Sunday, April 8, 2012

Some Chinese or East Asian Medallions

Hello All,

I apologize that I have not been posting as regularly lately. I am currently researching the Costumes of Savoy, and it is more work than I had anticipated.

For Easter, I thought I would share these examples of Asian Embroidery. I found these medallions in a thrift store. I do not know where they are from.

This style of embroidery originated in China, and spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other places, which of which elaborated on the style in their own way.

I also have no idea what these are intended to be used for. If anyone out there knows, please inform me. I don't know what I will do with them.

The majority of each of these designs is couching with a narrow metallic gold thread, done in runs of two. Each thread is half a millimeter wide.

The majority of each motif consists of negative space, of which the Chinese are masters. Then other motifs are embroidered in non-twisted silk thread.

The medallion above is 5 inches wide. Here are a couple more examples.This one seems to have pineapples.

There are various background colors.

Some are square, others are round. This one incorporates butterflies? These are the same size, 5 inches.

This one incorporates bats, a symbol of Happiness, as in Chinese, bats and happiness are both pronounced 'Fu'.

This example has squared off designs, reminiscent of the designs on ancient Chinese bronze vessels.

These next few are somewhat larger, 6.5 inches wide, so the designs are correspondingly more complex. This one incorporates a Chinese character, I do not know which one.

Each one is different.

This design is one of my favorites. Again, reminiscent of ancient bronze vessels, there are three animal faces at the top. Each eye can be seen as being on the head of a phoenix, two of them, facing each other. The Phoenix is a symbol of femininity, Yin. Alternately, both eyes can be seen to belong to the face of a Tiger, the nose being near the center of the design. The tiger is a symbol of masculinity, Yang. Oddly enough, the tiger is also a symbol of the ancient Chinese Mother Goddess, Queen Mother Wang of the West. Controller of disease, a ruthless and powerful figure.

[ Kuan Yin, who is sometimes called a Chinese Mother Goddess, is not Chinese, but from India, not a Goddess, but a Boddhisvata, the Buddhist version of a Saint, and not a woman, but a man, whose original name is Avalokitesvara, the Lord of Compassion. It is a surprising development that he became very popular in China as a figure of loving care and compassion, and became feminized. But if you look carefully at Chinese depictions of Kuan Yin, you will see no hint of breasts.]

So is this a depiction of the balance between Yin and Yang, or is it a depiction of the power of the female?

These next couple of medallions are 8 inches across, and have more detail. Here is a bulbul? singing on a branch of a flowering cherry tree.

Here is a beautiful goldfish swimming in a pond.

A Chinese Swan Goose swimming. Notice how the feathers on the wings were depicted. A beautiful effect.

A surprisingly subtle color scheme in this one. Note how the large petals consist of threads running at right angles and anchored by cross stitches.

One last one, showing a bird [a kingfisher, maybe] flying or diving between water lilies?. This one is 10.5 inches wide, and did not fit on my scanner. Note the fine shading of color in the silk embroidery.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. I certainly enjoy looking at the beauty of this handiwork. If anyone knows what these are for, or has ideas of what to do with them, please let me know. Or perhaps you would like to acquire one.

Let us surround ourselves with beauty, and let us be inspired to make beautiful things to use in our lives.

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Introduction to the costumes of Savouè, Savoy, or Savoie

Hello all, today I will do an introduction to some of the costumes of Savouè, as it is called in the local language, a region which is called Savoy in English, Savoie in French, and Savoia in Italian.

This is the territory that was held by the independent House of Savoy. The House of Savoy was established in 1003. It existed as a County [A region ruled by a Count] until 1416, then as an independent Duchy until 1714. The northern part, Vaud, became part of Switzerland in 1564, and the southern part was disputed between France and Italy between the years of 1714 and 1860 until the present borders were established. The Departements of Savoie and Haute Savoie are now in France, The Cantons of Vaud, Fribourg and Valais are now in Switzerland, and the Paese of Aosta, Piedmonte and Liguria are now in Italy.
For more on the Realm and region of Savoy, see these articles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_of_Savoy

Prior to the big push in the early 20th cent. from Paris to make all of the Nation of France speak the language of their own northern region, which we now call simply French, this area, Savoie, Haut-Savoie, Vaud, Aosta and some neighboring regions, especially to the west spoke the language known as Arpitan or Franco-Provençal. This still survives to some extent, especially outside France in Vaud, Fribourg, Valais, Aosta and the northwest corner of Piedmonte.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Proven%C3%A7al_language

