Ukrainian Folk Earthenware in Family Rituals

Abstract

The paper highlights functions and artistic specificity of the earthenware dating back to the late 19th – early 20th centuries in family rituals. Thus, in order to lessen a woman’s pain, a midwife used various ceramic items, in particular bowls, pots, jugs, etc. “A pot” of porridge that was later broken into pieces “starred” during christening. By the shards and the thickness of the porridge, people forecast the child’s further fate. All the guests were treated to vodka from a beautifully painted jug. The wedding ritual involved small and large pots, cups, bowls, soup plates, plates, jars, O-shaped flat jars with a handle, flasks, earthenware casks, figurines of birds, animals and sometimes humans. In funeral customs and rituals people often used cups, bowls “for kolyvo”, large pots, and jugs with “lanterns”. Terracotta items were predominantly decorated with ochre paintings, while smoked works were smoothened, and sometimes this crockery even had no decorations at all. Some items were only glazed. The author provides a comparison between the artistic peculiarities of the works by Ukrainian and foreign potters, in particular Moldavian ones.