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Greek Embroidery: Aegean Legacies
Fragments of a runner, probably Naxos, Cyclades, or Italy, possibly 18 century. Silk on linen. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
The embroidered textiles of the Greek islands offer a rich tapestry of history, culture, and craftsmanship. Far from forming a unified tradition, they reflect the vibrant diversity of the Aegean's past—where Venetian grandeur and Ottoman restraint left their marks. The tradition of women crafting elaborate wedding trousseaux, from dresses to bed valances, evolved in the hands of generations, preserving symbols that connected communities.
Bedspread, possibly Ioannina, Epirus, 18 century. Silk on linen. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
Section of a bedspread, Naxos, Cyclades, 18 century. Silk on linen. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
Textile fragment with diamonds and geometric patterns, Egypt. 13-15 centuries. Cotton embroidery on linen. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
Bed curtain, Cyclades, 17-18 century. Silk on linen. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
As stated in the introduction of the valuable book, Aegean Legacies, published by the Ashmolean Museum, 'anyone unfamiliar with the history and traditions of embroidery on the Greek islands might expect a cohesive group of textiles', whereas the truth is that their most relevant common denominator is diversity.
After all, embroidery was an activity that tended to be entrusted to women in pre-industrial societies, and this case is no exception. The wedding trousseau comprised a great variety of components (dresses, cushions, curtains, bed valances), imbued with cultural codes that were perfectly readable by the community despite the prevalence of geometric or highly stylised elements.
The technique tended to be handed down in a conservative manner and the attitude was to replicate patterns, while avoiding the integration of new elements - something that has allowed historians and ethnographers to reconstruct an evocative and complete history of the symbols in use.
Many different influences converge in Greek embroidery, and historically, the reason for such multiculturalism begins in 1204, with the Fourth Crusade and the beginning of six centuries of transient foreign domination. The two major orbits of power were the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire, which implemented diametrically different approaches: the Venetians often settled in the islands and were open to interracial marriages, while the Ottomans on the one hand interposed greater distance with the 'colonies', and on the other granted greater autonomy.
Chemise skirt border, Southern Cyclades, 18-19 century. Silk on cotton, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
The Venetian influence increased the importance of embroidery among local communities, since the technique was held in high esteem and supported by reference publications (which taught the tricks and divulged the patterns) - while the Arab influence was slower and more gradual, but had important repercussions on taste and, thanks to the extension of maritime trade, brought wider stimuli. Also important was the later rediscovery of Greek embroidery by the English.
In the second half of the 19th-century, as a reaction to the negative consequences of the industrial revolution, the Art and Craft Movement was born in England with the aim of reviving vernacular traditions and contact with nature. In particular, William Morris' daughter, Mary, became passionate about the history of embroidery, making a fundamental contribution to its re-valorisation and emancipating it from the domestic confines. Around the same time, Thomas B. Sandwith (Consul in Crete between 1870 and 1885) acquired some 160 examples of Greek embroidery that would later form the basis of the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection.
The embroidery techniques in use were varied: cross stitch (especially popular in the Ionian Islands), double running stitch and outline stitch (Euboea), long-armed cross stitch (in the Cyclades) and herringbone stitch (in Crete). The most immediate form of identification, however, may be the subject matter, considering, for example, that the Epirus region produced figurative bands with particularly elaborate compositions, the Cyclades preferably used stylised motifs, such as diamonds and hexagons and the famous platyphillo (broad leaf), while Crete, which had received the strongest Venetian influence, was distinguished by animated scenes with characters immersed in activity (musicians, hunters, horsemen, etc.). The color palette is a fascinating method of localisation too, as well as dating in the case of corrosive mordants or colours subject to change due to age.
Detail, Chemise skirt border, Southern Cyclades, 18-19 century. Silk on cotton, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Oxford. © HALI Issue 207.
To this day, hand embroidery has almost disappeared in Greece, succumbing to the pressures of industrialisation and the decline of the local silk trade. In this sense, the fragments of fabric collected by English travellers in the 19th century are a precious testimony of a bygone era, which only lives on in these traces of the past whose survival we owe to the enthusiasm and obstinacy of individuals.
The V&A houses a vast, fascinating collection, with the only flaw being more representative of the tastes of the early collectors (enthusiasts of elaborate forms and complex techniques) than of the general craftsmanship of the Greek islands.
In Oxford, the Ashmolean Museum attests to how prominent the study of Greek culture was in English education in centuries past - and has on display such movingly beautiful pieces as the 18th-century bedspread from Ioannina, the bed tent decorated with confronting peacocks and lions from the Dodecanese, and the incredible cushion cover from the F.H. Cook collection (decorated with a human crowd interspersed with dragons, plants, rabbits and more). But of course it is the Benaki Museum in Athens that is the place of choice for those curious about this technique, exhibiting an absolutely breathtaking array of traditional costumes.
Words by Sara Pierdonà
Images from Thomas Murray Collection / Hali Publications
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