Wonderful piece in the NY Times by Chantel Tattoli, about the Romanian town of Horezu and its traditional potters. Horezu is a town of about 6,000 in the foothills of the Carpathians where about 50 people carry on a craft that UNESCO has declared an "Intanglible Cultural Heritage." The piece has little videos so you can see how some of this is done; the image above comes from one of them.
The potting industry in Horezu goes back, various internet sources say, 200 to 300 years. That seems right to me because the style of ceramic made there looks very much like what was made across Europe in the 1600s and early 1700s. Part of what makes this wonderful to me is because I have been finding sherds like these for 30 years but have never seen anyone make some of these designs.
The Horezu potteries are family affairs. Most of the potting is done by men, the decorating by women, and the most common arrangement is husband and wife teams. The men also dig the clay, which has come from the same area for the whole history of the industry.
This is very much a folk thing. Most of the pieces are sold at markets in nearby Romanian towns.
A few western galleries have started selling Horezu pieces, but you can buy dishes like these on Etsy for $35 to $50. The pattern above is made by placing thick rings of glaze on the plate and then drawing a tool across them.
A range of vessels.
One thing I love about the world is the range of skills that people have, the amazing numbers of people who can do remarkable things. I love it that people learn these skills and practice them and then pass them on to others. To watch someone lay out a perfect spiral of glaze on a spinning pot makes me happy, and I hope these potteries long endure.
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