Homepage
……Read about:
Traditional Costume
Traditional Embroidery
……Take a look:
Gallery of Costumes
Gallery of Embroidery
…… Learn:
Lectures/Master-classes
…… Our shop:
Kits/Patterns
Order a costume
Buy a talisman
Rent a costume
…… Contacts:
Contact Us
Links



Gallery of Embroidery: the ancient designs are alive

A “dictionary” of the Russian embroidery:
The Ladies of Fertility >>>>>>>
The Sun >>>>>>>
Birds >>>>>>>
The Sun Boat/Chariot >>>>>>>

We decorate our everyday life with ancient Russian symbols of success, health, and harmony. According to the tradition, those symbols could be used for costumes, bedclothes, talismans, etc. Please, take a look.
Talismans and Towels.
There are two different types of towels in Russian village traditions. A towel of the first type, called a “roushnik”, was used for practical purposes. (ex: drying one’s hands, wiping tables, etc.) A towel of the second type, or “plat”, was for rituals only. It was strictly prohibited to use plats as regular towels. Plats were believed to work as talismans- they could protect a child from disease or spiritual harm, bring love and harmony to a family, help to find a good job offer, etc. The patterns of Plats were treasured and passed on to other generations with care to ensure minimum change in the pattern. It was believed that this helped retain the magic in the Plat. Russians believed that the most important places of people’s homes such as a baby's cradle, newlyweds' room, or workspace of a craftsman should be decorated with these Plats. A dowry of a peasant bride ordinarily included 30-40 plats with different symbols for various situations and purposes. Plats were traditional gifts used to express respect, gratitude, or friendliness.


  • This talisman:
    blesses relationships and helps one achieve harmony between his/her male and female traits
  • Embroidery technique:
    counted threadwork.
  • The design was acquired from :
    lake Baikal region, mid-1900’s.
    front:
    back:
    • Once translated to a contemporary language, this design means “Unity and Harmony of Male and Female Powers of Nature, Soul, Body, and Family”. Red pictographs (crisscross patterns similar to tic-tac-toe boards) represent sacrifice of bread (burning it in sacred fire) to thee main male spirits: Sun, Fire, and Thunderstorm. White figures between the pictographs symbolize the Mothers of the World. Their heads are crowned with horns. According to ancient beliefs, Mothers have another appearance (beautiful “vazhenki,” or female elk). ...sources (in Russian) >>>


  • Talisman for women:
    "Blessing of Mother Earth and Ancestors".
    It helps develop womanhood more completely.
  • Embroidery technique:
    counted threadwork.
  • The design was acquired from :
    Tver region, the end of 1800's.
    front:
    back:
    • This pattern is created by white lines on a red background. Russian peasants used this particular color choice especially for embroidery dedicated to Mother Earth and ancestral spirits. The white figures in the middle and edges of the pattern represent Mother Earth as the giver of fertility and life force. However, this symbol can also be interpreted as “having many intelligent, healthy children, and retaining your youth.” The two pictographs on either side of the central Mother Earth symbolize sacrifices to the ancestors. During the Pre-Christian era in Russia, sacrifices were thought of as trade-offs; the people would present the spirits with a sacrifice, and they, in turn would give the people protection. Perhaps the simplest way to translate this symbol is “the blessing and guidance of ancestors.”
    ...sources (in Russian) >>>

  • The meaning of the talisman:
    Successfull Business and Education
  • Embroidery technique:
    counted threadwork.
  • The design was acquired from :
    Olonets region, the beginning of 1800's.
    front:
    back:
    • The central figure, as well as the two on the edges of the talisman, symbolize the sacrifice to the Sun God. Also, this implicates that the Sun God will always accept the offering. Furthermore, that then leads to the deity granting the one who sacrificed energy, luck, and power. (Before the arrival of Christianity in Russia, sacrifices were thought of as trade-offs; the people would present the spirits with a sacrifice, and they, in turn would give the people whatever they needed.) The two ‘crossed-out diamonds’ on either side of the central symbol stand for fields of grain that are filled with the sun’s energy. Another translation of the pictograph is the sacred marriage of the Sun and Earth. Peasants believed that this image guaranteed plentiful harvest. In simpler terms, the entire design signifies that the Sun and Earth are obliged to maintain beneficial conditions for a harvest. This design was believed to help the main form of work that takes place. (ex: for peasants in ancient Russia it was farming, nowadays it is a person’s job.) ...sources (in Russian) >>>

