- Museum number
- Eu1997,04.127
- Description
-
A woman's jacket; hip-length, with long sleeves. Made from natural cream tabby woven wool cloth, fulled. Straight in the body with sleeves set in at right angles. Pieces machine stitched together, some seams top stitched with a double row. Two rectangular pieces of dark red wool woven cloth stitched to either side of centre front opening, small rounded collar. Two vertical panels near edge decorated with couched plied, plaited and looped red silk braid and gold-coloured metal-wrapped thread. A scrolling foliate panel at outer edge. Nineteen gold- and silver-coloured metal filigree buttons stitched to right edge (as worn), with twelve loops on the opposite side. Lower sleeve made from same dark red woollen cloth as front panel. Wide panel of couched decoration at sleeve end; vent. Lined, like collar, with grey cotton tabby cloth with fine yellow stripe. Fastened with two pairs of metal hooks and eyes on each sleeve.
- Production date
- 1900-1925 (donor information)
- Dimensions
-
Length: 59 centimetres
-
Width: 141 centimetres (Arms outstretched)
-
Width: 54 centimetres (Under arms)
- Curator's comments
-
Text from Eth Doc 1892, no. 85a: Made by village men tailors from home produced plum woollen cloth made by the women and felted by the men on a ‘roughing’ machine. The back panel, ‘plečki’, and front panels, ‘poli’, are linked by side panels, ‘kligne’. The sleeves are set in at right angles and are lined with black striped cotton. There is a narrow collar, ‘koril’. The front and collar edges are decorated with braid and gold filigree buttons. The collar and front edges are lined with red military braid. The side opposite the buttons (right as worn) has a looped design with larger loops to receive the buttons. At the front there are four rows of gold braid and strips of gold thread sewn on of a vine pattern, ‘loza’. The cuffs are edged with red military braid looped at the bottom edge. Inside are two rows of gold braid with an additional three at the bottom, above bands of decorative sewn on gold wire designs including the vine and linked circles, ‘sindžati’. The top band is of amulets, ‘moskare’. The buttons are made of gold plaited wire by silversmiths. There is some green thread in the bending design around the vines, ‘potišta’. The Mijak tribal group is a matriarchal society, and was originally Albanian. Variations of this costume as a whole are found outside the Mijak area, e.g., Kičevo, Smilevo, Bitola region etc.
Religion: Macedonian Orthodox.
For other parts of this attire see: 128: shirt; 129: bridal sleeves; 130: waistcoat; 131: coat; 132: upper sash; [135: socks;] 136: silver buckle; 137: head decoration; 138: coin chain.
-
For a detailed description of how and the order in which this item of clothing was worn as part of a whole costume, see Eu1997,04.131
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2011 21 Jan-11 Sep, London, British Museum, Room 2, Traditional Jewellery and Dress from the Balkans
- Condition
- one filigree button missing
- Acquisition date
- 1997
- Acquisition notes
- Obtained for Ken Ward in the 1960s by Živko Firfov of the Folklore Institute in Skopje, who had put together a number of Galicnik outifts for the Yugoslav folk dance group to which Ken Ward belonged, so that the group could wear authentic costume. This woman's costume (1997,04.127-132) was collected from Firfov in Skopje and brought back to the UK by another member of the folk dance group, Jerry Wakeman (personal communication from Jerry Wakeman to Judy Rudoe, 27 November 2018).
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- Eu1997,04.127
