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Indigo blue printed fabric was common to the dress of European peasant women from the late 18th century.This small sample of linen was printed by hand in Russia during the early 20th century using a natural indigo dye and wooden blocks. It is known as naboika. Look closely and you will see that the fabric features a small repeat floral pattern. The linen was used for aprons, skirts, head scarves and sometimes domestic interiors. It was produced through the commercial 'kustar' workshop system rather than homemade for personal use. Sometimes itinerant printers would carry their wooden printing blocks from village to village in carts. Blocks could also be purchased at fairs.

This fabric was collected during the late Victorian period by Rev Gerald Davies, a master at Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, Davies travelled in Europe between 1885 and 1908 collecting about 600 peasant art objects.

Indigo blue printed fabric was common to the dress of European peasant women from the late 18th century.