Pysanky from Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia: ethnological aspects and artistic specificity

Abstract

Ukrainian pysanky and the practice of pysanka-making prove to be a relevant subject of contemporary ethnological and art critical inquiry, particularly with regard to the local specificities of these artifacts. Therefore, this study emphasizes regional dimensions and artistic features of pysanky from Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia dating from the late 19th c. to the first third of the 20th c. (including chronology of production, local terminology, functions within calendar and family rituals, ornamentation, principal compositional schemes, and motifs). The paper is based upon the collection of the Museum of Ethnography and Crafts at the Ethnology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (hereafter MEC). The collection of pysanky at MEC is the largest in Ukraine, comprising approximately 13,000 items from numerous historical and ethnographic regions, among which Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia particularly seem outstanding. The creators of pysanky were predominantly women and girls, and less frequently men. Beyond their ritual, protective, and decorative functions, pysanky also served as a means of preserving and recalling distinctive (“unusual”) ornamentation patterns.