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The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 5 (191), 1547—1555

UDK 746.21:391.2(477.84-22Коцюбинчики)”19″

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

  • Received: 07.07.2026
  • Accepted: 01.09.2026
  • Published: ??.??.2026

COMPOSITIONAL AND COLORISTIC FEATURES OF A «ZAPASKA» FROM THE VILLAGE OF KOTSIUBYNCHYKY (EARLY 20TH CENTURY) (BASED ON A MUSEUM ARTIFACT)

MELNYCHUK Ihor

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7465-2496
  • Associate Professor,
  • National Academy of Fine Arts
  • and Architecture,
  • Department of Painting and Composition,
  • 20 Voznesenskyi Uzviz St., 04053 Kyiv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: igor.melnychuk@naoma.edu.ua

Abstract. Introduction. The article examines an early twentieth-century woolen woven zapaska (traditional wrap-around apron) from the village of Kotsiubynchyky, Chortkiv District, Ternopil Region, as a valuable example of the local artistic weaving tradition of Western Podillia.

Problem Statement. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to introduce little-known examples of Ukrainian folk textiles into scholarly circulation and to reconstruct local centers of traditional weaving, many of which remain insufficiently researched. Particular importance is attached to the analysis of the museum artifact in conjunction with authentic textiles preserved in private collections, enabling a comprehensive reconstruction of the artistic characteristics of the local weaving tradition.

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to provide a comprehensive art-historical analysis of the early twentieth-century zapaska preserved in the collections of the Ternopil Regional Museum of Local Lore, to identify its artistic, compositional, and semantic features, and to determine its place within the development of the local weaving tradition of Kotsiubynchyky.

Methods. The research is based on art-historical, historical-comparative, typological, and iconographic methods. These approaches made it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the artifact’s structural, technological, chromatic, and ornamental characteristics, as well as to compare it with related local textile works.

Results. The study confirms the existence of a distinctive artistic weaving center in Kotsiubynchyky, characterized by a specific system of color, composition, and ornamental features. The museum zapaska demonstrates close artistic affinities with local woven blankets (verety), particularly in the dominant red background, similar compositional principles, the use of the supplementary-weft (perebir) weaving technique, and a shared symbolic ornamental system.

Keywords: zapaska, traditional clothing, artistic weaving, Kotsiubynchyky, Western Podillia, Eastern Galicia, folk textiles.

REFERENCES

  • Sydorovych, S.Y. (1979). Artistic Textiles of the Western Regions of the Ukrainian SSR. Kyiv: Naukova dumka [in Ukrainian].
  • Peshchanskyi, V.P. (1925). Ancient Carpets of Ukraine. Lviv: Dilo [in Ukrainian].
  • Early Twentieth-Century Woolen Woven Zapaska from the Village of Kotsiubynchyky, Chortkiv District, Ternopil Region: Museum Object. Ternopil Regional Museum of Local Lore. Inventory № 2458. Accession № 43931 [in Ukrainian].
  • Selivachov, M.R. (2005). Lexicon of Ukrainian Ornamentation: Iconography, Nomination, Stylistics, and Typology. Kyiv: Editorial Office of the Ant Bulletin; Nizhyn: Aspekt-Polihraf [in Ukrainian].
  • Nikolaieva, T.O. (1996). History of Ukrainian Costume. Kyiv: Lybid [in Ukrainian].
  • Verkhola, S. (2008). Artistic Features of Carpet Weaving in Western Podillia. Ternopil: Bohdan [in Ukrainian].
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