The Macedonian folk embroidery an
opulent cultural heritage and significant national artistic creation
has many years of tradition. The principal bearer of the art of
embroidery is the village woman closely related to the old traditions
of her environment, for years carried on the knowledge and experience
from one generation to another which is actually characteristic for
the entire national culture. The folk embroidery of Macedonia until
recently existed as a traditional embellishment primarily of the
village costumes where the esthetic expression and artistic expression
of the artist/creator through ornaments, technique and color found
their most adequate and characteristic manner of expression. On the
other hand it managed to sustain as a specific mark of the national
culture which carries the sign of ancient cultural traditions.
The art of embroidery of the
Macedonian people, an expression of the collective esthetic and
psychological dispositions of a specific community grew and evolved
under specific socio-economic condition and through its centuries of
evolution and underwent significant transformations and various
cultural influences. But, through the continual process of upholding
old traditions, besides the various cultural influences the Macedonian
national embroidery, formed into a specific ethnically divergent art
of embroidery.
The traditional Macedonian national
embroidery as a significant product of the national culture of the
Macedonian people in the past sustained in conditions of patriotic
village essence when the mere division of the work responsibilities
contributed to the exert great efforts of the woman in the home
textile production. But, with the transformations in the political and
socio-economic conditions at the beginning of the 20th
century great changes occurred in the Macedonian costumes as well and
then the ancient opulent decoration of these costumes began to fade.
The Macedonian population particularly being earning money in
different countries, began to abandon their old costumes and
ornamentation and turned towards easier and contemporary clothing
solutions (Prespa, Kostur, the Upper Villages of Bitola, the Tsapari
Plain, Zheleznik, Kichevia).
To the transformation in the Folk
Costumes contributed the komiti actions in the period before the
Ilinden Rising, which resulted in restrictions in the use of several
expensive parts of the costume, restrictions that were penalized if
not respected. The role of the komiti organizations in the villages in
order create more rational expenses for the Macedonian population made
severs reductions to the embroidered decorations. That way fewer
embroidered shirts were worn whereas in some villages under their
influence created the special embroidery so-called komitskoto.
Today in the process of modernizing
our villages the old embroidery traditions are being abandoned. Only
the collected and preserved exemplars of the Macedonian folk
embroidery remain as evidence of an ancient artistic tradition. It is
rare to have such a rich cultural heritage of the Macedonian people
where the knowledge of many generations is sublimed into great
esthetic values and is an endless resource of artistic inspiration for
contemporary art.
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