pysanky-eggs-msg - 9/13/00 Painted and dyed eggs of eastern Europe. NOTE: See also the files: eggs-msg, Russia-msg, Bynzantine-msg, enameling-msg, dyeing-msg, inks-msg, plaster-msg, painting-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with seperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the orignator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: Lord Stefan li Rous mark.s.harris@motorola.com stefan@florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 09:19:57 -0500 (EST) From: Jenne Heise To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Pisanki, was Re: Easter Eggs On Mon, 10 Nov 1997, Danel Fisher wrote: > I was wondering if anyone could help me in tracing down information > about Easter Eggs. They were created by hand by a gentleman that either > gave or sold them to the aristocrates of Europe and Russian. I know this > sounds a little vague. They are intricately designed and are covered with > gems and have intricate mechanical movement. Any help would be appreciated. Well, as everyone has said, these are Faberge' eggs. However, I am wondering about the prevalence of pisanki (pysanky) in Northern Europe. (These are the elaborately decorated eggs created by doing your design in reverse in wax, dyeing the egg, removing the wax, and doing it again.) I know they seem to have originated in the Ukraine. Sophie Knab says that decorated eggs in Poland can be dated to the 1300s, as they appear in the story of a miracle occurring at St. Hedwig's tomb in that time. I want more documentation. Were they used in other Slavic countries? Also, Knab describes some flirting games associated with pisanki, and I'm interested in whether these are period. I'm also interested in the symbolism of the pysanky designs. Of course, if you made it to one of the pysanky classes at Pennsic, maybe it was covered there... I missed them. :( Can anyone suggest some resources? Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, aka Aunt Bunny, mka Jennifer Heise jenne@tulgey.browser.net Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 11:49:11 -0700 From: Janine Goldman-Pach To: "'sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu'" Subject: RE: Pisanki, was Re: Easter Eggs There is a pysanky section in the SCA-ARTS Listserv Citation Index: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/5160/pysanky.html Inui Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 00:11:26 -0500 (EST) From: To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Pisanki, was Re: Easter Eggs to answer your first question Pisanki are very period, there is documention dating back to 500 years before Christ. Although I haven't had much luck with finding tracible documentation. In the information I have it is said that these eggs were used for ensuring a good harvest. They would be buried when the fields were plowed, or hung from fruit trees. As to symbolism I have lists of symbolic meanings from post, and pre christianity. If you have questions about specific symbols E-mail me at Thistlekp@aol.com Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 22:13:45 -0500 (EST) From: To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Pisanki, was Re: Easter Eggs Hello Roz, sorry it took so long, school keeps me very busy.I think it's great that you do Pysanky, where do you live what group. As to documentation I am currently hunting down a book that may have B.C. documentation of this style. This book is called Eggs Beautiful, how to make Ukrainian easter eggs. This book is published by a supply store called the Ukrainian Gift Shop. I am trying to locate a copy of it so I don't have to buy the book until I know if it has the info I need. If you find any information see if you can find documentation of the use of duck eggs. This is the type of egg that I use as I have two ducks that won't quit laying eggs. Lord Bryan Morrison. Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 18:19:46 GMT From: ldyros@beaches.net (C S Walsh) To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Pisanki, was Re: Easter Eggs On Thu, 27 Nov 1997 22:13:45 -0500 (EST), Lord Bryan wrote: >Hello Roz, > >I think it's great that you do Pysanky, where do you live what group. Shire of Salt Keep, Meridies (Panama City, Florida) > As to documentation I am currently hunting down a book that may have B.C. documentation of this style. >This book is called Eggs Beautiful, how to make Ukrainian easter eggs. I have this book. It doesn't have any good documentation, just some passages about family traditions, and the like. It is a good instruction book, though. Have you tried Light and Life? They do just about everything Orthodox-- that's where I got mine. > If you find any information see if you can find >documentation of the use of duck eggs. This is the type of egg that Iuse as I >have two ducks that wont quit laying eggs. My information says that any eggs were used. I have used goose and ostrich, in addition to chicken. Roz Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 21:20:33 EST From: To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Pysanky/Pisanki/Ukrainian Easter Eggs Check out www.iarelative.com/slovakia.htm As you start digging through all the sites that come up you'll find articles on Christmas traditions, how to make Pysanky eggs as well as the history . Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 04:18:51 -0600 From: Carol S Somers Subject: Re: ANST - Pysanki eggs correction On Thu, 21 Jan 1999 21:00:43 -0600 Stefan li Rous writes: >Amra explained Pysanki eggs: > >another layer of wax, where you don't want the next dye etc. >Because you are dyeing areas over other dyed areas, some care >must be taken in which colors and areas are dyed first. The >latter is part of what I don't remember all the details on. Having done this for 15 years now,I think I might offer some advice here........You start with the lightest color wanted Then continually go darker from there. My usual progression is resist the white, yellow, oranges, blues, reds, purples, and then the black > >> One critical step in the process is selection of eggs >> with NO blemishes or cracks -->This may be true, but I don't remember our teacher at TFYC >mentioning this or being this picky. So perhaps it only affects >the final beauty and not the functionality of the object. >-- Cracks ARE important from the functional standpoint. Picture building a wall to keep out a 'flood of color' and then finding out there is a ditch under that wall. Cracks allow the dyes to bleed into other areas, and they also dye more darkly because you have more surface space in that area to absorb the color. The only time I will use eggs with cracks is for practicing or trying out a new pattern idea for the first time. Besides, they DO have a tendency to mess with the structural integrity of the egg, and I don't want to have to redo hours of work because it breaks when I am trying to remove the wax. Certain types of blemishes need to be handled the same way as cracks...Mostly though, if they are blemishes in color, careful design work could place the blemish in a darker color of dye which would be more likely to cover the discrepancies. Hope this helps, Eliane Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 18:33:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Jenne Heise To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: onion skins On Tue, 7 Sep 1999, Peter B. Steiner wrote: > > My great grandmother used to dye a portion of the easter eggs with this onion > skin/vinegar solution every year. She called them "Bunny Eggs". My Mom > followed the tradition, which has apparently been around in our old German > family for a long time.....so I learned the recipe as a child. Now I wonder > just how many generations it has passed through before it arrived at the > present? Can you document the use of this dyestuff in Medieval Europe? > Thanks for the memory! > -Peter- Hm... there's an interesting analysis of the history of dyed eggs-- both ones with designs (like pisanki) and plain dyed ones (called in the slavic countries krashanki, in the book: _An egg at Easter; a folklore study._ by Newall, Venetia. Indiana University Press [1971]. Jadwiga Zajaczkowa Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 05:05:19 -0400 From: Margo Lynn Hablutzel To: "INTERNET:sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu" Subject: Re: onion skins Peter chuckled: >> My great grandmother used to dye a portion of the easter >> eggs with this onion skin/vinegar solution every year. >> She called them "Bunny Eggs". ..... Can you document >> the use of this dyestuff in Medieval Europe? Actually, YES, and for eggs no less! In "A Drizzle of Honey" (Gitlitz & Davidson, 1999, ISBN 0-312-19860-4) at= 74-76, they cite a 15th-Century source for "vermilioned hard-boiled eggs" ("huevos haminados") and then give the recipe, which involves cooking eggs with onion skins to colour them. --- Morgan Morgan Cain * Hablutzel@compuserve.com Barony of the Steppes * Ansteorra Date: Sat, 6 Nov 99 01:16:57 -0600 (CST) From: Debra Poole Subject: Re: SC - Blown eggs, Long! I am a lot less happy about using them for a feast, given my usual technique >of "blowing" eggs is to make holes bottom & top & then blow contents of egg out >thru bottom hole. This is not really very hygienic (likely to have contents of >my saliva in it) and whilst I don't have anything catching, I know that if I >was a feaster, I wouldn't be happy about eating the resultant egg products. >So, has anyone else successfully "blown" eggs in any other more hygienic manner >(eg, drawn egg up thru hole in a syringe?) I practice an art form called Pysanky and it uses blown eggs as a finished product. Because you blow the egg after it is dyed it can have a very dissagreeable taste, so I have experimented with multiple ways to blow eggs. The best way I have found so far is to use a special tool called a blas- fix that I got for around five dollars. (I got mine from the ukrainian gift shop 612-788-2545. I have only ordered from them once so I don't much about them but their catalog is free) It uses a small hand held tool to insert air into the egg through a long attached needle. It is also useful for breaking the yolk. Most of the time if an egg shell is going to break during the emptying process it will be as the yolk comes out. The only other way that has really worked for me is to insert a "bendy" straw with the short end in the egg and blow through the long end. This does not address the issue of contamination. Depending on your budget you can purchase pre-blown egg shell also. They are a great time saver but not cheap. Each egg shell is about 50-75 cents depending on where you get them. Mere Barony of the Steppes