The patterns made on clothes, tablecloths, and towels by unknown craftswomen of past centuries still sparkle brightly and shimmer with rainbow colors. These symbolic images, in the opinion of our great-grandfathers, were supposed to bring good luck and prosperity to their owners, save them “from famine and pestilence,” ward off the influence of evil forces, protect the warrior from wounds on the battlefield, and promote procreation.
Up to mid-19th For centuries, the “decorations” were not changed, so as not to violate or distort the ancient sacred meaning, they were passed on from generation to generation, carefully observing the “canons.” Ornaments are akin to ancient writings and, like them, can tell a lot about the worldview of a person in those distant eras. For a long time, people remembered the purpose of ornaments. Back in the 20-30s of the 20th century, residents of some northern Russian villages demonstrated their knowledge of the meaning of the depicted pattern in front of the oldest craftswoman of the village in special “readings”: young girls brought to gatherings finished works and talked about them in front of “the whole world.”
In some places in the outback you can still hear the ancient names of patterns: “vodyanik”, “Perun”, although the masters are most often unable to explain their meaning. And yet, ancient patterns live on. They live and delight with their beauty. They sometimes live contrary to the beliefs of society or its individual groups, contrary to the guidelines of a particular government regime. Once, while working in the archives of the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, I laughed a lot when reading the correspondence of the Ryazan mayor and the Skopinsky bishop (19th century): both correspondents subtly scolded the “depraved” Russian women who, despite the great church holidays, stubbornly walked around around the city in “obscenely” embroidered “underwear” - a folk shirt with embroidery along the hem. Custom required that the embroideries be displayed, and the craftswomen depicted on them either a woman giving birth, or even “patterns of the first night.”
But it was not at all funny to remember the stories of old people heard on expeditions about how, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, and sometimes - and quite recently, hundreds of folk “decorations” with the image of the swastika - one of the most beloved Slavic ornaments. And advanced technologies of the 21st century threaten to completely wipe out Russian folk crafts with their low productivity and primitive technologies from the face of the Earth.
And yet, despite everything, the ornament lives. To this day, there are people who know how to decorate and want to wear traditional Russian clothes. Long winter evenings Slavic girls and women, with a torch, embroidered and wove patterns - one more intricate than the other, decorating their “in a row” with them, so that later, at the holiday, they could show off in front of the “community”. Was it only beauty that they felt? Was it only the desire for creative self-expression that guided them? Or was there and continues to exist today in ancient symbols something very important - unknown to us today?
For the first time I had to deal with the unusual properties of folk ornament in my youth, when I worked at the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. It was necessary to take a photo in an ancient folk costume. In the cathedral where the filming took place, because of the cold, I had to wear a fur jacket, but... as soon as I put on embroidered linen clothes, it suddenly became warm: the thin fabric warmed me! In an incomprehensible way! Later, while expecting the birth of a child, I realized that the folk patterns that Russian women made, in addition to beauty, also gave the expectant mother peace and patience. When I painted ornaments for the planned works, my health miraculously improved, the swelling went away. Later, having mastered the craft of hand weaving, I began to notice how my mood changed in the process of making differently ornamented products.
Surprisingly, folk ornaments and “decorations” are the same all over the world: the graphics are slightly different, the colors and shades change, but the appearance, rhythm, and meaning are quite recognizable. There is a known case when a Mexican weaver recognized the zero pattern of a women's shirt from the Arkhangelsk province as her national one. What is this? Accident? Or based on different folk traditions lie the same deep knowledge, sometimes inaccessible to us, because it is expressed in a language unfamiliar to us - harmony, beauty and love - and before understanding it, it is necessary to master the language itself?
This book is the result of my desire to raise questions related to the meaning of folk textile patterns and the peculiarities of their effect on the “wearer” of the clothes decorated with them or the person looking at the patterns. It uses information from many, sometimes unconventional, sources: history, ethnography, mythology, bioenergy, modern alternative medicine, etc. Maybe this is not entirely correct: is it possible to embrace the immensity? But Russian folk culture has always seemed to me so comprehensive and multifaceted that, in my opinion, it is necessary to study it only comprehensively, having experienced the very way of thinking of our ancestors.
