Kontusz

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Stanisław Antoni Szczuka in a representative national Polish outfit. A red kontusz tied with a pas kontuszowy. Underneath a żupan with a low collar. Left hand holds a fur cap with a low band. Characteristic hair and moustache. A portrait by an unknown artist. Wilanów

Kontusz (pronounce /'kɔntuʃ/) is a type of outer garment worn by the Polish and Lithuanian male nobility (szlachta). It became popular in the 16th century and came to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth via Hungary from Turkey. In the 17th century, worn over an inner garment (żupan), the kontusz became the most notable element of male Polish national attire.

A szlachcic - nobleman in a Polish national outfit: a red kontusz and a blue żupan, tied with yellow pas kontuszowy. Satiric painting by Jan Piotr Norblin.

The kontusz was a long robe, usually reaching to below the knees, with a set of decorative buttons down the front. The sleeves were long and loose, on hot days worn untied, thrown on the back. In winter a fur lining could be attached to the kontusz, or a delia worn over it. The kontusz was usually of a vivid colour, and the lining had to be of a contrasting hue. The kontusz was tied with a long, wide belt called a pas kontuszowy.

The kontusz was more of a decorative garment than a useful one. Tradition states that first kontusze were worn by szlachta who captured them on Ottomans to display as loot.^{[citation needed]}

Throwing kontusz sleeves on one's back and stroking one's mustache was considered to be a signal of readiness for a fight.^{[citation needed]}

In 1776, Sejm deputies from different voivodeships of Poland were obliged to wear different coloured żupans and kontuszes denoting their voivodeships.

Unlike żupan, kontusz was worn only by the nobility.

[edit] See also

• Delia (clothing)
• Ferezja
• Pas kontuszowy
• Sukmana
• Zupan

[edit] External links

• Short description and 2 photos^{[dead link – history]}
• Short description, sketch

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