The Collection of Embroidery Products of the Southern Khanty in the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (History of Origin and Study)

The article deals with the formation of the collections of garments and their details, decorated with embroidery of the Southern Khanty with colored woolen threads, in the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum (former Tobolsk Provincial Museum) at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. In addition, the results of the analytical work to identify the research stages for this collection were summarized and presented. The embroidery quality, the embroidery technique’s complexity, and the peculiarity of ornamental motifs and components allowed researchers to recognize these products as unique immediately. The authors of the article noted that the collection was built up quickly and completed in less than 30 years. The main method of completion was field collecting. Three main phases in the study of this collection were also identified – the beginning of the twentieth century (publications by V. Pignatti), the middle of the twentieth century (publications by S. Ivanov, T. Vakhter, N. Prytkova), and the turn of the XX and XXI centuries (publications by O. Ryndina and A. Bogordaeva). In essence, the researchers have tried to identify and classify the types of Southern Khanty embroidery techniques, the topography of ornamental complexes on the details of clothing, the cut-out of products, but most importantly, the structure and semantics of ornaments, focusing on the most frequently used ornamental elements and complexes (with an emphasis on ornamental motifs).

southern Khanty, clothing, nettle canvas, types of embroidery, history of study