Horezu ceramics is a unique type of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

that is traditionally produced by hand around the town of

Horezu Horezu is a town located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania, about 43 km from Râmnicu Vâlcea. The town administers six villages: Ifrimești, Râmești, Romanii de Jos, Romanii de Sus, Tănăsești and Urșani. The town is well known for ...

in northern

Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...

(

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county (județ) of Romania. Located in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt River), it is also part of the wider Wallachia region. Its capital city is Râ ...

), close to the famous

Horezu Monastery The Horezu Monastery or Hurezi Monastery was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in the town of Horezu, Wallachia, Romania. It is considered to be a masterpiece of " Brâncovenesc style", known for its architectural purity and balan ...

. It reflects many generations of knowledge and skills development of pottery, which is why the craftsmanship of Horezu pottery was inscribed on

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

in December 2012.Craftsmanship of Horezu ceramics
on the official UNESCO pages, accessed on December 12th of 2012 Production is divided into male and female fabrication processes. Therefore, men extract the earth, which is then cleaned, cut, watered, kneaded, trampled and mixed – transforming it into red

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

that

potters A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas * Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jer ...

form in a special finger technique requiring concentration, strength and agility. Each potter has his own technique of shaping, but each respects the sequence of the process. The women decorate the shaped ceramics before firing with special techniques and tools in order to draw traditional motifs. Their skills in combining decoration and color determines the personality and uniqueness of these pieces. Colors are bright shades of brown, red, green, blue and so called "Horezu ivory". Horezu potters use many traditional tools like a mixer for cleaning the earth, a

pottery wheel In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in the shaping (known as throwing) of clay into round ceramic ware. The wheel may also be used during the process of trimming excess clay from leather-hard dried ware that is stiff but malleable, ...

and comb for shaping, a hollowed-out bull's horn and a fine wire-tipped stick for decoration, and a wood-burning stove for firing. This ancient craft is preserved in the ancestral hearth, now known as Olari Street of Horezu, where artisans shape the clay into the same painstaking process as their ancestors did. Horezu is a singular historical Romanian ceramic center in which this trade remained the main source of income for many families of potters such as: Ogrezeanu,Homepage Stelian Ogrezeanu
/ref> Vicsoreanu, Iorga, Frigura, Mischiu, Popa etc.Eugenia Popescu

2 June 2007. Today this craftsmanship is transmitted as always in the family circle, but also in workshops from master to apprentice, and pottery festivals and exhibitions.

References

External links

UNESCO video example
{{in lang, fr Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

Ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

Romanian pottery