Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts (Latvia), Grodno State Museum of the History of Religion (Belarus) and Panevezys Local Lore Museum (Lithuania) joint virtual exhibition – traditional clothing.     Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts The traditional Latvian costume is, in essence, the traditional festive clothing of ordinary Latvian farmers, craftsmen and fishermen, which was mostly worn in the 19th century, until about 1870. But already in the 19th century, peasant clothes became more and more similar to the clothes of townspeople and nobles, until at the end of the 19th century it was replaced by so-called city fashion clothing. From this period – end of the 19th century – the Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts owns the valuable dowry (pūrs) of Tekla Casno (1865-1950), which reflects the influence of city fashion on women’s clothing. In the spring of the third year of museum existence in 1988 employees of the Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts went on an expedition to the present parish of Aizkalne (until 1930, Jāsmuiža). In Pirmie Pastari village, the museum staff received a real surprise at the home of pensioners Anna and Antons Kivlenieki – among the many household items made and used by A. Kivleniek’s aunt Tekla Casno and her parents Anna and Juris Casno, relatively well perserved Tekla Casno dowry was found – several ancient clothes were carefully stored by her goddaughter. The chest contained three different festive skirts (lyndraki), a beautiful tablecloth (golda pologs), a white wool shawl (villaine or placu saga) and a festive coat (burnass). Burnass End of the 19th century. Festive coat or burnass made in the end of the 19th century, worn while attending the church. It is sewn with a sewing machine from a thick grey woollen cloth, without lining, with a standing collar and three small button fasteners at the front. Simple cut, one-piece back and two fronts. The ends of the sleeves, the front and the edges of the collar are decorated with black narrow velvet ribbon, the ends of the sleeves, the tops of the pockets, the front and bottom have a decorative black and red thread embroidery with an Art Nouveau influence. The coat fabric is woven in 4 threads from undyed grey sheep wool, then felted into a thick cloth. Burnass can be seen in the exposition of the Museum of History and Applied Arts of Preili “Museum Stories for Latvia”. Skirt End of the 19th century Festive skirt, sewn from fine yellow wool fabric, decorated with brown velvet decorative stripes along the edge. White shawl End of the 19th century In all regions woollen shawl was an essential part of the national dress – a rectangular or square fabric draped around the shoulders. Tekla Casno’s dowry shawl is woven from white wool threads with green ornaments at the ends. Hrodna State Museum of the History of Religion   The clothing items that make up the traditional Belarusian costume are collected in the exhibition  „Drapery”. It was started in 1975 and now there are about 1400 items in the collection. The collection is based on liturgical fabrics and liturgical clothing of different denominations. Clothes, towels, bedspreads, carpets made according to folk traditions are singled out as a separate group within the collection. Giving the elements and ornamentation of the Belarusian costume and the towels a symbolic and magical meaning, using them in rituals and ceremonies turns the Belarusian folk costume into an integral part of national beliefs. The museum collection has also been replenishing with works of modern masters made in folk traditions. Women’s costume Central Belarus. 1st half of the 20th century The presented women’s costume comes from the Starodorozhsky district of the Minsk oblast and includes the following elements: andarak (a type of skirt; Belarusian word “andarak” comes from a German word “Unterrock”), an apron, a shirt, a plat (“namitka”), and a belt. The Starodorozhsky costume is territorially related to Central Belarus, but taking into account the stylistics, archaic parts and their ornamental decoration it is close to the Polesye costume. It is characterized by harmony and balance of all elements and pale colors. A noteworthy element of the presented costume is a headdress in the form of a strip of fabric about 280 centimeters long and about 33 centimeters wide. It is tied in a special way and is called namitka. Its presence indicates that the costume belonged to a married woman. Replacing a wreath of flowers on the bride’s head with a namit was part of the wedding ritual. It was a symbol of a change in marital status. After the wedding, the woman tied a namitka on all solemn occasions. The special role of this headdress was emphasized by the fact that its ends were richly decorated with embroidery or lace. The ornament on both edges of one item was different. The wedding namitka was kept all life and was often placed into the eternity box of the dead. Svitka (Peasant’s russet overcoat) the village of Tumashi, Mostovsky district. The beginning of the 20th century Wool, cotton; weaving, felting, embroidery, hand sewing Svitka is men’s and women’s outerwear usually below the knee length. It was used among Belarusians, Lithuanians, Russians and Ukrainians. Svitkas were usually sewn from homemade fabric of the color of sheep’s wool. It was known since the 11th century and used by different segments of the population. Soon, the costume of Ponemanye region felt the influence of international urban fashion. It influenced the cut of the svitka: it became double-breasted, a collar and pockets appeared. Svitkas were worn until the 1930s in Belarus. Belt Author: Larisa Kostyukevich Village Krasnaya, Lidsky district. 1940s Wool, linen; weaving A multi-colored belt was an indispensable element of the Belarusian folk costume. As a rule, it was woven, braided or knitted with tassels, fringes or pom-poms. It was one of the oldest pieces of clothing and was widely used both in everyday life and in festive costumes. The folk ethics of Belarusians … Continue reading Virtual exhibition “Traditional clothing”