Paper Short Abstract:

Jelica Belovic-Bernadzikowska is one of the first authors to deal with the issue of folk embroidery among South Slavs in Austria-Hungary. Considering that, here I will present influences and ideas of European folklore and ethnography science on Bernadzikowska’s work, especially her scientific approach to textile techniques and ornamentation.

Paper Abstract:

Jelica Belovic - Bernadzikowska is considered as one of the first authors to deal with the issue of folk embroidery and ornamentation on traditional textiles among South Slavs, namely Serbs, Croats and Bosnians in Austria-Hungary. In this presentation, I will consider Jelica Belovic - Bernadzikowska role in the movement that I named Folk Textile Handicraft Research Movement among South Slavs referring to the British Arts and Crafts Movement. I will analyze Jelica’s published works and her legacy in Museum-Archive Collection of Jelica Belovic - Bernadzikowska (1870 - 1946) in the Muzej Vojvodine in Novi Sad (Serbia). Bernatzikowska considered herself a scholar and a writer, dedicated most of her public activities to the fields of ethnography and folklore, and was highly respected as a connoisseur of folk embroidery. She believed that: “… the style in decorative art is the artistic expression of the inner sensibilities and opinions of a people in a given period of its cultural history.” Starting from this claim I will present influences and ideas of European folklore and ethnography science on Jelica Belović- Bernadzikowska’s work. Considering the idea of Folk Textile Handicraft Research Movement it will be unwritten two main aspects of it: The scientific interpretation of folk textile arts and crafts among South Slavs in the end of 19th Century and the idea of new utilization of folk textile art as a tool for the emancipation of rural women by organizing cottage industry.