Although the għonnella is associated with a bygone era, its elegant and graceful appearance is still strongly captivating.

A recent donation to Heritage Malta from a Gozitan family, consisting of a traditional għonnella, with a matching black bodice and skirt, and a white cotton underskirt, provides a delightful insight into the local fashion of the early 20th century.

An unusual donation

“It is unusual to receive garment donations because people tend to throw their used clothes away, thinking that they have no value,” Heritage Malta’s senior curator in Gozo, Nicoline Sagona, revealed.

“Yet actually, garments are representative of a lifestyle at a particular point in time, and so, they have cultural, social and historical values.”  Although there may be some shared similarities with other cultures, the structure of the għonnella is unique to the Maltese islands.

Furthermore, this particular complete outfit has a story behind it, and this enriches the donation, both with a narrative and with a sentimental value.  “This refined set of clothes belonged to Francesca Zammit née Ciantar (25.11.1886 – 1.11.1973) of Xewkija, Gozo.

The għonnella, together with the matching suit, were sewn for the special occasion of the ordination of Francesca’s brother, Dun Pawl Ciantar (25.5.1879 - 26.11.1954), who was ordained priest on 19th December 1903,” explained Sagona.

The għonnella was so fashionable at the time that there were specialised seamstresses to sew these garments. It is not yet known who has sewn this set but possibly, it was made by a renowned seamstress in Victoria.

 “This donation had another extraordinary factor about it since Nicolina Debrincat née Zammit (19.06.1922 – 20.02.2018), who was Francesca’s daughter, had kept these clothes in memory of her mother, and later, she expressed her wish to donate them to the museum in Gozo in a Skrittura Privata.”

The structure of the għonnella is unique to the Maltese islands

Eventually, the donation to Heritage Malta was made by Carmelina Camilleri   née Debrincat on behalf of her brothers and sisters Mary Azzopardi née Debrincat, Joseph Debrincat, John Debrincat, Paul Debrincat and Antonia Portelli née Debrincat, Nicolina’s sons and daughters, in fulfilment of their mother’s wish.

A litograph featuring the traditional Maltese garment by Michele Bellanti. Photo: Heritage Malta

Conservation and restoration

“One needs to remember that clothes are not designed to be museum pieces, Heritage Malta’s principal textile conservator, Claire Bonavia, explained.

“They are made to be worn and then stored away for the next occasion. Possibly, they are also inherited from generation to generation,” “Having said this, we do find people who take good care of their clothes, and so, we do manage to receive some well-preserved items. This complete għonnella set was stored in a very suitable climate, and therefore, it was still in a pretty good state of preservation.”

On receipt of this donation, Bonavia and her colleague Leyre Quevedo, who is a textile conservator with Heritage Malta, set out to document the condition of these clothes.

Francesca Zammit née Ciantar had the għonnella sewn for the ordination of her brother Dun Pawl Ciantar (right). PhotoS: Fr Geoffrey George Attard

“We start by carrying out photographic documentation of the textile items. Then, we move on to clean them. While we are cleaning the textiles, we observe and document further information, such as the type of fabric and fibres used, the construction style, the type of sewing, and the accessories which were added to decorate the cloth.

“We also document the state of the textile items, such as whether there are any stains, rips or holes. These observations will help us to identify what type of interventions are required to restore and conserve each item.

“This particular set was accompanied by details of who had worn it, on which date, and for what occasion, and so we can place it in a context. The very occasion reveals that the cloth that was used for these clothes was certainly of  good quality. Costumes are tools to understand people, conditions and circumstances of the past. We know that in those days, clothes represented a person’s status or the level of importance of the occasion being attended to. Even if someone couldn’t afford to sew a new outfit, they would have found a way to get it or borrow it in order to look appropriately dressed for the occasion.”

The donated għonnella and its matching outfit, together with its interesting narrative, now form part of the collective memory of the national collection. They will eventually be preserved in the study collection of the Gozo Museum in Victoria. Anyone who would like to donate such items to Heritage Malta is requested to write to info@heritagemalta.com.