I believe that this is best illustrated by the process of drawing folk textile patterns. At first, I spent a month completing such a drawing while preserving all the design features (and this was with the presence of lined paper, a pencil, and correction tools). And every time the question arose: what would we do without them? On a loom? And not from the middle, where the pattern clearly unfolds, but from the edge? And instead of a drawing, in best case scenario, a diagram scratched with a nail on a piece of wood. What kind of spatial imagination, what kind of coordinated interhemispheric connections of the brain do you need to have in order to do this? A must see! But an ordinary weaver could do this...
And one more thing. I really want it to ancient art ornament has been preserved, has not disappeared, so that skills, traditions and beauty folk culture continued to live, delight and benefit people. After all, this beauty has incredible kind energy (one would like to say - soul), capable of helping people. I would like to believe that the topics raised in my story will be of interest to new researchers, and then such an amazing phenomenon as Russian folk textile ornament can really be understood from different angles. In the meantime, the ancient image-writings continue to wait for their full reading. Well, let's try to get started?
The study of folk “decorations” began in XIX century. The first descriptions of textile patterns and attempts to find the hidden meaning in them were made by famous people: members of the Imperial Archaeological Society and numerous scientific archival commissions Russian Empire. They managed to record priceless material, now - alas! -lost irretrievably: primordial popular names individual elements of the ornament, more or less not yet distorted by the disappearance of the patriarchal peasant life. In the 1920s, their work was continued by regional societies of local historians. Relatively systematized materials were published in regional publications or ended up in archives. Of the available ones, the works of the Smolensk ethnographer E.N. seemed the most interesting to me. Klet-nova, Ryazan ethnographer N.I. Lebedeva, famous archaeologist V.A. Gorodtsova (I.001) and materials from a unique study of Sapozhkovsky local historians P. and S. Stakhanov.
A lot of literature devoted to the description of folk embroidery and weaving patterns throughout the USSR was published in the 1950-1970s. A number of art albums and catalogs are published folk costume. Studying the ornaments of the peoples of Siberia, S. Ivanov developed schemes for the formation of ornamental forms depending on the type of symmetry used. The interest of historians, archaeologists, and art historians in the meaning of images is growing: special research is being undertaken by G.P. Durasov, G.S.
Maslova, B.A. Rybakov (I.002), A. Ambrose.
In the 90s of the last century, study materials reappeared local traditions. New researchers of museum collections and amateur collectors paid attention to previously missed details of decorations of folk clothing, which made it possible to trace the reflection of Slavic pagan culture and social and tribal information about the owner in folk costume. It became possible to study the history of an ancient and widespread symbol among the Slavs - the swastika. Numerous attempts to practically reconstruct the use and meaning of folk ornament were made by supporters of reviving paganism. A. Golan in his major work traced the common mythological basis of ornamental symbols among the peoples of the world, and the works of M.F. Parmon exhaustively covered the features of the cut and shape of folk clothing.
Studies are being published that raise questions about the perception of symbols by the human consciousness, as well as the impact of the sign on our physical state - from this point of view, V.I. studies runic symbols. Loshilov. Psychologists and representatives of alternative medicine have accumulated considerable experience in assessing the effects of certain intangible factors on the human body, and our ideas about the properties of consciousness are constantly expanding. But no one has yet tried to consider folk ornament from this point of view.
Few people know that the first country in the world to spread the swastika is... Russia. This is a key ornament in embroidery and weaving of the Russian North; we are even ahead of India, where swastika amulets still decorate city houses. Agree, given the ideological context of the events of the 20th century, this is perceived, at least, as an irony of fate.
It is on our lands that polysyllabic solar motifs have been preserved, which, at times, are maternal even in relation to Indian motifs (you can read about this in the works of S.V. Zharnikova). This is dizzyingly archaic.
“feather grass” (Tula province), “horse”, “horse shank” (Ryazan province), “hare” (Pechora), “saffron milk cap” (Nizhny Novgorod province), “loach” (Tver province), “bowlegged” "(Voronezh province), etc. On the territory of the Vologda lands, the name of the swastika was even more diverse. “Kryuchya”, “kryukovets”, “kryuk” (Syamzhensky, Verkhovazhsky districts), “ognivo”, “ognivets”, “konegon” (horse-fire?) (Tarnogsky, Nyuksensky districts), “sver”, “cricket” ( Veliky Ustyug district), “leader”, “leader”, “zhgun”, (Kichm.-Gorodetsky, Nikolsky districts), “bright”, “shaggy bright”, “kosmach” (Totemsky region), “geese”, “chertogon” (Babushkinsky district), “mower”, “kosovik” (Sokolsky district), “crossroads”, “vratok” (Vologda, Gryazovets districts), “vranets”, “vratschun” (Sheksninsky, Cherepovets districts), “ ugly" (Babaevsky district), "melnik" (Chagodoshchensky district), "krutyak" (Belozersky, Kirillovsky districts), "pylan" (Vytegorsky district). The most archaic of them, undoubtedly, is “Ognivets”. This name reflects the original meaning of the magical symbol of the swastika: “living fire” - “fire” - “flint” - “flint”.