Here is a map showing the traditional regions of the French part of Savoy. I will be following these as the modern administrative departements do not reflect the traditional cultural regions. The three northern regions of Chablès, Fôcegni and Genevês are known as Upper Savoy, The three southern regions simply as Savoy. The labels on this map are in Arpitan or Franco-Provençal. In this and the next two postings I will be focusing on the three southern regions of Savouè prôpra, Tarentèsa and Môrièna [in French, Savoie Propre, Tarentaise and Maurienne ]. I will address Savoie Propre in this posting, and dedicate a future posting to each of the other two.

This region is at the Western end of the Alps, and much of it is mountainous. In such territory, regions are defined by the river valleys, and separated by the mountains. Here is one map to help understand the different regions, and one that shows the river valleys.

SAVOIE PROPRE

Chambery

The region in the northwest, around Chambery, shown in light yellow, is a well populated fertile lowland, and like many such regions, the folk costume either never developed, or was lost early. Here is a couple of the very few photos which I have found of the costume from this area. Even the folkloric groups from this area wear costumes from the highlands.

Bauges

To the east of Chambery, there is a highland region known as the Bauges, shown in dark gold in the map above. I have found little from this region.

This woman is from Gresy sur Isere.

This woman is from le Chatelarde.

Val d'Arly

East of this area is the valley of Arly, on the border with Upper Savoy, north of the town of Ugine.
This valley still has a living costume tradition. One distinctive feature of the costume is the patterned knitted jacket worn by the men. The particular coif worn by the women in this region is called the beguine.

Beaufortin

This region is south and east of the Arly valley, and forms the last part of Savoie Propre which I will cover. This area also has a costume tradition which is being kept alive by various groups in the area. The coif of this region is called the Berres.

Thank you for reading. I will cover the costumes of Tarantaise and Maurienne in two other postings. I hope you have found this interesting and inspiring.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
G. Collomb, 'Les Costumes de Savoie', Chambery, 1972
Fabian et Anne da Costa, 'Costumes Traditionels de Savoie', Lyons, 2000
Daniel Dequier & Francois Isler, 'Costumes de Fete en Savoie', Seyssinet, 2002
R. Feuillie, 'Quelques Costumes de Savoie', Annecy,
Andre Sainsard, 'Costumes Folkloriques Provinces Françaises', Paris, 1972
Royere, Gardilanne, Moffat et al, 'Les Costumes Regionaux de la France', New York, 1929
Charles-Brun, 'Costumes des Provinces Françaises', Paris, 1937
P. Leroux, 'Costumes Regionaux', Paris, 1940
Caroline Brancq, 'Les Costumes regioneaux d'Autrefois', Paris, 2003

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Kreuzdecke of Austria or Österreich

Hello all,

I am looking at so many things these days, busy working, embroidering and sewing, and yet I want to add new material to my blog. Today will be a quick and easy posting.
Austria is a country which is very rich in living costume and embroidery. Cross-stitch has been done here since at least the 1500's. We have copies of pattern books which were published in that era, and many of the designs are still used today.
In Austria, as in most places in Europe, Many household linens were embroidered, and many people still carry on this tradition. Decorative pillows [polster], runners [lauefer], and scarves for furniture, covers for breadbaskets [korbdecke], tablecloths [tischdecke], etc. Many of these are done in cross-stitch, often with portions of the design executed in Holbein or outline stitch. I will focus today on one particular composition which is popular in Austria and rare otherwise, the Kreuzdecke, or 'cross-cover'.
Many people embroider tablecloths, and usually they embroider a border around the outside edge. The Austrians also do this. Here is a typical example with eagles and flowers.

Center and corner designs are often added in the middle, as many other people also do. Here is a small tablecloth with a multitude of designs along the outside border and one in the center.

This image is in black and white, but the embroidery is in red. Black, Maroon or dark Blue may also be used.
What seems to be unique to Austria is embroidering a cross-shaped design covering the center. At the top of the article is a closeup of the center of one of these tablecloths. Here is a view of the whole thing.

