Renaissance-type "foustania" in Chios (16th-early 20th centuries): Folklore's contribution to the typological approach of local costumes

Renaissance-type "foustania" in Chios (16th-early 20th centuries): Folklore's contribution to the typological approach of local costumes

Nadia Macha-Bizoumi
Athens 2020, 256 p., 139 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-215-9
€ 38,50

The book Renaissance-type "foustania" in Chios (16th-early 20th centuries): Folklore's contribution to the typological approach of local costumes by Nadia Macha-Bizoumi, Assistant Professor of Folklore at the Democritus University of Thrace, strengthens the ties between the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) and the island of Chios, where one of the nine museums of PIOP's Network, the Chios Mastic Museum, is located, in the Mastichochoria region of southern Chios. Thus, this edition on one hand highlights a part of the cultural wealth of the island and on the other hand is a valuable addition to PIOP's bibliographic contribution to the field of folklore and material culture.

The book records, examines and interprets the development and shaping of female costumes (draped "foustania", i.e. dresses) on the island of Chios, in Chora and the Mastichochoria region, due to historical influences in connection with similar costume types throughout the wider region of the Aegean. The work is the fruit of systematic research by the author in museum collections, sources in bibliography, residences in Chios and private collections as well as oral testimonies and interviews, and it focuses on the short white "pleated" dresses in the Mastichochoria villages, that are directly influenced by Renaissance dresses, especially those in Genoa.

Aspects of the research cover household production and processing of the fabrics linked to the local economy, consumer habits and the role of women's labour. The typological classification includes mainly the costumes from the Mastichochoria region, in particular those of Pyrgi, Kalamoti and other villages, which are examined on the basis of geographical location, and by extension the costumes in the Voreiochora region (Volissos, Kardamyla, Amades). The approach on the basis of typology also presents the draped "foustania" across different social classes, since they were used in diverse types and variations by the upper class of Chios as well as the rural society.

The book also comprises photographs that document the study and showcase the special features of costumes in Chios, which represent a feature of cultural heritage and material culture on the island during the modern era.