Stivalia, pair of female black boots, made by a skarparis (shoemaker) (for their way of manufacture, see Ionas 2001, 471, 477). Their toe box is round, and their heel is low and curved (“Louis”), made of overlaid pieces of sole leather. Their shaft widens upwards, reaching up to the middle of the calf. They are fastened with 13 round leather buttons, arranged in a vertical row at the side of the shaft. Each boot consists of six pieces: two at the front, covering the toes and the upper part of the foot, one at the heel counter, two at the sides of the shaft and a strip bearing the buttonholes. The joints are machine-sewn, decorated with stitches and rows of small holes. Machine-made stitches form straight and zigzag or wavy lines, as well as stylized anthems. Two leather strips, sewn vertically along the entire front and back of the shaft, protrude at its upper end. They are decorated with stitches, forming consecutive rhombuses bordered by lines. Prokkouthkia (small nails) are employed at the heels.

The stivalia are accompanied by a small metal hook with an elongated shaft, curved into a loop at its back end. The hook, 11 cm. long, was used to fasten the boots. Height of boot: 36 cm. Width of top opening: 25 cm.

 

Translator: 
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
Petroula Hadjittofi
Author: 
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
Description: 

Female costume (dress cat. no. 215) comprising a trachilia (collar, EE 3340), a skirt (EE 3341), a sarka (EE 3342) and a fez (EE 3343).

Inv. No. EE 3340: Trachilia (collar) made of silk woven, taiston fabric in the natural colour of silk, with wide and narrow bands in the warp. It consists of two strips 19-20 cm. wide, joined lengthwise at one end to form a square, leaving an opening 75 x 35 cm. The trachilia is ​​adorned with silk-thread, needle-made lace, again in the natural colour of silk, with delicate floral motifs. The trachilia is usually ​​accompanied by matching sleeve cuffs, maniketta (see i.e. Papademetriou 1995, 153). A similar trachilia and sleeve cuffs are shown in: The Cypriot Costumes 1999, 87. Publication: Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 77, fig. 40.

Inv. No. EE 3341: Long, wide skirt made of sattakrouta (woven silk fabric), dyed in bright orange colour. It consists of four sewn fabric panels, each 48 cm. wide. Stripes are formed in the weft at intervals. These are arranged in three groups, each consisting of three narrow and three wider stripes, in light green, lilac and deep purple colours (top to bottom). In the middle of the skirt, a sewn-on band of stamped cotton fabric is decorated with maroon patterns on a beige background. A black braid of woven wool trims the hem. The skirt has undergone conservation treatment, including lining, as it was damaged. Apart from the colours, it resembles the skirt of the costume EE 1590 (cat. no. 91). Length: 99 cm.

Inv. No. EE 3342: Sarka, short waistcoat made of black felt, with a low upright collar and narrow, long sleeves, sewn vertically to the shoulders. The seam at their inner side is covered by a double cord. The back consists of a single trapezoidal piece of fabric, 41 cm. and 31 cm. wide at the top and bottom respectively. A seam at the shoulders joins it to the two front pieces, which have a maximum width of 28 cm. The front pieces are joined down at the waist, leaving a vertical opening above. Under each armpit, triangular pieces of fabric, joined at their base, offer ease of movement. The sarka is richly adorned with goldwork: the edges of the chest opening and the waist round, as well as the collar are trimmed by a double cord of gold thread and a wide sewn-on band with scroll patterns of twisted gold thread. The latter is repeated at the edges of the sleeves. A large paisley adorns both front pieces, right and left, while the back is decorated with a vertical, stylized floral motif. All edges are bordered by lace knitted with gold thread.

Although it is similar to the waistcoat EE 1423 of the costume cat. no. 91, this sarka has a more extravagant decoration. The paisley pattern is repeated in other waistcoat specimens (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 107, figs. 92, 137, 151). Length of sleeves: 45 cm. Width of sleeves: 13-16 cm.

Inv. No. EE 3343: Fez of red felt without lining, externally covered by a black tassel sewn to the top of it. Fringes made of black silk are scattered around the front half, where they are held in place by fkiora, lace buds and leaves of green and white silk thread. The stems of flowers, emerging from a thin strip attached to the fez, are fixed internally by means of a thin fabric. Over the back part of the fez falls the 58 cm. long tassel. Height of fez: 10 cm. Diameter (opening): 18 cm.

Fezzes with fkiora are depicted in photographs of the early 20th century, while a wreath made of pearls and silk thread is kept in the National Historical Museum in Athens (The Cypriot Costumes 1999, 80-83). Similar is the garland of Iouliani Voditsianou (19th century), currently on display at Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios House in Nicosia (for all the above, see Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 150-152).

 

Translator: 
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
Petroula Hadjittofi
Author: 
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
Description: 

Female costume (dress cat. no. 170) which comprises all the main dress elements of the Amalia-type costume: a chemise (EE 952), a skirt (EE 1590), a sarka (EE 1423) and a fez (EE 2352).

