Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts

Thursday, 21 January 2010

The Cetinje Ethnography Museum



Last summer, on holiday in Montenegro, Archie and I visited an amazingly romantic museum in the tiny mountain town of Cetinje. The Ethnography Museum is housed in a little white-painted cottage off a dusty square, and is filled with the most evocative collection of historic Balkan folk clothes. I wanted to spend hours there, examining the treasures: shepherds' waistcoats trimmed with bells and bobbles, hand-woven and embroidered shawls, colourful knitted socks and lace-trimmed nighties. It was extraordinary to think that really not that long ago - maybe only 100 years - everyday people would have worn these handmade treasures, and had these extraordinary skills - lacemaking, weaving, embroidery - that are all but lost these days. There was a trestle table by the entrance, selling hand-embroidered tunics, and Archie bought me one. We felt strangely sad coming out into the real world, to see everyone in tracksuits and trainers.