  • The meaning of the Talisman:
    Blessing of the Seven Elements
    (this is the most powerful talisman in Russian tradition)
  • Embroidery technique:
    counted threadwork.
  • The design was acquired from :
    Arkhangelsk region, Kargopol district, mid-1800's.
    front:
    back:
    • The Seven Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Matter, Spirit, and Intelligence.
    • Fire and Earth are depicted by the crossed out diamonds. (Fire is the X and Earth is the diamond) This pictograph is an ancient agricultural symbol of a grainfield filled with the sun’s energy.
    • Water (both “heavenly” and “of the earth”, i.e. rain and rivers) is represented by zig-zags above and below the diamonds.
    • Air and Spirit are symbolized by the white color of the design.
    • Matter is signified by the red color of the pattern.
    • Intelligence is depicted by the four “horned diamonds”. They express the basic construction of a wooden house or a fence — an ancient invention which made it possible for people to live in constructed dwellings instead of caves. In Russian tradition the symbol was thought of as protection made by the people instead of the gods.
    sources (in Russian) >>>

    Wedding ritual towel-talisman
  • The meaning of the talisman:
    to wish newlyweds love, harmony, and a lot of children
  • Embroidery technique:
    counted threadwork.
  • The design was acquired from:
    Perm region, Perm district, mid-1800's.
  • This copy was made:
    as a wedding gift (May, 2009)
    • Such a talisman was used to tie newlywed couple's elbows together (a left elbow of a groom, and a right elbow of a bride). That symbolized they became a family now, not separate persons.
    We cannot say weather or not that tradition was common in Russia, or just local one. Our project coordinator's family keeps such a talisman with a description of the ritual (Yaroslavl region, late 1800's).

    Pairs of white swans honor love of a young couple. There are pictographs of horned Mothers of the World with uprisen and lowered arms between swans. It could be read as a graphic spell for wealth and fecundity. Besides, two lines of swans are separated by diamonds with four "flowers" inside. This is an ancient symbol of a seeded grainfield: a talisman for happiness and fertility.
    sources (in Russian) >>>

    A Palik (a shoulder detail) of a woman's dress (a copy)

  • The meaning of the design:
    a graphical spell for a vital power and childbearibg
  • Embroidery technique :
    a cross stitch.
  • The design was acquired from:
    Olonets region, Kargopol district, early 1800's
  • A copy was made by:
    Anna Antonova
  • The design was translated from a village masterpiece:
    by I.Zhoukova
    • Centuries ago, paliki (shoulder details) of women's shirts and dresses were embroidered with designs which indicated that a wearer was a member of a certain tribe. Shoulders were easily visible from above ("from Heaven"), so that embroidery should attract spirits of ancestors of that tribe. It was a message to them: that woman is your descendant, it is your responsibility to help and protect her. In later times, those designs lost their meaning as a tribal indicator. They became simply "a pray to good spirits".
    This particular design can be read like this:

    A central pictograph here (a crooked diamond) is a symbol of The Sun as The Creator and as a reason of an endless evolution of the world. The whole design has a lot of solar symbols in it: swasticas, "vajra thunderbolts", and thin lines depicted Sun rays. However, there is a formalized image of The Mother of the World in the middle of a central diamond. Also, Mothers are shown inside four blue-green triangles in each corner of the design. Moreover, large white horned Mothers can be noticed by sides of the central Sun. But, all those Mothers have Sun symbols in lower parts of their bodies. Therefore, they should be understand as "Mothers giving birth to The Sun". The fringe of the design is a mix of swasticas and horned Mothers. The whole idea of the design is: that woman is full of enegry. Surpluse of her powers is enough to give birth to The Sun.
    ...sources (in Russian) >>>