Hutsul folk costumes in the collection of the Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Krakow: a contribution to research

Abstract

Polish museums have outstanding collections of folk decorative and applied arts, including from the Hutsul region: they are characterized by local origin and an extraordinary variety of typology of items, workmanship and artistic features. They differ significantly in quantity and condition of preservation. The most valuable collection of Hutsul folk art, especially of traditional costumes and fabrics, is in the Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Krakow, and dates from the last quarter of the 19th and first three decades of the 20th century. The article discusses the need for an in-depth study of the MEK collection of the Hutsul folk costumes. It outlines historical determinants of interest in the Hutsul region, and in its traditional clothing in particular. A short review of the literature is given as well as the events that caused successive waves of fascination with the Hutsul region throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The analysis included only some types of clothing that have conflicting descriptions and requiredetailed research. This article is a contribution to an in-depth research on the Hutsul folk clothing at the MEK and in the collections of other Polish museums.