DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22262#0099
Bałkan crossroads in dress: the Serbian city costume
of 1848, which changed lifestyle rapidly causing Western costume to replace Turk-
ish dress, especially among civil servants. The rich, extant iconography (drawings,
paintings, watercolors and prints, mostly portraits of the royalty and members of the
upper classes, as well as representations of historical events from the first half and
particularly the middle of the century) conveys a more complete picture of the cul-
tural setting in the nineteenth-century Serbia, where the Oriental style was increas-
ingly giving way to Western. Gabriel Decker and Anastas Jovanovic left prints por-
traying a host of eminent figures, and Jovan Isailovic the Younger recorded the death
of Prince Milan Obrenovic in 1839. As the use of photography increased in the sec-
ond half of that century, sources for study of historical costume became more copi-
ous. Around 1900, photography became popular in many towns in Serbia and peo-
ple recorded important moments of their lives. Moreover, photographs were often
presented as gifts with dedication to the loved ones. Of particular interest are por-
traits of celebrities, usually in formal dress.
Evidence of this obvious change in fashion is found in historical documents, too.
The Museum Inventory Book for 1876 records a silk Arab antheria (overgarment)
and chemise that were acąuired for the collection. Only a few years later the Mu-
seum purchased a valuable collection of watercolors painted in 1850-1870 by Nikola
Arsenovic, a tailor and perhaps the first Yugoslav ethnographer, which depicted the
cut and ornamentation of garments from all over the Balkans. An item that features
very preminently is jagluk in a variety of local versions. This variety was probably
due to its multiple uses. Other extremely valuable historical sources for the study
of the cut and decoration of costume are works by artists such as Carol Popp de
Szachmary, V. Titelbah, Dj. Milovanovic, D. Inkiostri and Felix Kanitz.
What makes research into Oriental influences in Bałkan costume fairly difficult is
the fact that it could be easily transported in wartime as a popular trade object and
also through migration of populations. Moreover, the Turks were generous in giv-
ing presents during ceremonies, not only to their countrymen but also to foreign-
ers. Turkish costume had a strong influence on vast territories of the Ottoman Em-
pire. Some elements of Turkish dress were used by the Bałkan people in their origi-
nal form, but others were modified and used long afterwards under the same or
a different name.
A very good example is thejube (Turkish cubbe): a long robe, originally worn as an
overcoat by imams, judges, barristers and professors, with fuli sleeves and long skirt.
It was made of wool and sometimes lined with fur for winter, or linen for summer.
Initially, it was used primarily to keep warm, but soon it became an attribute indi-
cating economical and social status of a particular group, and a demonstration of the
artistic concept of the period. In Western literaturę the jube is hardly mentioned as
most books on the European history of costume deal mostly with European fash-
ion. In the useful Needleworker's Dictionary (London 1976, p. 119) Pamela Clobburn
97
of 1848, which changed lifestyle rapidly causing Western costume to replace Turk-
ish dress, especially among civil servants. The rich, extant iconography (drawings,
paintings, watercolors and prints, mostly portraits of the royalty and members of the
upper classes, as well as representations of historical events from the first half and
particularly the middle of the century) conveys a more complete picture of the cul-
tural setting in the nineteenth-century Serbia, where the Oriental style was increas-
ingly giving way to Western. Gabriel Decker and Anastas Jovanovic left prints por-
traying a host of eminent figures, and Jovan Isailovic the Younger recorded the death
of Prince Milan Obrenovic in 1839. As the use of photography increased in the sec-
ond half of that century, sources for study of historical costume became more copi-
ous. Around 1900, photography became popular in many towns in Serbia and peo-
ple recorded important moments of their lives. Moreover, photographs were often
presented as gifts with dedication to the loved ones. Of particular interest are por-
traits of celebrities, usually in formal dress.
Evidence of this obvious change in fashion is found in historical documents, too.
The Museum Inventory Book for 1876 records a silk Arab antheria (overgarment)
and chemise that were acąuired for the collection. Only a few years later the Mu-
seum purchased a valuable collection of watercolors painted in 1850-1870 by Nikola
Arsenovic, a tailor and perhaps the first Yugoslav ethnographer, which depicted the
cut and ornamentation of garments from all over the Balkans. An item that features
very preminently is jagluk in a variety of local versions. This variety was probably
due to its multiple uses. Other extremely valuable historical sources for the study
of the cut and decoration of costume are works by artists such as Carol Popp de
Szachmary, V. Titelbah, Dj. Milovanovic, D. Inkiostri and Felix Kanitz.
What makes research into Oriental influences in Bałkan costume fairly difficult is
the fact that it could be easily transported in wartime as a popular trade object and
also through migration of populations. Moreover, the Turks were generous in giv-
ing presents during ceremonies, not only to their countrymen but also to foreign-
ers. Turkish costume had a strong influence on vast territories of the Ottoman Em-
pire. Some elements of Turkish dress were used by the Bałkan people in their origi-
nal form, but others were modified and used long afterwards under the same or
a different name.
A very good example is thejube (Turkish cubbe): a long robe, originally worn as an
overcoat by imams, judges, barristers and professors, with fuli sleeves and long skirt.
It was made of wool and sometimes lined with fur for winter, or linen for summer.
Initially, it was used primarily to keep warm, but soon it became an attribute indi-
cating economical and social status of a particular group, and a demonstration of the
artistic concept of the period. In Western literaturę the jube is hardly mentioned as
most books on the European history of costume deal mostly with European fash-
ion. In the useful Needleworker's Dictionary (London 1976, p. 119) Pamela Clobburn
97