Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)

Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This woven fragment belongs to the upper part of an opreg cu ciucuri, a fringed apron traditionally worn by women from the Banat area of Romania and Serbia. The warp of the fragment's ground woven component is made of course, long wool fibers from the back of Turcana sheep. Highly twisted during spinning and dying, these fibers give desirable weight and stiffness to the apron. The decorative band was woven separately, and geometric motifs were embroidered over both fabrics.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.