"Costume clothes" in dowry agreements of Upper Syros (1821-1830)
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"Costume clothes" in dowry agreements of Upper Syros (1821-1830)
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Date
15 June 2022
Abstract
The notarial documents, and more specifically in the dowry agreements, of Upper Syros written during the Greek Revolution reveal facts about the clothing habits of the people of the time. Clothing that includes also includes jewellery, shoes, accessories, headdress, makeup, etc., is intertwined with people of all ages and its study even in critical historical periods, such as that of a revolution, reveals facts about human relationships and aesthetic values.
In this presentation, which is part of the ongoing dissertation on clothing related to the Aegean islands and especially Syros (1789–1850), the use of the term “traditional costume” is avoided, as it is not found in documents of the time. The terms clothing or apparel are used as more “neutral” and the term fashion is preferred as the clothing system of the period. At the same time, through the study of dowry agreements, the words used in the documents themselves to describe the clothing are identified, such as “costume clothes”, “clothes” and “dresses”. The study of the language of dowry agreements is one of the main sources (followed by the descriptions and drawings of the travellers) in terms of the information we have about the garments, as there is not a large volume of surviving garments. The dowries from 1821 to 1830 in Upper Syros are examined in relation to the surviving specimens, descriptions and images of travellers and they reveal facts about the fashion of the time. The word fashion here is related to the clothing trends that result from osmosis and cultural exchanges, both in Europe and in the Ottoman Empire. Also, the words that inform us about these clothing habits refer, mainly, to items of clothing, such as the dress or the “kondogouni”, but also fabrics, jewellery, etc. One of the most distinctive pieces of jewellery found in an 1824 document is “a silver cord with a silver heart”.
The purpose of this research as a whole, but also of this presentation, is not is to focus on the costume of Syros or the place, as a type of clothing, but to identify the clothing habits or the “fashion” and the aesthetic models of the people of the period of the 1821 Revolution in Upper Syros.
(Edited and translated abstract from organiser’s website)
From the description of the presentation in the book of abstracts, as it was published on Initiative 1821-2021’s website.
In this presentation, which is part of the ongoing dissertation on clothing related to the Aegean islands and especially Syros (1789–1850), the use of the term “traditional costume” is avoided, as it is not found in documents of the time. The terms clothing or apparel are used as more “neutral” and the term fashion is preferred as the clothing system of the period. At the same time, through the study of dowry agreements, the words used in the documents themselves to describe the clothing are identified, such as “costume clothes”, “clothes” and “dresses”. The study of the language of dowry agreements is one of the main sources (followed by the descriptions and drawings of the travellers) in terms of the information we have about the garments, as there is not a large volume of surviving garments. The dowries from 1821 to 1830 in Upper Syros are examined in relation to the surviving specimens, descriptions and images of travellers and they reveal facts about the fashion of the time. The word fashion here is related to the clothing trends that result from osmosis and cultural exchanges, both in Europe and in the Ottoman Empire. Also, the words that inform us about these clothing habits refer, mainly, to items of clothing, such as the dress or the “kondogouni”, but also fabrics, jewellery, etc. One of the most distinctive pieces of jewellery found in an 1824 document is “a silver cord with a silver heart”.
The purpose of this research as a whole, but also of this presentation, is not is to focus on the costume of Syros or the place, as a type of clothing, but to identify the clothing habits or the “fashion” and the aesthetic models of the people of the period of the 1821 Revolution in Upper Syros.
(Edited and translated abstract from organiser’s website)
From the description of the presentation in the book of abstracts, as it was published on Initiative 1821-2021’s website.
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