Inv. No. EE 952: Silk chemise, made of loom woven taiston fabric (with puckered bands created lengthwise by warp threads of two different tensions). The chemise is long and consists of a single panel, 52 cm. wide, forming the front part and the back, as well as an oblique trapezoidal piece of fabric, set under each armpit and widening downwards. At the lower part of the garment, triangular gores (loxes) set at the sides add extra width. Their joint (kollisi), like all seams, is done by a fly stitch. The finish at the hem and at the ends of the sleeves is ruched. The sleeves, sewn vertically to the body, are joined by a seam at the inner side. The rounded neckline has a vertical opening of 19 cm., which is trimmed with smili (needle) lace, and closes with two loops. The initials "M P I", obviously of the donor Marika P. Ioannou, are embroidered with red and orange thread in a chain stitch, low at the front.  Length: 128 cm. Length and width of sleeves: 47x26 cm. Publication: Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 76-77, figs 37, 38.

This is a representative type of Cypriot female chemise, as known from the oldest surviving specimens of the second half of the 19th century. According to the categorisation established by the costume maker Ioanna Papantoniou, this type is associated with the most common category of modern Greek chemise, having local variants (Papantoniou 1978, 8-9, dr. 37-43; Papantoniou 1979, 569-71, dr. 3-8).

Inv. No. EE 1590: Ankle-length skirt of woven silk fabric (sattakrouta) in yellow/gold colour, with horizontal parallel stripes in the weft at intervals. The stripes are arranged in three groups of six - three narrower and three wider - in purple, lilac and light green colours (top to bottom). The edge is trimmed all around with sewn-on black, ready-made lace, followed above by whitish lace, and a thin red cord a little higher. The cord has been fixed with a running stitch, while the lace bands are sewn only on the upper side, with the bottom side remaining unattached. The garment ends in a simple hem.

The skirt consists of five panels 44-46 cm. wide, according to the width of the loom reed. The panels are joined at the inner side with a simple running stitch. Creases are formed around the waist, where a band made of stamped fabric is sewn like a belt. The band is adorned with brown and red flowers on a beige background. A second piece of fabric, beige monochrome with creases, is fixed internally around the waist. The skirt closes with two hook-and-eye fasteners sewn on the stamped fabric band, above an opening of 12 cm., trimmed with a cord of red, yellow and blue threads (for the costume as an ensemble, see Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou 1996, 76 fig. 38). Length: 98 cm.

The locally made, all-silk striped skirts are a special feature of the urban costume of Nicosia. Dyes were prepared by women themselves using vegetable matters or ready-made paints. Lilac (vazani, namely the colour of the eggplant) was obtained from wild blackberries, green from walnut shells and pieces of the banana tree trunk, rose from onion peels, yellow from chrysanthemums and daisies (on the colours and the methods of dyeing silk threads, see Papademetriou 1995, 87, 89).

Similar extant skirts in various colours date to the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th centuries (see examples in the collections of the Cyprus Folk Art Museum and the Lyceum Club of Greek Women in Athens. See also Papademetriou 1995, 89, 152; Papademetriou 2000, 70; Papantoniou 1996, 100).

Inv. No. EE 1423: Sarka of black felt, with a low upright collar and long sleeves. The V-shaped, vertical opening at the chest closes at the bottom with two hook-and-eye clips. The back consists of a single piece of fabric, which is joined with the front pieces across the sides and shoulders. The sleeves, vertically sewn to the shoulders with a seam at the inner side of the arm, become slightly narrower downwards. Under each armpit, two diagonally joined, triangular pieces of fabric have been added for ease of movement. The collar consists of a separate piece.

The edges of the garment, as well as the side seams that continue the seams of the sleeves, are embellished with two cords of gold thread. The whole collar, as well as the fringes of the front opening and the waist and sleeve bottom edges, are decorated with a sewn-on band of twisted silk threads, forming scroll-like motifs and linear patterns. A large paisley of twisted gold threads adorns each of the lower front corners. On the back, variations of the same pattern form a triangular ornament, which extending scrolls on both sides of the side seams. The back is lined with blue fabric, while the collar and the front with crimson. Dimensions: Length: 41 cm. Width on the shoulders: 37 cm.  and at the lower part: 34 cm. Length of sleeves: 47 cm.

Inv. No EE 2352: Fez made of red felt in the shape of a cup, with a simple cut in the round. A tassel (flokkos) of black silk threads passes through the top. It is sewn on the inside of the fez, with a small sequin decorating the point of junction. Height: 17 cm. Diameter (opening): 27 cm. Length of tassel: 49 cm.

Similar examples of simple red fezzes can be found in the Museum of Folk Art in Yeroskipou, in the Museum of Folk Art in Limassol, as well as in other museums and collections.