• Wool, cotton

• 1865

• Donated by Mrs. Dalavrak

• Sniatyn ; Sniatyn Raion ; Ivano-Frankivs'k ; Ukraine

• [UMCO.1948.0015]

This nalavnyk (bench cover) was made in 1865. Bench covers were hand woven and were both decorative and functional in that they made a hard wooden bench more comfortable. This nalavnyk is made with both cotton and woolen threads.

• Linen, wool, leather, beads, cotton, felt

• 1936

• Donated by Unknown

• Kosiv Raion; Ivano-Frankivs'k Oblast’, Hutsul Region; Ukraine

• [UMCO.1944.0033]

This Hutsul doll in the Kosiv style was hand-crafted in 1936 and featured in the Toronto Dominion Bank 1961 calendar.  The act of making dolls and dressing them in traditional attire was a valiant effort to retain traditions and Ukrainian culture during the Soviet era.  Soviet produced dolls were generally all similarly dressed in the style of the capital, Kyiv.  Dolls that were dressed in  traditional attire from oth er regions of Ukraine were only produced by hand in homes and were rarely seen in the diaspora.

• Linen, embroidery threads

• Donated by Mrs. Gulay

• Ukraine 

• [UMCO.1944.0028]

We do not have detailed provenance for this beautiful rushnyk . A rushnyk is a ritual cloth that is often decorated with traditional and pagan symbols. It was draped around icons and used to decorate items such as tables and windows. Our Museum founders decided it was worthy of inclusion amongst the first 50 artifacts accessioned in our Museum’s inaugural year.