Knitted men’s shirt, part of men’s fishing outfit

Russians

Russian Empire, Arkhangelsk province, district, village

Late 19th century – early 20th century

Cloth: canvas; cloth: cotton; threads: wool; wood

РЭМ 2326-14

Fishing/hunting clothing sets was an important feature of the Pomors’ clothing. The shirt is hand-knitted from home wool, and has a red-and-white pattern. Such woolen shirts to be worn open were homemade or brought from Norway. The term “shirt” was the most common; apart from it, there were other names: buzurunka on the Kandalaksha coast, Norwegian shirt or Norwetska on the Pomor coast (so called because of the ornament, often borrowed from the Norwegians), verkhovitsa or verkhova on the Onega coast, and pomorka among the Murman Coast dwellers. Abstract by O.G. Baranova