504 - Type in Context - Further Serbian Research

Through having a catch-up phone call with my Grandma I ended up talking to her about the context behind my current uni project and she ended up actually having alot of historical knowledge to further my research on Serbia and what could have influenced their artistic world in the past! She talked to me about a Serbian secret society called the Black Hand...

The Black Hand was a secret Serbian society of the early 20th century that used terrorist methods to promote the liberation of Serbs outside Serbia from Habsburg or Ottoman rule and was instrumental in planning the assassination of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914), precipitating the outbreak of World War I. The society was formed (1911) and led by Col. Dragutin Dimitrijević; its members were primarily army officers with some government officials. Operating from Belgrade, it conducted propaganda campaigns, organised armed bands in Macedonia (before the Balkan Wars, 1912–13), and established a network of revolutionary cells throughout Bosnia. Within Serbia it dominated the army and wielded tremendous influence over the government by terrorising officials; it became so powerful that its authority challenged that of the government. In order to eliminate that rival, Prince Alexander, commander in chief of the expatriate Serbian army, brought the leaders of the Black Hand to trial on dubious charges at Salonika in 1917. Dimitrijević and two others were executed, and more than 200 were imprisoned.

Their main objective was the creation, by means of violence, of a Greater Serbia. Its stated aim was: "To realize the national ideal, the unification of all Serbs. This organisation prefers terrorist action to cultural activities; it will therefore remain secret." 

This gives me another historical event which I could reference in my publication which may have caused an influence on the artistic community in Serbia, however I did find nothing art/design related within the research I did on The Black Hand. 

Serbia's Main Exports

To uncover more on Serbia and how I could reference/justify my approach with this publication I decided to look into Serbia's main exports of what actually comes out of this country. It's main exports are vehicles and parts, base metals and furniture. 
This is something to consider as the basis of these materials could provide an influence for the production/form. For example, hard-back wrapped in a specific popular fabric? Or a metallic-y bit of foiling could reflect the metal industry perhaps?

Serbian costume is known for the variety of textures and embroidery. The jelek is a Waistcoat made from wool or velvet while women's jackets are lined with fur. 

The peony embroidery design often found on aprons, socks and elsewhere is coloured bright red, symbolising the blood lost at the Battle of Kosovo.  * A colour that could be used with justification?

The Serbian flag..  colours red, blue and white with yellow accents.