Large Blueprint Cotton Shawl | Spis, Slovakia

Description

Origin: Slovakia | Spis region
Era: Early 20th century (circa 1910-1930)
Condition: very good; minimal wear; suitable for both wear and display
Measurements: 44.5″ x 43″
Additional Notes: A phenomenal double sided indigo-dyed, blueprint shawl from the Spis region in the Carpathian mountains. Once part of traditional clothing in hundreds of villages in northeastern Slovakia, southern Poland and the Carpatho-Rusyn parts of western Ukraine, these large handmade shawls went out of fashion early in the twentieth century. They were replaced by commercially available scarves that became very popular with peasant women in eastern Europe. Depending on the village and occasion these were worn either on the head or shoulders. The earliest examples were made of homespun linen that was woven at home and then taken to a dyer to be printed. Later, as for this example, cotton was used as it reduced the amount of manual labor required and allowed for lighter shawls. Designs could be selected at the workshop and there were dozens, sometimes hundreds of motifs to choose from for the border and field. Since the patterns were traditionally different on both sides of the fabric there was incredible variation in design and it was unlikely to encounter two identical ones. Extreme skill was required for keeping the designs clean and clear on both sides of the cloth and expert dyers passed down family recipes and secrets through the generations. This lovely example was collected in a village near Poprad, Slovakia. Very scarce and seldom seen outside of museums.