The Leventis Municipal Museum continues to showcase two very unique exhibitions this year. They both have a feminine touch to them, but also do what most exhibits in museums do: show us how things have changed through time, and how culture and tradition are reflected in the items on display.
Dolls: An Open Window to their Magical World, which will run until March 26, is said to be “a surprise exhibition” by its organisers. Although the cat is out of the bag at this stage – as the exhibition opened on December 14 – and one of its purposes, to get us into the Christmas spirit, may already have been achieved, those of you who have not seen the rare dolls on display should do so post haste, if only to reminisce about your own childhood.
The rare dolls are from the collection of Aleca Economou – Demetriadou. Demetriadou, who has been collecting dolls from an early age, has given names to each doll. The Limassol-based collector started her collection with a Shirley Temple doll at the age of six.
Demetriadou then went on to collect more dolls, her collection eventually numbering 100. From these 100, approximately 60 have been chosen for the exhibition. Organisers say that these dolls include “authentic or equally rare replicas from important creators such as sculptor Albert Marque, the Bru, Jumeau, Kestner and Lenci Doll Makers, and Armand Marseille – whose immense production reached America. All these are included in the exhibition.”
Also on display we will find the famous Boudoir dolls, which were used to decorate the reception halls in Europe and America during the 20s and 30s.
Moving from dolls to dressing up like a doll – well, for a day anyway – the Brides at the Leventis Museum: Tradition and Fashion in Greece and Cyprus exhibition is still fascinating museum visitors, and will do so until April 23.
Bridal gowns from the collection of the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation in Nafplion, Greece, are exhibited side-by-side with Cypriot wedding dresses from the collections of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, as well as gowns from several other private collections in Cyprus.
The many wedding dresses on display trace the evolution of the garments from the late 19th century to 1974, in both Greece and Cyprus. The presentation displays the changes in wedding outfits through time, showing how their design was a sign of commitment and tradition and how, through time, these gowns were influenced by international fashion trends.
While taking us through a historical look at wedding dresses, the exhibition illustrates the similarities and differences between wedding dresses from the Greek area and those from Cyprus – two countries joined by a similar tradition, yet marked by different historical fates. The dresses that mark the celebrations of the big day and the beginning of a marriage also distinguish between city and village life, and how the wealthy and less privileged brides began their marital journeys.
As times changed, so did wedding dresses. They broke away from tradition and their design began to be influenced by international fashion.
The exhibition takes us step by step through the history of wedding dresses, how they got shorter, wider or thinner and even how the material used to make them changed. These changes were not all about the fashion though, sometimes it was about poverty and wars.
Dolls: An Open Window to their Magical World
Rare dolls from the Aleca Economou – Demetriadou collection. Until March 26. The Leventis Municipal Museum, 15-17 Hippocrates Street, Laiki Yitonia, Nicosia. Tuesday-Sunday: 10am-4.30pm. Tel: 22-661475
Brides at the Leventis Museum: Tradition and Fashion in Greece and Cyprus
Exhibition of wedding dresses. Until April 23. The Leventis Municipal Museum, 15-17 Hippocrates Street, Laiki Yitonia, Nicosia. Tuesday-Sunday: 10am-4.30pm. Tel: 22-661475
