sock(a pair)
- Museum number
- Eu1997,04.98.a-b
- Description
-
A pair of woman's socks; knee-length. Handknitted from handspun and purchased woollen yarn. Ornate patterning on lower leg and foot. Sole has red and black diamond-within-diamond patterning, with diagonal patterning on the heel. Instep has large polychrome diamond motif and lower leg has a line of four large Maltese cross motifs; tarnished metal-wrapped thread used in centre of some motifs. Some decoration 'darned' (embroidered). Upper part of leg has blue and black diamond 'ground' with a white, pink, green and blue diamond motif centre front and back. Black plaited wool cord attached to top side.
- Production date
- 1950s (donor information)
- Dimensions
-
Length: 50 centimetres (a))
-
Length: 52 centimetres (b))
-
Width: 17 centimetres (a))
-
Width: 17 centimetres (b))
- Curator's comments
- Text from Eth Doc 1892, no. 60: Socks, 'čorapi'. Knitted by village women from home produced and purchased wool. Black wool was often processed from black sheep, black being an unreliable colour to produce. The socks are knitted on five needles, the heel being put in last of all. The upper leg part is mainly in a subdued design of black and blue. The lower part consists of upper and lower bands of small motifs on white. In between is a black band with four ‘Greek’ crosses and other small designs, each cross being separated by a vertical coloured strip. The foot part is mainly red and black in a large diamond-within-a-diamond motif, which is a representation of the moon, and some pattern on the toe, which is again a human figure. The top part of the foot is again diamond in design but mainly red. The centre motif, which is also on the upper leg could be symbolic stars, ‘zverzdice’. The fact that covered parts are decorated, i.e., the foot, suggests that they were intended as gifts, probably a wedding.
Religion: Macedonian Orthodox.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1997
- Acquisition notes
- Given to the donor in 1959 by Živko Firkov of the Folklore Institute in Skopje who had been given them when collecting songs in an [unknown] village.
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- Eu1997,04.98.a-b