Komi-Permyak Blue Dye-Works and Woodblock Printing on Textiles at the End of the Nineteenth — the First Third of the Twentieth Century

This article describes the development of blue dye-works and woodblock printing on textiles in the north-western part of the Perm Governorate, the territory of contemporary Komi-Permyak Okrug of Perm Krai. It is based on documentary sources, museum collections and materials from ethnographic expeditions. It describes the history and formation of these handicrafts and discusses the role of visiting masters from Vyatka Governorate in their development. Woodblock printing on textiles actively developed from the end of the nineteenth century to the 1930s. The article also describes the technological process of woodblock printing and the tradition of using printed fabrics for making sundresses, aprons and other clothes. It considers regional and local artistic traditions in dyeing and ornamentation. The selection of colors and ornamental motifs was an essential part of woodblock printing in the Komi-Permyak tradition. This involved a synthesis of the craftsmen’s desires and the preferences of the local population, whose tastes could not be ignored. Common features in the Komi-Permyak territories include a preference for delicate patterns with repetitions throughout the background. In this tradition some local areas preserved their own unique coloring, composition and ornamental motifs. The heyday of printing on textiles coincided with the last period when traditional clothing was actively worn; this shaped both its distinctive features and symbolism in the modern perception of women’s national costume, whose main element became the printed “dubas” sarafan or sundress.