In architecture, ornamentation was intended to protect the home and its inhabitants from evil forces. Solar signs ("roses") and diamond-shaped motifs ("rhombus with hooks") were placed above doors and gates, on lintels, and on door frames. They symbolized heavenly fire and fertility, protecting the home from lightning and the "evil eye." Carved details on roofs and gables also carried a symbolic load.

The greatest variety of ornamentation was found in clothing: women's shirts, especially wedding ("princess") shirts, were densely decorated with embroidery on the sleeves (vustavka) and hem. Here, rhombic patterns prevailed - symbols of fertility and the earth. Men's keptars and sardaks (outer clothing made of cloth) were decorated with stripes, tassels and embroidery, which emphasized the status and age of the owner. Belts - leather cheres and woven straps - occupied a special place: solar rosettes were engraved on the cheres, and the straps, woven with geometric ornaments, protected the body and supported the posture. Beads, zgards and necklaces made of beads not only decorated, but also created, according to Hutsul beliefs, a protective circle around the neck and chest, and also testified to the status of the wearer.

In everyday objects, ornament combined the utilitarian with the sacred. The most striking example is the wedding chest, the central object of the bride's dowry. As M. Kurylych notes, the composition on the chest was built according to clear laws: the central place was occupied by a solar sign ("big rose" - a symbol of the universe), which was surrounded by diamond-shaped symbols of a sown field ("rhombyki"), and the entire composition was protected by a wavy line ("snake") - a symbol of water and fertility. Ceramic dishes (plates, jugs) decorated with paintings, wooden carved vessels ("berbenitsy", "kadub"), as well as weaving (carpets, lizhnyki) and other household and interior items had a similar semantics.

Note: The material was prepared based on research by art historian Mykhailo Kurylych