Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Crimean embroidery is Crimean Tatar embroidery built on the ornek ornament: about 35 symbols, sixty different stitches and goldwork. In 2021 ornek was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Sixty different stitches - that is how many the Crimean Tatar embroidery technique counts. And the ornament these stitches serve has its own system of about 35 symbols, which in 2021 was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. So Crimean embroidery needs a description of its own.

Not a mainland tradition, but a neighbouring one

The Crimean Tatar vyshyvanka of Crimea differs significantly from the mainland Ukrainian one. It is a separate heritage by ethnic origin, and we do not present it as a regional variety of the "Ukrainian vyshyvanka".

Researchers trace in Crimean embroidery influences far older than in the mainland traditions: links with the ornament and metal-thread techniques of Byzantium and the medieval Middle East. For centuries Crimea lay on trade routes, and its embroidery inherited this.

Crimean embroidery and gold that is hard to tame

The most difficult part of Crimean embroidery ornament is goldwork - stitching with gold thread. According to embroiderers who have mastered the technique, gold thread lies badly, tangles and frays - it is much harder to work with than ordinary cotton or silk.

For the Crimean vyshyvanka, wealthier families used satin, silk and velvet; the threads were mostly cotton, and from the middle of the 19th century they began to be imported from abroad. On fine homespun linen, called "atma", the pattern filled only the ends and edges of the piece.

Embroidery on household things

Besides underwear and outerwear, household items were decorated: bedspreads, towels, Quran covers, footwear and even tents. Because of their complexity, some techniques were mastered only by men - here the Crimean vyshyvanka was not purely women's work, as it was in most mainland regions.

The symmetry of the tulip and the almond

According to tradition, each flower in Crimean embroidery ornament points to a specific person: the carnation to an elderly person, the tulip to a young man, the rose to a married woman. In the classic composition, a symmetrical image of a tulip and an almond, set within a square, is placed along the edges.

Family signs stand apart: the female one, "egri dal", a curved branch meaning changeability and growth; the male one, the family tree, a sign of reliability and strength. The recurring symbol "maram" is the tree of life, and popular descriptions most often identify Crimean embroidery ornament by it.

Ornek and the path to recognition

Crimean embroidery ornament has a name of its own - ornek. In 2018 a team led by the researcher Esma Adzhiieva, together with knowledge bearers including Mamut Churlu, initiated the inclusion of ornek in Ukraine's National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and in 2021 it was also recognised by UNESCO.

The Bakhchysarai Historical and Cultural Reserve keeps fragments of authentic embroidery from which researchers reconstruct techniques that would otherwise be known only from tales. So the vyshyvankas of Crimea can be studied from surviving pieces, not only from descriptions.

A language of 35 symbols

As UNESCO describes it, örnek is a system of symbols and their meanings used today in embroidery, weaving, pottery, engraving, jewellery, wood carving, and glass and wall painting. The symbols are arranged into a composition that tells a story, and Crimean Tatar families often commission artisans to create combinations with the meaning they need.

There are about thirty-five symbols. Besides those already mentioned, the almond stands for an unmarried woman or girl, the poplar or cypress for an adult man, and a tulip within a rose for the love or union of a man and a woman. Geometric ornaments are used mainly in weaving, floral ones in all other crafts, and many symbols serve as protective charms.

The knowledge is passed on by skilled artisans in families and communities, in embroidery classes and at universities. Örnek was inscribed on the UNESCO list on 16 December 2021 at the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee. It is the fourth element of Ukrainian culture on UNESCO's lists, after Petrykivka painting, the Cossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk region and Kosiv painted ceramics.

Entry number nine in the National List

In the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine, ornek carries protection number 009.нкс, the ninth entry. It was added by order No. 105 of 12 February 2018 under the title "Ornek - the Crimean Tatar ornament and knowledge about it". So the ornament used in Crimean embroidery had state status three years before the UNESCO decision.

