Summary

Alternative Name(s): Wedding Costume

Wedding ensemble from the Struge region in Albania. The outfit consists of five parts: a shirt, harem-style pants, waistcoat, waist scarf and head scarf.

This outfit was part of a young Muslim Albanian woman's trousseau during the early 20th century. It was woven on a large silk weaving loom.

The woman (name unknown) was betrothed to be married but her fiancé died in tragic circumstances and the wedding did not proceed.

The young woman never married and the costume remained unworn until it was given by her family to Erik Lloga, a friend of the family, who migrated to Australia from Albania in 1969. The family were keen for him to 'save' the costume and the cultural traditions it represented, at a time when such traditions were under threat of survival in many eastern bloc states.

Viewed as a significant cultural object, it has since been displayed frequently as part of Melbourne's Albanian Women's Association activities as an important example of the traditional artistic skills of Albanian women which have been in decline both here and in Albania.

Physical Description

Handcrafted and embroidered silk female wedding costume, consisting of five parts: a shirt, harem-style pants, waistcoat, waist scarf and head scarf.

Significance

This wedding costume is a rare surviving example of its region. It also represents an active effort by one community to preserve its cultural traditions, both by transporting it to Australia where the costume had a chance to survive, and by making it accessible to the local Albanian migrant community. This costume demonstrates the disappearing silk weaving skills of Albanian women, and is a community act of acknowledgement of the important role women have played in the traditions of artistic production.

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