POTTERY TRADITION AND VRASKIA
TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING IN MOVABLE-COMB HIVES
With financial support and under the auspices
The geographical location of Crete, its temperate and mild climate, its abundance of clay-rich soils, and the intense commercial activities of its inhabitants created the right conditions for the development of ceramic art on the island from a very early age. From the Minoan era to modern times, Cretan pottery has never been abandoned. Small and large workshops were spread throughout the island, among which Thrapsano (Pediada), Margarites (Mylopotamos), Nochia (Kissamos) and Kentri (Ierapetra) were, until the mid-20th century, the four most important centres of ceramic activity on the island. Today, in Thrapsano and Margarites, this craft is an identifying element of these communities and remains a living tradition that is passed down from generation to generation, as well as a key factor in economic development.
The pottery tradition of Thrapsano, Heraklion, Crete
In twenty workshops currently in operation, the "craftsmen" make both small and large storage vessels, following the steps of inherited knowledge that dates back to the 16th century. A distinctive product of this tradition is the pithari (large clay jar). Thrapsano vessels are used as decorative elements in both indoor and outdoor spaces, and in exceptional cases, they are used in wine production or for storing oil, wine, grains, and other agricultural products.
The pottery tradition of Margarites, Mylopotamos, Crete
Margarites, in Rethymno, Crete, was a centre for the production of functional ceramic vessels, supplying Western Crete for centuries. Today, nineteen workshops and family businesses still operate in Margarites, producing functional and decorative pottery inspired by the traditional forms and decoration of Margarites ceramics. Many of these use local clay and apply ancient firing techniques using wood-fired kilns.
Source: Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage, Hellenic Ministry of Culture
*Beekeepers, of course, were not able to make clay hives themselves - they had to order them from potters.
Photographs: George Mestousis
Narratives
The "ventémes" (seasonal working trips) of the potters in Margarites involved making, transporting, and selling various types of pottery throughout the surrounding area, and even further west toward Chania, and south toward Messara.…
Usually, in this system of work, each guild consisted of just 2 or 3 people. They didn't go much toward the east of the island because that region was already covered by other pottery centres, mainly Thrapsano. In Thrapsano, potters often worked in larger groups, and each ventéma typically stayed longer at its destination than those from Margarites.
The potters would settle in a specific area where they planned to work, build a kiln on site, and start producing on location. They would also transport pottery by donkey — including beekeeping items like vraskia* and smokers, and they traded them in kind.
*vraski: vertical movable-comb clay hive of Crete
MARIA PADOUVA
ETHNOLOGIST
I am the last of the traditional craftsmen. I passed my craft on to my children and they are now potters too.
Back when we made the vraskia*, there were no wooden hives. We made melokouroupes* with a special groove close to the rim to stop melitaki* from getting into the honey. The pourgoi* carried the soil, kneaded the clay, cut and carried branches.
During the firing, the kiln needed a lot of branches. We baked from morning until night and it was extremely hot - heat from the kiln, heat from the sun from above, we suffered stroussia*.
Old potters would go to villages with water and made the pottery there to avoid transporting it. They would then carry them by donkey, down the narrow paths, which means that there were breakages on their way. They would walk from morning until night to get there, or even from night until morning, just to reach the villages and barter their goods. They had to go because selling them otherwise was hard.
*vraski: vertical movable-comb clay hive of Crete
*melokouroupes: clay containers for honey storage
*melitaki: ants
*stroussia: suffering, hardships
*pourgoi: potter's assistants
(Cretan dialect)
KOSTAS DANDOLOS
BEARER OF POTTERY TRADITION OF MARGARITES, MYLOPOTAMOS, CRETE