“Tube” corals

The factory-made beads, glass ones called ‘dętki’, were purchased for the Museum in Piotrków, in the municipality of Krzczonów. They were worn with the Krzczonów women's festive costume in the inter-war period. They consist of sixteen cords on which are strung small round beads of equal size, made of blown red, green, yellow and blue glass, four cords of the same colour each. Green ribbons were attached to the ends, with which the beads were knotted at the back of the neck or fastened with pins to the top of the bodice or bra on the shoulders. They formed a kind of semi-circular decoration, covering a large part of the shirt and bodice at the front.

Beads were usually made in factories producing Christmas tree baubles and other items made from thin blown glass. They were usually purchased in the city, in shops or at local fairs and markets. They were a substitute for expensive real beads, which less-wealthy ladies and housewives could not afford. At the beginning of the 20th century, in many parts of our country they gained recognition thanks to the so-called stylised Kraków costume, which was sometimes referred to as the national costume. Particularly in those ethnographic regions where folk costumes disappeared or in urban centres it was worn by little girls for religious and state ceremonies. The price of the beads was commensurate with their quality, as the beads broke easily. They were still worn with folk costumes in the 1960s.