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A ''botijo'', also called ''búcaro'' in Spanish, ''càntir'' in Catalan, ''canabarro'' in Galician, ''txongil'' in
File:Museo Chinchilla Belmonte-Useros Botijos.JPG, Botijo collection. Museo de Cerámica Nacional.
File:El botijo-Sorolla.jpg, ''El botijo'' (c. 1904) by Joaquín Sorolla
File:William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - Thirst (1886).jpg, ''Thirst'' (1886) by
A ''botijo'', also called ''búcaro'' in Spanish, ''càntir'' in Catalan, ''canabarro'' in Galician, ''txongil'' in Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
, and ''boteja'' in Hispanic America, is a traditional porous clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
container designed to contain water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
. The botijo, or water jar, is a typical element of culture in many parts of Spain and may vary in shape and color. Although the botijo can, exceptionally, also be found in glass, metal or even plastic, it is usually and traditionally made of clay, due to the properties of this material, such that, once the botijo is filled, it cools the water that it contains, acting as an evaporative cooler.
The botijo has a wide belly and one or more mouths where it is filled and one or more outputs, called ''pitón'' or ''pitorro'' (in Spanish), to drink from.
The oldest botijo found on the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
belongs to the Argaric culture
The Argaric culture, named from the type site El Argar near the town of Antas, Andalusia, Antas, in what is now the province of Almería in southeastern Spain, is an Bronze Age Europe, Early Bronze Age culture which flourished between c. 2200 Ann ...
and was discovered in the necropolis of Puntarrón Chico ( Beniaján), near the capital of the Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...
, where it is preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Murcia. It is an important piece in the historiography of ceramics, being a 'closed work' with a single hole of and the handle placed on the top; the dimensions of the pitcher are .
The '' búcaro de Indias'' is a special type, made of fragrant clay from Mexico, that was prized in Europe.
Operation
The operating principle of the botijo, or any earthenware water jar, is as follows: the stored water is filtered through the pores of the clay and in contact with the outside dry environment (characteristic of Mediterranean climate), it evaporates, producing a cooling (2.219 kilojoule
The joule ( , or ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). In terms of SI base units, one joule corresponds to one kilogram- metre squared per second squared One joule is equal to the amount of work d ...
s per gram of evaporated water). The key for cooling it, is by the evaporation of bleed water, as the water evaporates, it extracts thermal energy
The term "thermal energy" is often used ambiguously in physics and engineering. It can denote several different physical concepts, including:
* Internal energy: The energy contained within a body of matter or radiation, excluding the potential en ...
from the water stored inside the jug.
...because of the porous nature of the clay jar, which is unglazed, the water within will slowly seep out through the pores, and the warm air outside causes evaporation. This circulation and evaporation keeps the walls of the jar cool, and the water inside lowers in temperature, and becomes excellent for drinking.
Gallery
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...
See also
*Olla
An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. ''Ollas'' have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots or ...
* Porró - another distinctively Spanish vessel, mainly traditional in Catalonia, Aragon, the Valencian Land and the Balearic Islands.
Notes
External links
Containers Culture of Spain Culture of Catalonia {{food-utensil-stub