This piece was embroidered in 1876 and forms part of the collection of the Museum Joanneum in Trautenfels Castle in Steiermark. This design features the very typical motifs of hops, carnations, hearts and acorns in a striking composition.
Such cloths are still in use in many Austrian households. Here is a family on an 'Ausflug', a sort of formal Picnic, just outside Vienna. This picture was taken in the 1960's. They have laid a tablecloth on the grass which was embroidered in 1905.

It is not uncommon to see Dirndles and Lederhosen worn in Austria. There are department stores where you can buy them off the rack. You can see that this design is similar to the one shown above, with eagles and flowers. Here is the design used on this tablecloth, although I believe that the outside motifs are not on the cloth. You will notice that there is no outside border on this particular tablecloth.

Any border design can be used to make a Kreuzdecke. Here is an example in which a border design with corners was repeated four times on a tablecloth to make a Kreuzdecke.

You will notice that on the cross, the border design is doubled. The center of the cloth was elaborated using motifs from the design. You will also notice that the outside corners differ from the corners where the border enters the cross. This is a very good example of someone taking a relatively simple design and elaborating a larger composition from it.

Note that when doing cross-stitch, the thread used should be heavy enough that each stitch makes a square. This then acts as a pixel which can be used to build up a design. The thread should not be thin enough that the stitch resembles an X. The stitches should also not have any space between them.
This concept of the Kreuzdecke may possibly have come from the habit of embroidering covers for Easter Baskets. In Central and Eastern Europe it is the custom to take some of the food which is prepared for Easter Breakfast to Church to have it blessed after the Easter Morning service. This is done in Russia, Greece, Poland and everyplace in between and is also done in Austria. Included in the basket are lamb or ham, sausages, cheese, rich breads, eggs, butter, and other foods which were abstained from during Lent. This is what goes into a proper Easter Basket. These baskets are covered with an embroidered cloth. Sometimes it is just a cloth as would be used for a breadbasket. This example uses a geometric design which could have been done almost anywhere in Europe.

But sometimes explicitly religious symbols are included, as in this example of a 'Weihkorbdecke'. There is a central cross design, the Lamb of God, IHS incorporating a cross and a crown, hearts, and as is typical of Western Europe, the year of embroidering and the initials of the embroiderer.

It is easy to imagine this basic composition expanded for a tablecloth.
Here are a few more examples of Austrian Kreuzdecke and their designs. Here is a playful design with crayfish.

Here we have chickens, I remember I once copied this design, but I changed half the Roosters into Hens.

Here is a variant of the same design. Someone took the same basic concept and elaborated their own version of it.

Here is an example of a fad which has been common for a few years now, of replacing a design of black and red or blue and red with light and dark blue. I admit that I don't like it, but it is popular. Here we have the cross, and corner designs, but again there is no outer border.

This tablecloth is not a kreuzdecke, but can arguably be considered a variant. In any case, it is a beautiful piece.

Any border design can be used to make a Kreuzdecke. You may have to use some imagination and rearrange motifs to make a center or corner, or double the design, or do a mirror image of it. Feel free to do so. An easy way to design a corner is to use a hand-held mirror, and move it around to different parts of the border design until you find an effect that you like.

A very good source for designs, mostly from Central and Western Europe is this book. This is a reprint of a book which originally came out in 1878, but many of the designs go back to the 15th cent or earlier.

It consists of a short introduction and page after page of graphed designs. No space is wasted on step-by-step explanations of other people's projects. The provenance of the individual designs is not given, which is unfortunate, but I still highly recommend this book as a source of designs.

Take motifs or designs from here or elsewhere, plan, design, and execute your own project.

Make something of beauty to use in your life, or to give to someone else to beautify their lives.

Thank you for reading, I hope you have found this interesting and inspiring.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

Carola Förg, 'Traditional Motifs for Needlework and Knitting', Asheville, NC, USA, 1985

Maria Erlbacher,'Kreuzstichmuster' Teil 3, Trautenfels, Austria, 2003

Maria Erlbacher, 'Kreuzstichmuster' Teil 4, Trautenfels, Austria, 2007

Maria and Andreas Foris, ';Charted Folk Designs for Cross-stitch Embroidery', Dover Publications, New York, 1975

Joseph Wechsberg, 'The Cooking of Vienna's Empire', Time-Life Books, New York, 1974