Pottery craft

Clay is one of the most common natural materials mastered by man in ancient times. The high plasticity of this material allows you to make dishes, jewelry, figurines and more from it. The most ancient clay vessels were probably made of unbaked clay, so they were afraid of moisture and only dry products could be stored in them. However, ancient man noticed that the pieces of clay caught in the fire become hard as stone. This led him to the idea of firing clay products for durability.

Pottery became widespread in the civilizations of the Ancient East. Masters of antiquity made amphora vases painted with traditional ornaments and scenes from ancient Greek mythology. Ancient Russia was also famous for its fine clay products. Russian craftsmen made irrigation tiles, dishes, toys.

With the advent of the potter’s wheel, the craft turned into a craft and clay was used everywhere. Siberian peasants made bricks from clay, dishes (pots, bowls, crinkles, crinkles), sinkers-"kibas".

For the manufacture of pottery, ordinary red clay was often used as a material, which was mixed with sand, tamped and squeezed. The dishes were made using a potter’s wheel, which was driven by a foot, and a wooden knife. The clay was rolled into a ball and first the bottom of the pot was made, and then its walls.

After that, the dishes were left to dry. When the dishes are dry, they were fired either simply in a Russian oven or a special kiln. A good craftsman could make up to 800 crinches per week. Such dishes were sold to dealers who sold them in cities. But only a master could make the most delicate and elegant dishes. The peasants traditionally associated their craft with evil spirits. In the famous Russian folk tale, the devil is hired as an assistant to a potter and makes dishes that are instantly sold out at the bazaar. The potters had a stable reputation among the peasants as drunkards. According to legend, they stole and drank the vestments of the Apostle Peter.

Pottery

Pot
Pot is a common name for ceramic vessels with a wide throat. The pots were used for making and storing food. They ranged in size from small to bucket-sized.

The slides had a variety of names depending on the volume and purpose:

A potty tray with a spout.

Gorshenyatko, makhotka, baby — a small pot.

A colostrum is a pot wrapped in birch bark for dry supplies.

A washbasin, a ram — pot with two spouts and handles.

Pots are present in Russian folk tales, beliefs, wedding and funeral rites, proverbs and sayings.

Riddles about the pot:

"I was at the dig, I was at the furnace, I was at the circle, I was at the fire, I was at the bazaar; I was young, I fed a hundred heads; I became old, I began to swaddle" (pot).
"Carpenters cut down a hill without axes without corners" (pot).
"When born, it turns, grows — rages, dies — the road goes there" (pot).
"Adam died — neither to God nor to us: neither a soul to heaven, nor bones to the ground" (broken pot).
"There is a good fellow up to his knees in gold" (a pot in the coals).

Сrinkle
"Krinka" (crinkle, small throat, glock, glechik) is an elongated clay vessel expanding to the bottom. A crinkle is like a wide jug without a handle and lid. The volume of the bottle is more than 1 liter. Milk and curdled milk were kept in the crinkles. In the crinkle, the milk was put in the oven. The milk was heated in it, without burning, it acquired a beige shade. When storing milk in a crinkle, cream was settled, from which butter can be made.

Korchaga
A korchaga is a large pot or a large crinkle with a wide throat. Korchagi were used for storing grain, brewing beer, making braga, baking resin, and melting lard.

Dish
A bowl is a dish in the form of a deep dish. V.I. Dahl explained the concept of a "bowl" as follows: "A bowl is a dish in which soup and chowder are served on the table." In many cultures, there is an expression "eating from a common bowl", that is, everyone sitting at the table ate from one bowl.