“The Russian name for the swastika is “kolovrat”, i.e. “solstice” (“kolo” - Old Russian name sun, “gate” - rotation, return). Kolovrat symbolized the victory of light (sun) over darkness, life over death, reality over reality. A swastika directed in the opposite direction was called “salting.” According to one version, “Kolovrat” meant the increase in daylight or the rising spring sun, while “posolon” meant the decrease in daylight and the setting autumn sun. The existing confusion in the names is generated by a misunderstanding of the direction of the rotational movement of the Russian swastika. A “right” or “straight” swastika is often called a cross with ends bent into right side. However, in the Russian pagan tradition, the semantic meaning of the swastika is as close as possible to the ancient one (the symbol of “living fire”), and therefore its curved ends should be considered precisely as flames, which, when the cross rotates to the right, naturally deviate to the left, and when it rotates to the left - to the right. The deflection of the flames in both cases occurs under the influence of the oncoming air flow. Therefore, a “kolovrat”, or “left-sided” swastika in Russia is a cross whose ends (“tongues of flame”) are bent to the right, and vice versa, a “posolonyu”, or “right-sided” swastika is a cross with ends bent to the left ( in this case, the swastika rotates clockwise, according to the sun, hence its name - “salting”). In the Old Believer “soling” - the ritual walking around churches by the sun - one can easily discern an ancient pagan ritual. (M.V. Surov “Everything and everyone will return”)”
Russian women did not have the European abundance of fabrics to create clothes. All that was available to them was linen, cotton and wool. But still, the Russians managed to create outfits of amazing beauty from little. And this was achieved thanks to the ornaments of Russian folk costume. At that time, the ornament acted not only as decoration, but also as a talisman. Thus, elements of folk costume were enriched with protective embroidery and patterned weaving. This kind of amulets were embroidered on the edges of clothes, namely on the hem, cuffs and collar. These were embroidered ideogram letters that protected a person from harm. The ornaments were made in certain colors, which also have special meaning. The most popular color is red, which symbolizes fire, life and blood.
More details...
The main element of Russian folk costume was a shirt with a collar richly decorated with embroidery. The sleeves of the shirt had to be wide and long, but wrapped with braid at the wrist. Women wore it over their shirt. It had the shape of a high skirt with straps and was made of linen, wool and cotton fabric. Ribbons, fringe, braid and colored stripes of chintz were used as decoration. The third integral element of the outfit was the skirt. It is worth noting that married women they wore a poneva, which differed from a regular skirt in a swinging style with an unstitched slit on the side.
Don't forget about the apron. Women wore it over a shirt or sundress. The apron, as an element of the Russian costume, was also equipped with a rich symbolic ornament, personifying Russian ancient traditions and amulets associated with nature.
The final element of the Russian national costume was the headdress, which at that time was a kind of business card. From it it was possible to determine the age and place from which the woman came, and her social status. Girls' hats had an open crown. Bandages and tapes were most often used. But married women completely covered their hair. The headdresses were decorated with beads, ribbons and embroidery.
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Old Russian ornament is one of the most interesting phenomena in the world artistic culture. Throughout time it has been modified and supplemented. Despite this, Russian ornament of any century is considered one of the most interesting. In our article you can find more detailed information not only about ancient Russian cliparts, but also about ornaments of other peoples.
General information about ornaments
An ornament is a set of patterns and symbols on a particular object. When applying it, artists certainly coordinate the purpose of the object and the drawing itself in order to achieve a positive impression on the viewer. The type of Old Russian ornament or any other pattern can be geometric, floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic.
In ancient times, people believed that certain patterns and designs in the ornament could attract wealth to their home, good health, will help improve your personal life and bring mutual understanding to the family. Many people still believe this today. It is also believed that the ornament can show state of mind artist at the time of creation of the pattern. Surprisingly, the ancient Russian ornament was applied not only to household items and clothing, but also to the body. Such a drawing was a talisman. The ornament was no longer applied to the body after the adoption of Christianity in Rus'.
