Marginea is a village in Suceava County, Romania, known for its black pottery, which is unique in Europe.
Pottery is made from clay that is wheel shaped, decorated and then fired without oxygen. This firing process gives the ceramic a glossy black color.
Marginea ceramics are used for a variety of purposes, including kitchenware, decorations and household items.
Pottery is an old tradition in Marginea, dating back at least 300 years. The Magopăț family is one of the oldest potters in the village, being in the sixth generation.
The production process takes about three weeks and involves the following stages:
Wheel Molding: Clay is wheel molded to create various shapes such as cups, jugs, teapots, sarmal pots and platters.
Decoration: The vessels are decorated with simple patterns such as lines, dots and spirals.
Drying: The vessels are left to dry for several days.
Firing: The pots are fired in traditional kilns, without oxygen, for about 24 hours. This firing process gives the ceramic its glossy black color.
Pottery is also an important source of income for the local community.
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Marginea commune, famous for its pottery workshops, hosts its cooperatives right near the road, and they can be visited by tourists.
Marginea black pottery, recognized both in the country and abroad due to the elegance and purity of its decorations, has been present in Moldova since the Bronze Age. Black Dacian pottery, documented as early as the 6th century BC, stands out for its value, and in the 3rd - 2nd century BC, high-quality ceramic vessels were created , modeled on the wheel, having a specific shade of gray-black.
Ethnographers have attested to the existence of black pottery in various European regions, including Poland, Czechoslovakia (with a center in Pozdisovce since the 15th century), Hungary (the center still active today in Nádudvar), Albania, and Denmark. Black pottery is also known in other continents, such as Asia (India), Africa (Egypt) or Latin America (Peru).
In Marginea, the craft of pottery has developed over time. Among the current ceramic products from Marginea - such as water jugs, pots for sardines, pots used in the field for cooking or gathering berries (considering the richness of the area in raspberries and strawberries), butter churns and strchinoai (bowls for catching milk) - the bârgă is also found, having the same shape as a vessel discovered in the Dacian necropolis at Poienești-Tecuci, dating from the 4th century BC.
In the evolution of human ceramics, the black pottery, after the red one, marks an advance and constitutes a significant stage in the development of the history of ceramics. The essential differences between black and red pottery, whether unglazed or glazed, relate to the system of ornamentation and firing techniques. The oven, in which the shaped, dried and decorated clay vessels are placed, is closed with long fir logs, which continue to smolder even after the fire holes, for loading and unloading, are well plugged. The black color of the vessels results from this suppressed burning process. Depending on the tightness of the furnace, various shades can be obtained in the second firing stage, from light gray to intense black.
At the Marginea workshops, visitors have the opportunity to witness the entire process of creating black ceramics. Many stand in front of the potter's wheel, trying to capture the precise proportions in the measured and sure gestures of the master artists, knowing that the purity of the proportions of the ceramics from Marginea exceeds, in this respect, the productions of all the centers in Europe. The ornamentation is done either by impression with the wheel, applied to the raw vessel turned on the wheel, or by polishing the already dry vessel with the help of a river stone (flint), creating stripes that, after firing, acquire a metallic luster.
Even if only three ornamental elements are used - the fir tree (an old symbol of the leaf, more specifically an ethnic, Dacian ornamental element), the broken line and the Fala - a lot of stylistic variants and harmonic, rhythmic variations of great virtuosity are obtained, highlighting a millennial creative process, the crystallization of a special taste and a perfect refinement, through the perfect symbiosis between ornament and form.
Vessels of various shapes and models, which bear the imprint of the artistic values created by potters from Marginea, are available for purchase within a permanent exhibition held in the area.
The inhabitants of this village are also the custodians of ancient folklore traditions, inherited over time and transmitted from one generation to another, year after year.
During the rich folklore events associated with ploughing, plowing and sowing, which mark the New Year, in Marginea, the outlaw theater Jianu attracts special attention. Even though the main hero, the outlaw Iancu Jianu, comes from another Romanian province, Oltenia, this show is widely popular, especially in Moldova, as a form of outlaw folk theater. Its presence can also be explained by the promotion of the theater by the "caruța cu paiațe" (that is, the itinerant troupes of actors, among which we note the one led by Matei Millo). Adapted to the understanding and social-artistic ideals of the crowd, the outlaw theater represents a living page in the history of class struggles. "Jian's piece", performed by the group of carolers that goes to the houses of the Marginea householders, includes 12 characters, including Jianu - the captain of outlaws, 24 companions, the forester, the shepherd, Jianu's lady, the captain of the army and the hunter, as well as the violin, drum and clarinet musicians, each wearing a costume as authentic as possible to the character being played.
The play is structured in three distinct moments:
a) the dialogue between the crowd of haters and the host;
b) the actual epic action, focused on catching and then redeeming the outlaw Jianu;
c) the end in which all the masked people sing the greeting addressed to the hosts and the other spectators. It all ends with the sharing of cakes and drink by the caroling hosts and a game of catch for all present, which continues even after the Jian's company hastily leaves for another house.
The tradition of caroling in Ceata Jianului begins on the evening of December 31, continuing throughout New Year's Eve and the following day. If they did not have time to visit all the houses where they know they are expected, the members of the fog persist in the caroling on the 2nd, 3rd and even the 4th of January. Groups of two or three Jieni gangs are formed, and the end of the tradition is celebrated with a lively song and dance party, attended by gang members and guests, especially female guests.
From Marginea to Sucevița, large and beautifully decorated houses on the outside, with porches supported by carved wooden pillars, welcome travelers. Sucevița turns out to be one of the most picturesque settlements in Bucovina, with large and shady gardens, stylized motifs on the walls of the houses, and ii, floral headscarves and shawls worn by local girls and wives, creating a perfect harmony between vivid and restful colors. This community full of light and color undoubtedly inspired the painters who decorated with frescoes the sunny walls of the monastery on the west side of the village, where the hills disappear into Obcina Mare and outline their delicate lines.
Source: Bucharest-Suceava and in Northern Moldova (Ministry of Tourism, 1977)
Sursa: www.ceramicamarginea.ro