Kingdom of Ansteorra Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 14:30:09 -0600 From: "Debra R. Poole" Subject: Re: SC - Ukrainian Easter Eggs I also do pysanka (which is the name of the art form). I have found several sources for documentation. Due to the nature of the art form surviving specimens from period do not exist as far as I know, (anyone has any other information and I would love to know). But I have secondary documentation of a gift to an English King in the 1100 or 1200's. I'll try to find the book it is in, it may take me a while my library is not all out of storage. I also have a picture of an illuminated manuscript in a book that contains an egg decorated similar to pysanka. Since there is more than one way to produce the look of pysanka I can not offer this as absolute proof. I also have several books on the subject that I consider questionable at best for documentation but the one that I have handy states that decorating eggs started in ancient Egypt and Persia. It goes on to say that the art form was pre 998 in the Ukraine which is the only date it has. It's bibliography does not exist so for our purposes it is useless as documentation but it is one of the best books I have seen on producing an egg. Plus it covers a lot of the symbolism and back ground to the art. Everything from the type of wax used, the colors, the amount of white or dark areas, and even the egg its self means something. The book is Decorating Eggs by Jane Pollak: ISBN 0-8069-9420-7. Now that is more than you ever wanted to know about Easter eggs but if I can answer any other questions I will be happy to. When I find the remaining documentation I will post it. Lady Meredudd Brangwyn Barony of the Steppes Kingdom of Ansteorra Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 11:17:30 -0500 From: Jenn/Yana Subject: Re: Egg dying question Bogdan asked RE pysanky, and I answer thusly: There are several webpages about modern pysanky listed on the Russian Knowledge page under "art". I don't believe we have any evidence for pysanky (actual painted eggs) being period. However, a ceramic egg (which is labeled an Easter egg, although it could have been used for other purposes) was found in the Novgorod digs. No information about its decoration (if any) or its construction are given in my source (The Archaeology of Novogorod, Russia. The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph Series: no 13). From what I can figure, it was found in the 12th century layers. I could have sworn that there was a mention of wooden eggs being found as well, but I can't seem to locate the cite anywhere. Since pysanky seem to have originated in Ukraine (don't know the time period) there may be evidence that I don't know of, since I focus on Russia and Rus'. --Yana Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 13:32:33 -0400 (EDT) From: Jenne Heise Subject: Re: Egg dying question > I don't believe we have any evidence for pysanky (actual painted eggs) > being period. Anecdotal evidence from the canonization hearings for St. Hedwig suggests that at the time that St. Hedwig was canonized (1267), colored eggs were used as grave offerings in Silesia, since the story related by Sophie Knab in Polish Traditions, Customs & Folklore says that a littel crippled boy regained his mobility chasing a colored egg at the tomb of St. Hedwig. There are some interesting allegations about the history of colored eggs in _An Egg at Easter: A folklore study_ by Venetia Newall. (Bloomington, Indiana University Press [1971]) I don't remember what she says, though. If I get a chance I will go look it up. Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 22:24:04 -0700 From: "Bob Markovitch" Subject: Re: Pysanky in Ukraine > I don't believe we have any evidence for pysanky (actual painted eggs) > being period. Since pysanky seem to have originated in > Ukraine (don't know the time period) there may be evidence that I don't > know of, > > --Yana From what evidence I've read, the Pysanky (from the Ukrainian, "pysaty" to write date back to before the Rus' period of Ukrainian history, at least to the Trypillian culture, perhaps back 1500 years or much more in Ukrainian history. It has long been said that the the themes used in decorating pysynky orignated in pre-Christian Ukraine. Ukrainians have a second method of coloring eggs by soaking them in beet juice, the result is called "Krashanky". --Svyatoslav Izbornyk Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 13:55:28 -0700 From: Bob Markovitch To: Jeff Heilveil Subject: Re: Krashanky > Salut! Were these eggs merely dipped in beet juice, or were they also > dipped in wax and had designs carved out prior to the dipping in beet > juice? > > Also, would it be possible to get some of the documentation for the > origins of Pysanky and Krashanky?? > > Bogdan Bogdan, The krashanky I've seen were just dipped in beet juice, I think perhaps boiled in it, and they were solid in color (or somewhat solid, tye-dyed like) designs. Like the Pysanky (pyh-san-KYH in the plural) the Krashanky were ritual foods at the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. There are some pysanky websites, where I learned how ancient the art form is, and there is actually a "Beautiful Pysanky Webring" on the "WebRing" system on the world wide web. Bob Edited by Mark S. Harris pysanky-eggs-msg 7