Studio: international art (82.1921)

STUDIO-TALK

axe) that faithfully reflects his ancestry and
calling. In Moravia and Slovakia almost
every village has its characteristic costume,
differing entirely from that of a neighbour-
ing community as regards form, ornamen-
tation, design and colours, and in one
instance there are even two national cos-
tumes : one worn by the Catholics, the
other by the Protestants. Central Moravia,
the most fertile part of the Checho-
slovakian State, is the land of the vigorous
and stalwart Hanas, whose dress of silk,
brocade and damask displays an abundance
of embroidery and gold and silver passe-
menterie. But nowhere is richness in
dress so apparent aa among the Slovaks.
" Innumerable are the variations in the
composition of the women's costumes,"
says M. Chotek, " the shape being some-
times of a simplicity truly antique, some-
times of a complicated harmony which
never excludes grace and decency. . . .
All the elements of the costume, the com-
position, the design of the ornamentation
and the colours are harmonized and reflect
in their dull or brilliant whole the joys or
sorrows of a whole region." The women of
the country are unrivalled for their skill in
embroidery ; but this skill is not confined
to them. Village tailors all over Czecho-
slovakia are capable of producing equally
astonishing examples of embroidered
breeches, waistcoats and cloaks for the
men, whilst the furriers ornament their
pelisses with applique designs in fine skins
dyed in the most brilliant colours : red,
orange, yellow, blue and black. a 0
So great is the passion for embroidery in
Czecho-Slovakia that it is not confined to
dress, for we find it even on the market
baskets in everyday use. In this case the
floral designs, which so often inspire art-
workers there, are done in a material surely
unique—i.e., the mid-ribs of peacocks'
feathers, bleached and softened in order
that it may be interwoven with the basket-
work (see illustration, page 160). a a
The living rooms of the petite noblesse
(for such, in reality, the better class of
peasants have become) are furnished in a
comparatively simple manner. They often
content themselves with sitting room and
bedroom in one. In one corner is an oak
table with wide-spreading legs, an exceed-
ingly solid article of furniture, and equally
174

well made and serviceable are the three or
four chairs with elegantly carved backs, and
benches, the backs of which are often
painted as well as carved. There is gener-
ally a corner cupboard, either painted in a
similar style or inlaid with straw, a spe-
ciality among the Czecho - Slovakians.
Hanging on the walls are similarly deco-
rated racks with ledges and hooks for the
display of rows of brilliantly coloured jugs
and plates, carved and pierced wood boxes
to hold knick-knacks or the children's
painted toys, a carved crucifix and holy-
water vessel, and, most prominent of all, a
number of curious paintings inspired by
religious subjects. These pictures are the

PAINTED WARDROBE AND
POTTERY

(Czechoslovak Peasant Art
Exhibition, Paris)