“PERUGIA TOWELS” OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES AND THE EARLY MODERN TIMES: PROBLEMS OF ATTRIBUTION AND USAGE PRACTICES

Authors

  • Kateryna Hotsalo The Khanenko Museum

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15407/mics2020.10.103

Keywords:

towels, textile production, Italy, Perugia, 16th-17th centuries

Abstract

Due to the active use of fabrics in everyday life practices, textiles of the late Middle Ages and the early modern period are poorly preserved until these days. On the other hand, because of the peculiarities of using, fabrics have absorbed information about their users, becoming a valuable historical source.

In the article the type of textile known as “Perugia towels” is researched. During the 14th-16th centuries it was presented in Italian dwellings of different population segments. It is concluded that a large number of items, which is more often attributed to different European productions, could be yet made in Umbria, Italian region. The textile sample of the 16th century belonging to the type of “Perugia towels” from the collection of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts was researched for the first time. It was found that this item was most likely created in Italy, possibly in Umbria.

The peculiarities of Perugia textile production during the 15th-16th centuries are examined. According to written sources, the city was a developed center of fabrics’ manufacturing. Spreading of Perugia textiles in other regions of Italy was also investigated. In this context a series of written documents from the State Archive of Florence were studied for the first time. Different types of Perugia’s fabrics were known outside the city, even in such famous textile manufacturing centers as Florence.

Possible semantics of “Perugia towels” in Italian urban practices and paintings of the 14th-16th centuries have been outlined. The researched type of textile was probably associated among Italians with a Middle Eastern tradition and could also become symbol of physical and spiritual purity.

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Published

2020-11-17

How to Cite

Hotsalo, K. (2020). “PERUGIA TOWELS” OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES AND THE EARLY MODERN TIMES: PROBLEMS OF ATTRIBUTION AND USAGE PRACTICES. City: History, Culture, Society, (10 (3), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.15407/mics2020.10.103

Issue

Section

Society and Its Everyday Life