TRADITIONAL CRAFTS

Art and folk crafts are widely developed in Arkhangelsk region. These include bone carving, gold and pearl sewing, niello decorations, birch bark crafts, copper crafts, Usolye finift (painting on white enamel), cooperage craft, Kargopol pottery and clay toys, blacksmithing, weaving, embroidery, patchwork, patterned knitting, kosuli painting.


 Folk applied arts of Arkhangelsk North embodied the beauty of forms and the brightness of colors. For a long time, northern artisans were named depending on the things they were making — «barrelers», «basketers», woodworkers, carpenters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, nailers, locksmiths. Almost every peasant knew how to craft a wooden utensils and dishes — rolls, rubels, beer jugs, caskets, ladles, saltshakers, spoons with carved handles and multicolored paintings, birch bark containers — tueses, pesters, powder flasks, various wicker products made of twigs and roots.


 But no household item comes close in comparison to a spinning wheel which had diverse forms and had been greatly decorated. Russian spinning wheel consisted of a riser with a paddle for sliver and a horizontal bottom board. Spinning wheels with incredibly diverse carvings were common in the White Sea area, especially on the Summer Coast and in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River. The paddles of the Pomor spinning wheels were «stretched» vertically and «narrowed» along the width of the board, representing a symmetrical petal with a figured triangular top.




<img width="48%" alt="пинжье.jpg" src="/upload/medialibrary/db0/covpdwu99pneknnypdg08nhdo0dmtv90.jpg" height=""> <img width="48%" src="/upload/medialibrary/cb7/37j38sfxkpcacqz0gp9nbxnaojw0b7t7.png" height="" alt="прялки">






 The production of spinning wheels was considered to be a predominantly male craft, but homespun art was an exclusively female occupation. The natural artistic taste and amazing talent of the northern peasant craftswomen turned towels, valances, headwear, women’s and men’s clothes into actual pieces of art.


 Both men and women worked in pottery, children also helped them. They made dishes of different sizes, shapes and names: pots, earthenware pots, trays, kneading troughs, hand washers. Majestic women, domestic and forest animals, sonorous whistling ducks were «cooked» from the remains of clay.


<img width="48%" alt="Живое ремесло .jpg" src="/upload/medialibrary/af4/35ka1yi7q93n3rbud8v6pluytg79ze8q.jpg" height=""> <img width="48%" alt="вельский.jpg" src="/upload/medialibrary/90e/8mr8175qdpk2e97yh276csa0wkes5zej.jpg" height="307"> 


 The art of wood carving and painting has always been actively developing in the northern forest region. On the list of woods used by masters there were birch, pine, spruce, larch, poplar and growths on tree trunks — «caps». They processed both the wood itself and the bast (the bark of a young birch). Natural paints were used for painting, drying oil was used as a varnish. The main tools were an axe and various knives. Masterpieces of medieval ornamental carvings such as iconostases and details of «royal» places, royal gates, icon cases and analogion which were entirely covered with embossed and flat carvings have been preserved. In the painting, along with plant patterns, mythical animals and birds, images of people and scenes from life were placed. 
 In every peasant house there were forged copper dishes and utensils: bowls, winebowls, handwashers, jugs, basins. The copper industry was developed in Solvychegodsk District, on Kegostrov, in Mezen, where church bells were casted according to their own recipes, which created a rich musical palette of Northern ringing.


 In a number of volosts and counties of Arkhangelsk region caskets-teremki and headrests decorated with slotted iron laces were made. It was spread not only across the country, but also abroad. Masters of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory were known for this art. The high culture of craft was demonstrated in the completion and thoughtfulness of the blacksmithing products.


Photo credits to: M. Chernykh, Pinezhsky TIC, E. Terpilko 

 Information was prepared by the staff of the Arkhangelsk Regional Scientific Library named after N.A. Dobrolyubova, more information on the website <a href="http://cultnord.ru/">http://cultnord.ru/</a>

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