Oděvní spínadla jako archaický typ lidového šperku

The use of brooches to fasten clothing goes back as far as prehistoric times, and many examples exist from classical times, Byzantium and the dispersal of nations. In the Middle Ages brooches were chiefly used on cloaks, either on the right shoulder or the chest. It is impossible to define exactly when brooches first appeared among the people of Bohemia and Moravia; there is simply a lack of material, written or pictorial sources. However, it can be said that a certain continuity existed from the ancient Slavs. In the Czech lands, brooches were worn in the Chodsko, Broumovsko, Náchodsko, Těšínsko and Valašsko (Wallachia) regions. People in Chodsko wore brooches of cast metal, originally of brass and later silver, while in Broumovsko and Náchodsko large flat brooches of brass and silver decorated with coloured glass were typical. Těšínsko brooches were finer, made of silver and decorated with filigree. Brooches of mother-of-pearl, known as spinky or kotule were used in Wallachia and around Vsetín. Brooches of lead and pewter appeared only rarely. Generally speaking, brooches endured longest in areas where the older types of women's blouses and men's shirts, made of straight pieces of cloth clasped at the neck, were worn, and brooches disappeared with the expansion of buttoned shirts.