POPULAR ART AND HANDCRAFTS IN THE TOWNS OF KARAVAS AND LAPITHOS

The historical past, the ecology, the social structure and the organisation of space, were the fundamental factors that contributed to forming a mixed agricultural and ecotechnical biotechnical economy in the twin towns of Karavas and Lapithos. Some handicraft sectors, such as metallurgy, pottery, wood sculpting and weaving became specialised, were organised for trade and provided the whole of Cyprus with their products. The movement of these handicrafts was done through "kiratzides", who were chapmen who circulated the whole island, the local trade festivals and the Nicosia bazaar. The area was especially fertile due to the two artesian springs that gave water all year round from the lime rock of Pentadaktylos. Apart from the irrigation of the orchards and other plantations, the water was the force behind the flourmills of the two towns, which gathered business from the surrounding villages.

Local production of raw materials was definitely a favourable term for the development of popular art and early industrial technology in the two towns. However, the craftsmanship of the local craftsmen and the quest for perfection in everything made were characteristics that were inherited from the past and handed down to younger generations. This is testified not only by the works that were saved from the mania of the Turkish invader, but by the craftsmen living today and who continue their creations in the free areas of Cyprus. Here they wait, working patiently with clay, needles and the loom, until the time when they will join the thread they left at their homes and workshops in Karavas and Lapithos.

Metallurgy

In a post-Cypriot settlement found in Lapithos there were plenty copper objects and sinters, which indicated that the area was a centre for the processing of copper. Copper objects were found in other tombs of the area. The two Byzantine treasures discovered in the ruins of Lapithos/Lambousa are samples of exceptional art and testify the wellbeing of the town during the 6th and 7th century and its ties with Byzantium. Metal craftsmanship continued during the later years by the craftsmen who manufactured knives and blades for agricultural tools, known as "tsiaktsides".

Pottery

In Lapithos, as indicated by the ceramic ovens found here, pottery was quite widespread since the copper period (3000-2500 BC). The blooming of this form of art appears through the archaeological findings of various eras of Cypriot history.

The modern vessels of Lapithos from white refined clay were made on an advanced pottery wheel, compared to the hefty handmade vessels of other pottery centres in Cyprus. The elegant vessels of Lapithos were basted, while the others were porous and comprised the basic household equipment in the rural areas of Cyprus until the mid-20th century. According to archaeologists, the basted vessels of Lapithos with the green decoration are samples of a degenerate technique that flourished during the Middle Ages. The archaeological findings from the 16th to the 19th century indicate the continuation of the technique in Lapithos' pottery and the surrounding area.

Around the end of the 19th century efforts were made by the competent authorities of the English Colonial Government to modernise Karavas and Lapithos pottery and produce vessels for English buyers. The pottery of the Lapithos area was enriched with elements of Asia Minor techniques, which the refugees who settled in Lapithos brought over during the second decade of the 20th century.

After the 1974 Turkish invasion, the potters of the area, with an unusual vitality, took their craftsmanship with them and as refugees created pottery workshops that flourish till today in the free areas.

Wood sculpting

The development of wood sculpting in the Karavas-Lapithos area was notable. The 16th-century carved wooden iconostasis of the Byzantine temple of Archeropoiitos, with the deep gold-plated anaglyph, such as the iconostasis of newer parish churches in the two towns, are beautiful samples of church wood sculpting.

Lapithos and Karavas were renowned for their wood carving workshops, where the craftsmen created with great craftsmanship the chests with the shallow anaglyph formed vegetal, architectural and animal themes, which were used as dowry furniture all over Cyprus.

The wood carving decoration of household furniture in Lapithos, however poor the household, always impressed English visitors at the end of the 19th century.

Art on wood was imprinted in other items, such as door and window frames, wardrobes, chairs and other household utensils.

A class of wood workers was specialised in the use of the lathe. They manufactured various tools, especially for weaving, which provided the Cypriot market from bazaars to festivals. There were also wood workers who manufactured agricultural tools and machinery, such as wooden wheels and other parts of flourmills.

Stone sculpting

The anaglyph decoration of stone door frames on old mansions of Lapithos and Karavas are notable samples of Cypriot stone carving. The art of the masters of the area was imprinted even on the decoration on the base of apse colonnades in the internal yard of houses.

Weaving

Lapithos and Karavas were the pioneering rural weaving centres of Cyprus until around the mid-20th century. The abundance of raw materials, cotton and silk, were among the fundamental favourable terms for the development of weaving in the area. The specialisation of the weavers, formed from a long tradition in the region, contributed to organising weaving on a commercial basis, which was a complementary income for a rural family. In every house there were one or two looms, depending on the number of women in the family. The performance in weaving was a determining factor for evaluating a woman, in an area where "art" was always held high in one's esteem.

The Lapithos and Karavas textiles covered the needs of the family in household equipment and attire. The most valuable, such as the silk textiles, were destined for the dowry of the girls, which was fundamental in a self-sufficient rural region, which did not however have a surplus in money to purchase other valuable items. The dowry silk textiles of Lapithos and Karavas provided other areas of Cyprus too, which did not produce their own. Apart from the dowry silk products, the Karavas-Lapithos area became specialised in weaving thick "denim" silk textiles, which copied English textiles and were used widely for men's urban clothing.

Silk works took on a great importance from 1920 to 1950 in the Karavas-Lapithos area. The main reason was the void created by the introduction of urban centres in the industrial civilisation of the 20th century, especially in Nicosia, which was a weaving centre. The production of textiles, which continued to have a market, were transferred to semi-urban towns of Lapithos and Karavas, which offered the most favourable conditions, compared to other areas of Cyprus.

The famous needle lace, known as "pipilles", which were earlier made of silk, were introduced to the commercial system of the ecotechnical products of Karavas and Lapithos. The merchants of these items, known as "kentitarides", also organised the production of the renowned "lefkaritika" embroideries, which in this area were made of silk. This kind of embroidery was one of the idiomorphic and impressive dowry items in Cypriot popular art.