DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0043
belt, as old as the traditions of chivalry, was a symbol ot knighthood: when dubbed a knight, a young
man was girded with this symbolic item of attire. The guild of belt-makers, or cingulatom, is known
to have existed in Cracow as early as in the 14th century. Medieval belts are known to us exclusively
from paintings. They were of leather or textile material studded with metal ornaments or else entirely of
metal composed of links hinged together. They were fastened with an ornamental buckle. At the end
of the 14th and the beginning of the 1 5th coaturyT belts were worn low on the hips, held up on special
hooks sewn to the doublet. This kind of belt features on the memorial tablet of Wierzbieta of Branice,
preserved in the National Museum in Cracow. The traditional medieval design of knight s belts survived
in what is known as Przeworsk belts, the earliest examples of which date from the 18th century, though
the majority come from a later period. In old inventories, such belts are referred to as girdles' or
'waistbands' and the name Przeworsk belt was introduced in the 19th century. More recent studies have
shown that these belts were not manufactured in Przeworsk and that in the 18th and 19th centuries,
they formed part of the wedding dresses customarily worn by peasant girls.
Przeworsk belts are easily distinguishable, they consist ot brass, copper, gilded copper and occasionally
silver plates shaped like the letter 1, or else circular or oval. They are affixed to a leather belt by means
of narrow straps. Both edges of the belt are in addition adorned with fringed ribbon, usually
green in colour. Occasionally, Przeworsk belts were embellished with circular semi-precious
stones or pieces of coloured glass. They had a prominent buckle in (he shape of a truncated pyramid
with a rectangular base, ending in a so-called tongue. Both the links and the buckle were adorned
with chased or cast ornaments, usually plants, birds, cherubs, or occasionally flcurs dc lis. It must be
stressed that in the 17th and 18th centuries Przeworsk belts were not worn by the gentry but presum-
ably by the burghers. Surviving iconographic documents seem to indicate that zhupans were girded
with soft cloth sashes, or narrow belts of chain-mail, or else bells of metal scales, usually fixed on a
leather or textile background, and performed the role of sword-belts. An entry dating from 1 ^74 concern-
ing the guild of Cracow belt-makers mentions a whole variety of belts, including velvet sashes, ladies'
girds, garters, sword-belts, shoulder-belts for rapiers and brass studded belts. The National Museum in
Cracow boasts some 17th century7 metal belts, probably of Cracow or Lvov manufacture. Their circular
buckles and links are chased with mythological or religious scenes. One of the chain-mail belts to be
seen there bears the armorial bearings of Lithuania.
Soft textile sashes wTere undoubtedly of Oriental origin. They first appeared in Poland in the 1 5th century
with the arrival of the oriental style in fashion and soon caught on as an inseparable clement of the Sarmatian
costume. At first, narrow silk sashes with stripes in different colours running across were tied round zhupans.
Occasionally these sashes were known as mandiis after the Persian locality of Mandil (in fact in Arabic
mandil meant turban or sash belt). Indian-style belts were also highly prized in Poland; they were uniform
in colour, with a narrow ornamental design of tiny flowers along the edge. In Poland, network belts were
woven on special miniature looms; these were made of red or black silk with gold thread woven in at
both ends. They featured colourful designs, with an original arrangement of open-work motifs, invariably
geometrical. The first mention of Turkish sashes laced with gold thread dates from the latter half of
the 17th century; their introduction in Poland may be linked with the appearance oi the kontush. Those
long broad colourful glossy sashes of silk eventually became the principal ornament of Sarmatian attire.
The large demand for such silk sashes could not be satisfied by imports from Turkey, and soon home
production was started. First to take up this job were Armenians settled in Poland, many of whom
had workshops in Turkey, where they manufactured such belts. The first workshops producing sashes
were set up in the 1740s on the estates of magnate families: at Sluck in 1743 and at Stanislawow and
Brody in 1744. They were equipped writh suitable looms, mangles or rolling presses, which gave the
required sheen and lustre to silk and cloth of gold. At first, these manufactories were known as Persian
works, since despite the direct links with Istanbul, the early sashes were Persian or Indo-Persian in
style. In Safavid Persia and India under the Moguls, it became an established custom to wear a sumptuous
sash with parade dress.
