Assignment 1 Research Part 2:

Stage 1 Research

Part 2: Circassian Textiles:

My research into Circassian textiles is not as wide as the Ottoman Textiles. It is very difficult to find variety of visual and factual information. I guess because Circassians are people living in diaspora; any material into their culture is focused on preservation. By that I mean reciting the practices, rather then in-depth analysis of their meaning and the context. Nevertheless their culture crosses roads with Ottomans, Russians, Armenians and Georgians who share the same geography.

Circassian Cultre and Folklore book by A. Jaimoukha is informative but very limited for textiles. I found a Turkish book published by Circassian Culture Association in Ankara, called Circassian Designs. It is full of traditional design patterns, but not much information about what they mean.

My research focuses on the clothing, there seems to be more visual resource for them.

I was more moved by the historical samples I could find. The contemporary re-productions look flat and don’t have the feel that comes from material and functional design of these outfits.

Circassian Male outfit late 18th century

The male outfit has parallel lines on the chest. Apparently men used to carry their ammunitions in the little rectangular pockets sewn on their chest, so that they can reload and shoot their rifle whist riding their horse. This design is very common in Russia. I cannot be sure but suspect that this must be the beginning of military style, as we know it today. Circassian women’s outfit mimics the male version in design.

Circassian Girl 18th century

Sketches and notes . S Payne

Modern re-production example of Circassian costume

• Looking at the Circassian women outfit and reproductions I observe several points:
• Long kaftans/overcoats
• Thin waist, the silver belt is a must have accessory
• Long headpiece
• Decorated, embroidered chest design mimicking men’s outfits
• Long sleeves covering hands, apparently signifies royalty.

These elements define an elongated body figure. Being tall must be important.

These costumes are made with velvet and woven silk in rich deep colors to emprise the goldwork used to decorate them. The motifs are derived from nature but simplified in geometric forms. So they depart from representation of nature. They are embroidered along borders and edges to give stronger definition to the shape of the garment rather then filling the whole surface. Gold work “Sim Sırma” is the leading actress here.

Traditional Circassian Designs - S Payne

Traditional Circassian Designs - S Payne

These patterns made me think they could be great in block printing, or screen-printing. In these designs, both negative and positive spaces are well balanced.

Resources:

“Circassian culture and Folklore”, A Jaimoukha, , Beent and Bloom, 2010’  but it is not very rich in textiles examples.

“Çerkes Motifleri, Kuzey Kafkasya Kültür Derneği Yayınları, 1977” (Circasssian Design Books by Circassian Culture Association)

http://circasvoices.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/gold-embroidery-of-circassians.html