History

The historical course covered by the exhibition is completed in Nafplio, the first capital of the free Greek state, where the first king of the Greeks, Otto, landed on January 25, 1833. When he, at the request of his father, Ludwig I of Bavaria, decided to dress like the Greeks, he commissioned the creation of his costume to famous Nafplio tailor Stavros Kremmidas. Otto wore the blue costume with a “foustanella” sewn by Stavros Kremmidas for the first time on January 25, 1836. He has never been seen without it since. When, in 1837, Queen Amalia arrived in Greece, wanting to replicate the attire of her subjects, she created a romantic court dress, like the one displayed here, which was to become the national civil dress, known as “Amalia” dress. The costume consists of a gold-embroidered silk shirt, a long silk skirt in Biedermeier style, the “kontogouni”, a velvet gold-embroidered vest, and a red fez with the silk tassel. Queen Amalia’s dress was sewn, like Otto’s costume, by Stavros Kremmidas.

Theodoros Kolokotronis had set up his headquarters in the tower of Augustus in Vervena, a village on the outskirts of Tegea. The Greeks successfully repulsed a Turkish attack there on May 18, 1821. The battle of Vervena and Doliana frustrated the disbandment of the Greek camp and boosted the morale of the revolutionaries, paving the way for the fall of Tripoli on September 23, 1821. The key element of Tegea’s women’s costume on display here, is the dress with the embroidered hem made of multicolored silk finished with red felt. The costume is completed with a velvet gold embroidered vest and a silk apron, with a silk headdress.

In the revolutionary struggle at sea, the Psarians, the Spetsiotes and the shipowners of Hydra dominated. Among the latter was Anastasios Tsamados who died heroically on April 26, 1825 during the Fall of Sfaktiria in the bay of Pylos. The traditional dress of Hydra, which is exhibited here in honor of island, is characterised by multi-layered sleeveless green silk dress with the velvet hem. A silk neckline covers the chest, along with a fitted silk jacket, while a triangular embroidered silk scarf is worn on the head. A similar composition of the costume of Hydra is presented by the costume of the nearby Ermionida, which is exhibited in Costa Navarino.

In the summer of 1827, Ibrahim, unable to consolidate his position in the Peloponnese, began preparing for a landing in Hydra, or “Little England” as he called it due to its strong naval power and war experience. Fortunately, he was beaten by the allied naval forces, who destroyed the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at the Battle of Navarino. The new costume of Hydra, which is exhibited here, is influenced by the costume of the type “Amalia”, retaining the triangular all-embroidered silk scarf, is reminiscent of the older traditional clothing of the island.