📷 Gzhel porcelain: from centuries-old traditions to modern fair products

singa (69)in #esteem • 5 years ago

Hello, my dearest friends! Almost 400 years in Gzhel ceramic workshops made beautiful dishes, stove tiles and children's toys. Especially prized products Lapteva and Urmila Ivanov, who were in the village Kuzyaevo, Moscow province.

In the old days, buyers paid attention not only to the factory brand, but also to what kind of potters the product was made. Today, at exhibitions, too, you can find a huge number of variations of such products.

In General, Gzhel as a kind of folk crafts was mentioned in 1340 in the will of the great Moscow Prince Ivan Kalita, who gave some instructions regarding the profitable ceramic workshops.

An interesting story is connected with the etymology of this name. Some linguists argue that it came from the river Gzhelka, Gzholka or Gzhelka, flowing in the upper Dnieper, other experts tend to believe that the original folk craft called burning, because the product burned. And the letters of the once confused people, so to say changed in their own way :-)

In Russia there was indeed a place that is famous for quality white clay. Thanks to this, we can still admire such painted dishes and cups, sugar bowls and soups, salad bowls and candy bowls.

In 1663, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich even issued a decree stating that it was necessary to try in Gzhel parish to extract clay as much as possible.

Later, in addition to the snow-white varieties of clay in the "Gzhel Bush" found several types of industrial clay suitable for the production of various products, including art.

Over time, the skill of artisans was put on stream and today we see a lot of skilled work at reasonable prices.