Embroidery on Greek Women's Chemises in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
()
About this ebook
Related to Embroidery on Greek Women's Chemises in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Related ebooks
A History of Lace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Embroidery - Victoria and Albert Museum Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLace: Its Origin and History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChats on Old Lace and Needlework Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTextile Production and Consumption in the Ancient Near East: archaeology, epigraphy, iconography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Italian Lace - Vol. I. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Woven Threads: Patterned Textiles of the Aegean Bronze Age Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Minos to Midas: Ancient Cloth Production in the Aegean and in Anatolia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmbroidery Most Sumptuously Wrought - Dutch Embroidery Designs In The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bobbin Lace: An Illustrated Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Needlepoint and Pillow Lace - With Notes on the History of Lace-Making and Descriptions of Thirty Examples Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreek and Roman Textiles and Dress: An Interdisciplinary Anthology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jacobean Embroidery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brief Guide to Persian Embroideries - Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Textiles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Weaver's Craft: Cloth, Commerce, and Industry in Early Pennsylvania Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDress and Society: Contributions from Archaeology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTextiles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lessons in Bobbin Lacemaking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Textiles - Notes on Quilting Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJacobean Embroidery Its Forms and Fillings Including Late Tudor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian Costumes Rations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Italian Lace - Vol. II. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWearing the Cloak: Dressing the Soldier in Roman Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTudor and Stuart Embroidery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Decorative Needlework Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAncient Egyptian, Mesopotamian & Persian Costume Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWomen's Costume of the Ancient World: 700 Full-Color Illustrations Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pictorial Archive of Lace Designs: 325 Historic Examples Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Greek, Roman & Byzantine Costume Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Crafts & Hobbies For You
Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crochet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/540+ Stash-Busting Projects to Crochet! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sharpie Art Workshop: Techniques & Ideas for Transforming Your World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Big Book of Maker Skills: Tools & Techniques for Building Great Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kawaii Crochet: 40 Super Cute Crochet Patterns for Adorable Amigurumi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rockhounding for Beginners: Your Comprehensive Guide to Finding and Collecting Precious Minerals, Gems, Geodes, & More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Year of Dishcloths Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrochet Every Way Stitch Dictionary: 125 Essential Stitches to Crochet in Three Ways Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practical Weekend Projects for Woodworkers: 35 Projects to Make for Every Room of Your Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrocheting in Plain English: The Only Book any Crocheter Will Ever Need Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The CIA Lockpicking Manual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Modern Crochet Bible: Over 100 Contemporary Crochet Techniques and Stitches Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Make Your Own Body Butter: 32 Easy, Inexpensive, Luxurious Body Butter Recipes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lit Stitch: 25 Cross-Stitch Patterns for Book Lovers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Modern Amigurumi for the Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn How to Play Piano Keyboard for Absolute Beginners: A Self Tuition Book for Adults and Teenagers! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hoop Dreams: Modern Hand Embroidery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Weaving on a Little Loom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crochet in a Day: 42 Fast & Fun Projects Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Simply Stunning Crocheted Bags Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crochet Home: 20 Vintage Modern Crochet Projects for the Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mending Matters: Stitch, Patch, and Repair Your Favorite Denim & More Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Embroidery on Greek Women's Chemises in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Embroidery on Greek Women's Chemises in the Metropolitan Museum of Art - Linda Welters
EMBROIDERY ON GREEK WOMEN’S CHEMISES IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
Introduction
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its collections twenty-nine embroidered chemises worn by Greek women in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries as part of traditional costumes. This group of chemises is by far the largest collection in the United States and Canada (Welters, 1981, p. 24), and appears to rival better-known British collections (Johnstone, 1972). Many of the chemises are remarkable examples of the embroidery traditions they represent, and a few of them are quite rare. Overall, the collection is geographically diverse and makes a solid foundation upon which to discuss regional variations in Greek embroidery.
It is the intent of this article to illustrate and discuss the embroidery of nineteen chemises from this collection. Information was gathered as part of the author’s doctoral dissertation. The research involved close examination of 78 chemises in collections in both the U.S. and Canada. In addition, study was done in numerous museums in Greece.
The chemise is a basic garment worn by peasant women all over the Balkans for many centuries, as late as the twentieth century in some places. In Greek the word for this garment is poukamiso
which is commonly translated as chemise, or shirt. It can best be described as an underdress as it was the first garment put on. It was always worn with other outer garments but certain parts would be visible, such as hems, sleeves and necklines. These visible parts were embellished with embroidery and sometimes finished with a needle lace edging in patterns traditional to each region. The women would generally have two types of chemises, a simple one for every day, and a more elaborate one for Sundays and festival days. Most of the chemises in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection are festival chemises.
The embroidery on these chemises are particularly fine examples of folk art. In addition to embroidering clothing, Greek women worked similar motifs on certain household articles such as towels, cushion covers, bed covers and curtains. These embroideries were made as part of a woman’s dowry.
In agrarian societies like pre-20th century Greece, embroidery on costumes and domestic textiles was a vehicle for a community aesthetic, just as woodcarving or metalwork was. The collective need for ornament in peasants’ lives took the form of embellishment of functional everyday objects. For us, these objects of folk art are records of the political, cultural, and economic influences on the different regions of Greece.
These influences were many, making Greek embroidery a melting pot of Mediterranean heritage. Greece is located at the edge of Europe and at the threshold to the