Such a sash was several yards long and about a foot and a half across; it was bordered with a narrow
ornamental pattern and both ends (the 'heads') were adorned with a particularly beautiful design ending
in fringes. In the decoration, plant and flower motifs predominated. Early sashes, known as Istanbul
belts, were manufactured mainly bv Armenians, including Piotrowicz and Mikonowicz. Executed in
limited light hues, they were laced with gold and silver threads; their borders had tiny ornamental flower
man was girded with this symbolic item of attire. The guild of belt-makers, or cingulatom, is known
to have existed in Cracow as early as in the 14th century. Medieval belts are known to us exclusively
from paintings. They were of leather or textile material studded with metal ornaments or else entirely of
metal composed of links hinged together. They were fastened with an ornamental buckle. At the end
of the 14th and the beginning of the 1 5th coaturyT belts were worn low on the hips, held up on special
hooks sewn to the doublet. This kind of belt features on the memorial tablet of Wierzbieta of Branice,
preserved in the National Museum in Cracow. The traditional medieval design of knight s belts survived
in what is known as Przeworsk belts, the earliest examples of which date from the 18th century, though
the majority come from a later period. In old inventories, such belts are referred to as girdles' or
'waistbands' and the name Przeworsk belt was introduced in the 19th century. More recent studies have
shown that these belts were not manufactured in Przeworsk and that in the 18th and 19th centuries,
they formed part of the wedding dresses customarily worn by peasant girls.
Przeworsk belts are easily distinguishable, they consist ot brass, copper, gilded copper and occasionally
silver plates shaped like the letter 1, or else circular or oval. They are affixed to a leather belt by means
of narrow straps. Both edges of the belt are in addition adorned with fringed ribbon, usually
green in colour. Occasionally, Przeworsk belts were embellished with circular semi-precious
stones or pieces of coloured glass. They had a prominent buckle in (he shape of a truncated pyramid
with a rectangular base, ending in a so-called tongue. Both the links and the buckle were adorned
with chased or cast ornaments, usually plants, birds, cherubs, or occasionally flcurs dc lis. It must be
stressed that in the 17th and 18th centuries Przeworsk belts were not worn by the gentry but presum-
ably by the burghers. Surviving iconographic documents seem to indicate that zhupans were girded
with soft cloth sashes, or narrow belts of chain-mail, or else bells of metal scales, usually fixed on a
leather or textile background, and performed the role of sword-belts. An entry dating from 1 ^74 concern-
ing the guild of Cracow belt-makers mentions a whole variety of belts, including velvet sashes, ladies'
girds, garters, sword-belts, shoulder-belts for rapiers and brass studded belts. The National Museum in
Cracow boasts some 17th century7 metal belts, probably of Cracow or Lvov manufacture. Their circular
buckles and links are chased with mythological or religious scenes. One of the chain-mail belts to be
seen there bears the armorial bearings of Lithuania.
Soft textile sashes wTere undoubtedly of Oriental origin. They first appeared in Poland in the 1 5th century
with the arrival of the oriental style in fashion and soon caught on as an inseparable clement of the Sarmatian
costume. At first, narrow silk sashes with stripes in different colours running across were tied round zhupans.
Occasionally these sashes were known as mandiis after the Persian locality of Mandil (in fact in Arabic
mandil meant turban or sash belt). Indian-style belts were also highly prized in Poland; they were uniform
in colour, with a narrow ornamental design of tiny flowers along the edge. In Poland, network belts were
woven on special miniature looms; these were made of red or black silk with gold thread woven in at
both ends. They featured colourful designs, with an original arrangement of open-work motifs, invariably
geometrical. The first mention of Turkish sashes laced with gold thread dates from the latter half of
the 17th century; their introduction in Poland may be linked with the appearance oi the kontush. Those
long broad colourful glossy sashes of silk eventually became the principal ornament of Sarmatian attire.
The large demand for such silk sashes could not be satisfied by imports from Turkey, and soon home
production was started. First to take up this job were Armenians settled in Poland, many of whom
had workshops in Turkey, where they manufactured such belts. The first workshops producing sashes
were set up in the 1740s on the estates of magnate families: at Sluck in 1743 and at Stanislawow and
Brody in 1744. They were equipped writh suitable looms, mangles or rolling presses, which gave the
required sheen and lustre to silk and cloth of gold. At first, these manufactories were known as Persian
works, since despite the direct links with Istanbul, the early sashes were Persian or Indo-Persian in
style. In Safavid Persia and India under the Moguls, it became an established custom to wear a sumptuous
sash with parade dress.
Such a sash was several yards long and about a foot and a half across; it was bordered with a narrow
ornamental pattern and both ends (the 'heads') were adorned with a particularly beautiful design ending
in fringes. In the decoration, plant and flower motifs predominated. Early sashes, known as Istanbul
belts, were manufactured mainly bv Armenians, including Piotrowicz and Mikonowicz. Executed in
limited light hues, they were laced with gold and silver threads; their borders had tiny ornamental flower