March 25, 2023 – September 10, 2023
“A house without a rushnyk is not a home.” — Ukrainian proverb
The word rushnyk derives from ruka, “hand,” and
while it can refer to an ordinary towel, the ceremonial rushnyk is
distinct in its ornamentation and its importance. In almost any
Ukrainian home, the family icons—and, more recently, family
photographs—would be draped with rushnyky. They are believed to offer
protection to family, home and village. The cloths appear in all family
rituals, infants are wrapped in them at birth and they play a
significant role in betrothal and wedding ceremonies. Remarkably, even
after the turmoil of the twentieth and twenty first centuries the use of
rushnyky is still an integral part of Ukrainian culture.
The Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center is
hosting this traveling exhibition from the Museum of Russian Icons,
Clinton, Massachusetts. This exhibit features rushnyky and related
artifacts from the collection of Franklin Sciacca, Associate Professor
of Russian Language and Literature at Hamilton College in Clinton New
York.
Embroidered Rushnyk
Dolyna District, Ivano Frankivsk Region, Ukraine
Mid-20th century