It is believed that the history of ornament begins with the Paleolithic era. allow us to find out, Nowadays there are also people who believe in magical properties drawings.
Old Russian magical drawings
Old Russian ornament is considered one of the best. This is no coincidence, because it amazes contemporaries with its beauty, uniqueness and a certain magical power which our ancestors put into it. It is worth noting that Old Russian patterns were borrowed from Byzantium and the Caucasus. Over time, they have changed and become unique. Today, ancient Russian ornaments are unique patterns that have become part of the heritage of world art. Most often it was used as a talisman against evil spirits, damage and the evil eye. Magical drawings were applied to dishes, books, household items, clothing and the walls of the house. It is worth noting that the meaning of some symbols in the ornament is still unknown.
General information
Byzantine, Georgian and Old Russian ornaments are considered the most sophisticated and interesting. They are an important component in the development of world art. Byzantine ornaments include Hellenistic and Eastern traditions. They consist of a wide variety of motifs. Characteristic of Byzantine ornament is large number bizarre shaped patterns. They have a bright and rich color that has survived to this day.
Thanks to Arabic and Persian art, mythological heroes such as griffins, dragons and others appeared in Byzantine ornaments. It is also worth noting that not only fantastic, but also real animals and birds were often used in the drawings. As a rule, in ornaments they are located inside a circle or any other geometric figure.
Floral motifs in Byzantine ornament were rarely used and were not complex. Some elements did not carry a specific meaning. Surprisingly, the Byzantines added copper, gold, and mercury to the paint for painting. Thanks to this, they could get the most varied and rich shades that last for many years.
Georgian ornaments. Popularity these days
Georgian ornaments are not much different from Byzantine or Old Russian ones. As a rule, geometric motifs predominate in them. All patterns and designs have an unusual rich color. Most often Georgian ornaments consist of crosses and curved lines.
Today in Georgia they are becoming extremely popular again national costumes with ornaments. They are often created by designers. These days, a girl from Georgia is especially popular because she creates incredibly beautiful national headdresses - kabalahs. If previously only men wore them, now they are often used among the female population.
Embroidered ornament
Surely each of us has seen an ancient Russian ornament. The meaning of the dome, which is found on clothing of past centuries, symbolizes long or endless life. There may also be mermaids located underneath it. According to popular belief, such an embroidered design has a beneficial effect on the future harvest.
It is believed that almost all embroidered patterns are dominated by the theme of the fertility of the earth. For example, a rhombus is a symbol of the feminine principle. It is considered a kind of amulet of fertility and childbearing. A diamond with hooks embroidered on the edges of a baby's diaper symbolizes the origin of life. It is important to know that only in the complex of all the symbols located on an object can one find out the meaning of a particular sign.
The most common ancient Russian embroidered ornament is Orepey. This is a comb diamond, which is a symbol of sown land. Depending on its location on clothing, it may have other meanings. For example, if such a sign is embroidered on the hem, then it symbolizes the entrance to the other world.
Spiral in ancient Russian ornaments
Almost everyone is amazed by the beauty and mystery of the ancient Russian ornament. The photos that are located in our article will allow you to evaluate its uniqueness yourself.
You can often find a spiral in ancient Russian ornaments. This sign is not only widespread, but also quite ancient. It symbolizes the development of the world and its evolution. This is no coincidence, because spiral shapes are quite common in our lives. These include a whirlpool, a tornado, DNA and much more. It is worth noting that this sign has been used since the Paleolithic era. Most often, such an ancient Russian ornament was applied to jewelry.
Spiral signs were often used in embroidery. In Novgorod, women decorated their headdresses in this way.
Cross
The cross is one of the most symbolic. It symbolizes two opposites - the feminine and masculine principles. This sign is found in almost all cultures. Depending on the image, the symbol can be interpreted completely differently.
A cross in a circle is a symbol of life. It also demonstrates the movement of the sun across the sky. They began to depict him during the times Upper Paleolithic. It gained particular popularity during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
It is worth noting that the cross appeared long before Christianity. He imitated a weapon for making fire. Over time, it became a symbol of the heavenly body - the sun. It is also seen as a sign of immortality. Among the pagans, the cross was a kind of amulet that protected its owner on all four sides. It was applied to jewelry, clothing, and painted above the entrance to the house.
