In today’s world, we tend to focus too much on technology and on making the process as efficient as possible.

Of notable interest is a diorama of a domestic interior with an intimate bedroom setting utilising the materials that were produced and using wool and cotton for the bedding- Charlene Vella

Efficiency is a major desideratum. This has made our life easier, but, one must concede, more stressful. Coming to terms with how ‘simple’ (and consequently less stressful) life in Malta was in bygone days is not an easy matter.

An ongoing exhibition in Gozo helps you form an idea of a Malta that has now receded into past history and to learn to appreciate that it had its charms and beauty.

Peasant Costumes: Insights into Rural Life and Society is an exhibition that is extremely informative, and one will leave feeling enriched. It helps you understand, for example, how costumes (that were normally home-made) were intimately linked with the rural world.

An extra focus on Gozo is naturally present in the exhibition, the island being predominantly reliant on rural activity.

The exhibition is rich in artefacts. Research has been intensively carried out. Moreover, and more importantly, it adequately places Malta in its proper historical and social contexts.

The display is divided into three sections. The first introduces two items of men’s attire and then moves forward to the materials used in making peasant clothing.

These include cotton and wool in their raw form (including a cotton plant and dried cotton), as well as a selection of the tools used to create fabric from these materials. Present are a spinning wheel, a ginning machine and sheep shearing scissors, among others.

Of notable interest is a diorama of a domestic interior with an intimate bedroom setting utilising the materials that were produced and using wool and cotton for the bedding.

Seven popular peasant costumes, both formal and functional, masterfully recreated, are on display. For example, you see how peasants would dress up to shield their bodies against the cold, or how they looked in their Sunday best, as well as in other utilitarian forms of clothing.

Such items include the kabozza, the terħa and the ħorġa, waistcoats, the qorq, the geżwira, and the ċulqana. The għonnella does not fail to feature, although it is not as prominent as one would think, and the reason for this is well-explained.

The final stretch of the exhibition is almost entirely dedicated to artistic representation, mainly dating to the late 18th and 19th centuries. These include engravings, lithographs, watercolours and oil paintings, all of which highlight the rural realm of the islands and its lay inhabitants, thus showcasing their daily dress.

Visitors to the islands in the 19th century often filled entire sketchbooks with drawings. Such drawings, watercolours and prints, were popular souvenirs. Featuring prominently are works by Michele Bellanti, Jean Houel and Edward Caruana Dingli. Such illustrated albums can be found in the National Library and the National Museum of Fine Arts.

These illustrations were invaluable to the curators of this exhibition. They are, of course, of great importance to the broader study of the history of Malta and its traditions.

What bothered me was the absence of concrete dates on captions, even when the artist of the work exhibited was known. Also annoying was the use of the term ‘Early Modern’ since the exhibition deals mainly with the 19th and early 20th centuries. Early Modern is a term used to define the period that came after the Late Middle Ages, that is, the Renaissance, and in Malta’s case, the Early Modern period begins with the arrival of the Knights in 1530 and can be considered to end with their departure in 1798.

Another comment is that the caption text is too close to the background colour, and sometimes too far away. This means that visitors have to make that extra effort to read captions.

This exhibition is the fruit of hard work by a Heritage Malta team of curators, and promises to answer more questions on Maltese costumes through further research.

Work on this is still ongoing and it is good to know that the Heritage Malta inventory on ethnography is being upgraded with technical details and improved photographic documentation, and that the most fragile items are being shortlisted for restoration.

As with everything else, knowledge and education help us achieve a better understanding. This exhibition is as a result a sound effort and a just contribution to knowledge.

If you are unable to visit the exhibition, I suggest you have a look at the Heritage Malta publication on the subject comprising of several well-researched essays.

All in all, this exhibition is a lovely way to start off a day on the island of Gozo.

Peasant Costumes: Insights into Rural Life and Society is open until the end of July at the Exhibition Hall within the Ministry for Gozo, St Francis Square, Victoria.