GREEK LINEN.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19462, 29 December 1934, Page 12 (Supplement)

GREEK LINEN.

FOR DUCHESS OF KENT. Fine linen, exquisitely embroidered in characteristic -Greek designs, is the wedding gift of her homeland for Princess Marina, slates an overseas exchange. 1 The. Princess, who is as enthusiastic a needlewoman as Queen Alary, has already a store of beautiful linen, but it will be a matter of pride for her lo have her dower chests well filled with the lovely stuff. Since Byzantine days -Greece and lhe surrounding isles have been celebrated for their rich brocades, homespun linen, and beautiful silks. In 1023 Queen Mary placed an order for Cyprus silk cocoons to be used In manufacturing silk for redeooratlng Buckingham Palace and both the Princess Royal and she have been constant in their orders for more of the handwork on which, the women of ■Greece spend so much of their time.

Tho Dower Chest. There are few women more houseconscious; when a daughter of the home is to be married her mother gives tier her share of the family treasures; piles of embroidered bedspreads and lace-edged pillow-cases and handwoven table linen, worked in colour or in plain white. These are laid in the dower chest against the wedding, and in the intervening days a “sewing bee” adds steadily to the pile of embroidered linen and garments. It is difficult to place exactly wherein lie the purely national attributes of Greek lace and embroidery; some of the designs are Byzantine, with’'a -super-imposed Turkish flavour, but .the bulk of them -are Italian, dating from the time when the lonian Isles belonged to the Venetian Republic, and there was constant trading between Venice and Corfu.

Rhodian embroidery, generally termed “punch work” by the American importer, is rather different from the other embroideries: it is less varied, and in a sense less interesting to work than many of the open-work or drawn-thread \arlelies. It is, however, of ancient origin, the main stitch one that is found frequently in antique linen embroidery, particularly of old 'Germany and Italy. From Generation to Generation. Life among the people of Rhodes takes one back into a simpler, more peaceful age. There are no railways and few motor cars to disturb the quiet of the countryside as the women sit by the open doors of their homes bending over their embroidery. They have no visible pattern, no design before them, but gradually Hie colours and designs lake shape in forms of glowing beauty. The costumes of these peasant women have been handed down from mother to daughter for generations, and in the descent have lost none of their elegance. Each village has a distinctive costume, and at dance or fete the expert can tell from which village each, woman lias come from the shape,and colour of her dress.

Common to all the costumes are the beautifully embroidered patterns In red or blue, which resemble those of the old 'Greek borders. The men wear loose Turkish trousers, boots, and sleeveless jackets which are usually blue, while most of the women wear a little jacket, long-sleeved, with a heavy sash tied round the waist. One sees both long Turkish pantaloons with embroidered Clippers, and short, full skirts with high boots. It is a pleasant sight lo sec women of Castclloriz/.0, in bright'-coloured long velvet overcoats, fur-trimmed and adorned with large metal buttons, walking in the streets of Rhodes, mingling in llic crowd wearing the more modern blit much less picturesque creations of Athens or the Rue dc la Paix.