EASTERN EUROPEAN KUNTUSH BELTS’ ORNAMENTATION AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION IN CONTEMPORARY ART DESIGN

Abstract

The research’s actuality is conditioned by the growing interest in studying Eastern Europe’s visual heritage and the role of decorative and life arts in the formation of cultural identity. The object of the study is kuntush belt as a historical and cultural phenomenon. The subject of the study is belt ornamentation, its origin, evolution and transformations in contemporary art. The kuntush belt was formed in the 17th–18th centuries among the Eastern European nobility and it is a unique phenomenon of the cultural heritage of Eastern Europe. Its emergence was due to a number of historical and cultural factors: the borrowing of oriental traditions (Turkish, Persian, Tatar belts), the development of local weaving schools and the nobility’s desire for self-expression through costume as a symbol of status and identity. Thus, the influence of the kuntush belt on contemporary art is multifaceted: from museum reconstruction and historical reproductions to fashion trends, scenography and digital design. Its ornament remains a source of inspiration today and it proves that the decorative culture of the past is capable of living a new life in modern forms.