On One Type of Decoration of the Mari Costume in the 16th – 18th Centuries

Abstract

The authors use materials of 12 funerary complexes from Kartukovo, Vyzhum and Vazhnanger burial grounds to study one element of the Mari costume in the 16th – 18th centuries: collars or neckline trimmings (1.5–2.5 cm wide ribbons decorated with fl ounce of golden threads). Thermal and visual methods applied to the samples established that the item was crocheted of silk threads. All studied burials are dated by 16th – 18th centuries and are the earliest complexes containing crocheted items. Artefacts of crocheting were also found in the Mordva burial grounds. The raw silk for the fabric and the fl ounce of golden thread were bought in the trade centers located in the Volga region. The materials published in this article offer new data for the study of the Finno-Ugric household (Mari and Mordovians) in the Middle Ages and the New Time, as well as history of appearance and dissemination of crocheting techniques.

Keywords

• archaeology
• Middle Volga region
• Middle Ages
• New Time
• Volga Finns
• costume
• textiles
• crochet work.