Ivan Balan

Іван Балан

 
 

The pysanky below are Hutsul eggs collected by Ivan Balan.  Some were gifts, and some he purchased. 

Most of them are of the Kosmach (Космач) style, with typical Kosmach colors.  Kosmach pysanky were traditionally made using gold, red and dark brown dyes, and with green spot dyeing.  Modern Kosmach pysanky will often replace the brown with black, and sometimes use more green. On some of the eggs you will notice pink colors; this was not intentional, but the result of poor quality dyes which faded from red, and often bled into other areas of the egg.

Hutsul pysanky favor, generally, more complex and intricate designs than those from other regions of Ukraine.  They also favor several divisions: the barylka, a diagonal division, a lateral division (but not lateral rozha), and longitudinal bands.  Hutsul pysanky are also often not symmetric: they will place different central motifs on the front and back of an egg.

The motifs used are also very traditionally Hutsul.  Besides the ubiquitous resheto (решето, sieve/net), you will find zoomorphic motifs, including horses, deer, birds, fish and butterflies, with the solar symbols (horse and deer) being particularly favored.  Unlike most regions of Ukraine, the eight pointed star is not a common motif here; although it is sometimes incorporated into bands, it is rarely one of the large, central motifs.  Variations on the cross are more common, as are churches. 

On several of these pysanky you will find the tryzub, the national symbol of Ukraine. The tryzub is a stylized trident, and has been the state symbol since the times of Volodymyr the Great (10th century).


Archeologists have found the tryzub on objects dating back to the 1st century AD; it was he symbol of one of the slavic tribes which later became part of the Rus (early Ukrainian) people.  Banned by the Soviets, the tryzub was reintroduced during independence; the Hutsul regions were among the most patriotic/nationalistic, so it is not surprising to find this symbol on modern Hutsul pysanky.

Inscriptions on these pysanky are fairly common, and are usually limited to the Easter Greeting:

Христос Воскрес!  Воістину Воскрес!

Christ is Risen!  Indeed he is risen!

or to a general holiday greeting:

Бажаю Вам Веселих Свят!

I wish you happy holidays!

Sometimes the year will be noted, and a few of these pysanky have patriotic inscriptions:

Слава Україні!

Glory to Ukraine!

But these are much less common.

(Note: the numeration of these pysanky, i.e. the  “Балан - №,” simply reflects the order in which they were photographed and their data recorded.  It is just my bookkeeping system.)



  Sebastian        Luba

 
  Sebastian        Luba


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