Seeds through tradition and art

Panou Ioanna
Dimitris Xenogiannis
Stavros Stefanakis
 Seeds in paintings
• Seeds have had an
important role in life
throughout the centuries.
From ancient times they
were used as food, as
colour pigments and of
course as a central theme
in art. It cannot go
unmentioned the fact that
many painters like Van
Gogh portrayed fruit on
canvas.
 Olive as a precious seed
• Even contemporary
folklore art focuses on
seeds. For instance, olive
picking an indispensable
part of farmers life. It was
and still is a seed that
promotes wealth, victory(
an olive wrath given to
Olympic games’ winners)
and prosperity.
 Seeds appeared in tradition
• Also the presentation of
seeds like grapes,
apples, strawberries on
embroidery reveal their
significance in the life of
people. Such examples
are presented on towels,
doilies.
 Seeds and fruits appeared in art
This sample, as it is printed, was made in Koropi. The theme is
repetitive and has the form of an artichoke or sunflower
because the original inspiration was the image of the sun on a
base with a meander. The starting image was changed and
received a more plaut-like character, as a flower or reverse
artichoke.
Some information about my grandmothers
that gave me these information about the
seeds
Both of my great grandmothers made a lot of intricate
embroidery for my mum’s dowry. One of them lived in
Athens while the other in Crete, therefore we have folklore
elements from a city and an island. While they were doing
them, they were in their 40s or 50s. They both liked the
process because it was for a loved person. They all showed
fruit and seeds because they were vital for life.
Some information about my grandmothers
that gave me these information about the
seeds
Both of my grandmothers suffered during the occupation of
the Germans and had realized the importance of food like
grapes and oil. Especially my grandmother in Crete was in a
better position because she lived in a village where she
cultivated the land and produced oil. On the other hand my
other grandmother almost died from starvation in Athens
because they had nothing
 The importance of fruit and seeds
Nowadays fruit and seeds are important in our everyday life but not as
much as they were decades ago. This is true because of the fact that
seeds as olives and fruit like grapes, strawberries and pomegranate
played a significant role in people’s existence.
 The representation of olive in
paintings
In folklore art such as embroidery and paintings the image of people
harvesting olive trees and making olive oil prevails oil was (and still is)
like gold because it is very valuable for our nutrition.
 Did you know that grapes had that
Moreover embroidery much uses?
with grapes shows that
this fruit served a lot of
purposes. People could
make wine, raki from the
vines and even desert as
moustaleuria. Therefore it
was again a precious
element for life.
Seeds as a natural source of
dyeing
 History of seeds as dyes
• Until the mid- 19th century, the
only source of dye available was
from nature and especially
plants, roots, fruits and seeds
• Seeds were used as a natural
colour for dyeing fabrics and
clothes
• Natural dyes are unique and
durable
 Seeds and colour
• Chestnut
Great source of tannin. It dyes a warm brown colour

• Walnut
Great source of tannin. This dye is obtained from husk. It
creates brown dye
 Seeds and colour
• Acorn
This dye is obtained by the seed itself. It dyes a light
brown
colour and beige

• Pomegranate
It contains high amount of tannin. It is an extract or a
powder
from the rinds of pomegranates. It creates soft yellows
to
green- yellows when used as a dye
Fruits of the earth as tools
 Have you ever thought fruit as a
tool?
• Man in prehistoric
times used to be very
inventive and discover
ways of using for his
own benefit what the
earth provided in large
quantities.
• Apart from stones and
wood he used to make
tools –in fact, not so
often-from fruits of
the earth.
 Have you ever thought fruit as a
tool?
• Also it is likely he has used
the branches of certain
trees as a broom. In Portaria,
a village near Pilion, my
grandmother used to clear
the yard using branches of
our trees.
• For example, he used to
threw nuts with his slingshot
in order to kill his prey and
fed himself. Or he dug to find
water or food using tools
made of fruits with hard
shell like nuts.
 Sources
• https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/70564
• http://www.fytokomia.gr/permalink/12664.html
• https://naturaldyes.ca/
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fa
myfeldtmann.com%2F2014%2F06%2F04%2Fhow-to-
dye-fabric-natural-
ingredients%2F&psig=AOvVaw3MSTG2CZhSJ2a81raZ7D
Sq&ust=1636569907495000&source=images&cd=vfe&
ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCIChrZT4i_QCFQAAAAAdAAAAAB
AK
• http://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/113606/files/GRI-2009-
3180.pdf