Swastika
The swastika was used in absolutely every corner of our earth. It was painted on weapons, household items and clothing. In ancient Russian ornaments, the swastika is found unusually often. It includes almost all motives. It symbolizes the movement of life, happiness, prosperity, prosperity and good luck. In addition, it is considered as a sign of the entire galaxy.
It is worth noting that the swastika is divided into two subtypes - left-handed and right-handed. IN different countries this plays an important role in interpreting its meaning. For example, in China, clockwise rotation symbolizes male energy, and counterclockwise rotation symbolizes female energy. In ancient Russian ornaments, the swastika was used as a talisman. It was embroidered on clothes and painted on the walls of the house.
Unfortunately, from the last century to today, the swastika is most often associated with Adolf Hitler and the ideology of Nazism. It is worth noting that because of this, this sign is prohibited in some countries.
Meander
Old Russian ornaments and patterns can often include a meander. This symbol has been known since the Neolithic era. Typically, it is used as a border on an object or fabric. It is quite easy to distinguish it from other symbols and patterns. A meander consists of right angles that create a continuous line. It is worth noting that the swastika is often included in it.
Meander was embroidered on the hem of clothing and used in mosaics and frescoes. He is an important symbol in the development of B Ancient Greece it symbolized infinity. This symbol is most often found in India. Such a pattern was often included in the ancient Russian vector ornament.
Griffins in Byzantine ornament
In Byzantium, griffins were often depicted on objects. This is a mythological creature that has wings, the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. In Byzantine culture they appeared due to the influence oriental culture. As a rule, he was depicted on saucers, silver cups, frescoes, mosaics and silk fabrics. It symbolizes protection of a person and is a kind of amulet. It is worth noting that in Western Christian iconography, the griffin is the embodiment of Satan.
The population of Byzantium believed that the griffin was a vigilant guard. It is for this reason that he was often depicted on armor, on the walls of houses and kitchen utensils.
Let's sum it up
Ornaments were present in the culture of all peoples. Our ancestors believed that such drawings had magical properties. In their opinion, different patterns could bring prosperity, mutual understanding or the fertility of the earth to the house. Some people still think so today. Absolutely everyone is fascinated by the beauty of Georgian, Byzantine, as well as ancient Russian ornaments and patterns. The meanings of the symbols that are located in our article will allow you to find out which drawings our ancestors considered magical.
Since ancient times, people have decorated their clothes, homes, tools and household items with various ornaments. These were not just drawings, but magic symbols, which were supposed to protect their owners from evil spirits. In addition, the ornament invariably gave things an elegant and festive look.
The most typical patterns of ancient Russian fabric ornaments are plant, zoomorphic, everyday, and cult motifs. From ancient Russian handwritten books one can also trace the history of ornament in Rus'. The ornaments in them were decorated with headpieces for each chapter and initials (the first letters of chapters and psalms). Since the 12th century, new motifs have appeared in book designs - griffins, dragons and others. mythical monsters, intertwined with branches, belts, entangled in their tails and necks to such an extent that nothing can be made out.
Wood carving has also been distinguished by a variety of ornaments since ancient times. There are several wood carving techniques: geometric, openwork and artistic. IN geometric carving, made in the form of recesses various shapes, pagan symbols were often present, for example, the so-called “rosettes” and “radiances”, denoting the sun. Such images were often found on household items: spinning wheels, dishes, kitchen utensils. Artistic carving was a real drawing on wood and decorated the walls of the house, the ridge on the roof, and the porch. As in textile ornaments, plant, zoomorphic and cult motifs were common in wood carvings, which in ancient times were supposed to protect the house from evil forces, and later turned into simply elements of home decoration.
After the adoption of Christianity at the end of the 10th century, Byzantine culture began to spread in Rus', which was reflected primarily in architecture, language and ornament. Even the word “ornament” itself is of Latin origin and is translated as “decoration”. From the 12th century, elements characteristic of Italian, Persian, Indian, and during Tatar-Mongol invasion and ornaments. Mixing all these styles into XVI-XVII centuries gave rise to a special ornamental style, characteristic only of the Russian people.
It contains both geometric shapes and various plant patterns, images of animals, existing and mythical, fantasy patterns of intertwining ribbons, branches, leaves, climbing plants, forming, despite all their intricacy, various figures of animals, birds and people. IN different centuries for decorating various items (whether clothes or handwritten book, box or towel) various ornamental motifs were used, some of them were characteristic only of their time, others have been preserved from ancient times to the present day.