The list assigns ornek to three domains at once: customs, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; traditional craftsmanship. As places of practice it names the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the places where creative families among internally displaced persons now live. In other words, Crimean Tatar embroidery is also made wherever the craftspeople and their families have moved.

Six techniques of Crimean Tatar embroidery

The Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (an article by N. Akchurina-Muftiieva and I. Zaatov, 2014) names double-sided embroidery as the most characteristic for Crimea. These are dense satin stitch without padding ("tatar ishleme"), counted embroidery ("esap ishleme") and embroidery with flat, narrow silver-plated or gilded strips ("telli"). In double-sided satin stitch and counted work the embroiderer counts the threads of the ground fabric exactly and keeps the direction of the stitches, so the front is hard to tell from the back. This was used for things seen from both sides.

There are three one-sided techniques as well. Mykhlama is raised gold or silver embroidery over padding, "bukme" is embroidery with gold, silver or silk cords, and "kasnak" is tambour work. Mykhlama was done on dense fabrics: broadcloth, velvet, satin, leather. The metal stitches run in different directions and give glittering strokes, and the embroidery was finished with appliqué, beads, pearls and precious stones. These are the techniques people usually mean when they talk about Crimean embroidery with gold.

Embroidery in women's and men's dress

Most embroidery went on things for the home. In clothing, according to the encyclopedia, embroidery was a privilege of women's dress: dresses, aprons, sleeve covers, headwear, shoes. In men's clothing patterns decorated headwear, wedding belts and shirts. The encyclopedia also singles out the marama, a women's head covering of fine linen decorated with a woven ornament.

In the days of the Crimean Khanate gold embroidery covered horse saddle cloths, the khans' campaign tents, the clothing of the khan and nobility, wall hangings with quotations from the Quran and large cushions for the divans of the khan's palace. Such bulky pieces needed strength and stamina, so they were made by male embroiderers in special guilds. When the khanate fell, the guilds broke up, and women kept using raised gold work for small items at home.

Who studied and saved Crimean Tatar embroidery

The encyclopedia names the ethnographer N. Kharuzin (1880s-1890s) as the first researcher of the Crimean Tatar ornament. Collections began to form at the same time, and embroidery and weaving were their core. O. Bertier-Delagarde passed part of his Crimean ethnographic material to the Odesa Archaeological Museum. Until the end of the 19th century, the encyclopedia says, the colouring of Crimean embroidery stayed extremely restrained.

In the 1920s the Bakhchysarai Palace Museum became the centre of research. Thanks to U. Bodaninskyi, Crimean Tatar costumes and embroidery were shown at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925, where they won a silver medal. In 1930 the first cooperative artel of Crimean Tatar embroidery, "Ilk adym" ("First Step"), was founded in Bakhchysarai with the instructor E. Mansurska, and in Yevpatoria the artel "Eski ornek" ("Old Pattern") was set up under P. Chepurina. Her book on the ornamental embroidery of Crimea came out in 1938. How the tradition survived the deportation and came back is told on the page about Sevastopol embroidery.

Frequently asked questions

How many techniques does Crimean embroidery have?

About 60 different stitches. They decorated clothing, covers, towels, footwear and even tents.

Why is gold embroidery considered the hardest?

Because gold thread lies badly and tangles and frays much more easily than cotton or silk. Some of the complex techniques of Crimean Tatar embroidery were mastered only by men.

Where can I see authentic samples of Crimean embroidery?

At the Bakhchysarai Historical and Cultural Reserve. It holds fragments of authentic embroidery from which researchers reconstruct old techniques.

What does the almond mean in örnek?

According to UNESCO, the almond symbolises an unmarried woman or girl. The rose stands for a married woman, the tulip for a young man, the poplar or cypress for an adult man, and the carnation for an elderly person.

When was ornek added to the National List?

By order No. 105 of 12 February 2018, under protection number 009.нкс. It entered the UNESCO list later, on 16 December 2021.

What is mykhlama?

It is one-sided raised embroidery in gold or silver thread over padding. It was worked on dense fabrics and leather, and this technique gives Crimean Tatar embroidery its raised, glittering relief.

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