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 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 ceramics have 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, the art is an identifying element of these communities and continues to be 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" manufacture small and large storage vessels following the steps of an inherited knowledge that dates back to the 16th century. Jars are characteristic of this tradition. Thrapsano vessels are used as decorative elements of interior and exterior spaces and in exceptional cases are utilised in wine production or in the storage of oil, wine, grains and other agricultural products.
The pottery tradition of Margarites, Mylopotamos, Crete
Margarites of Rethymno, Crete, was the centre of production of utilitarian ceramic vessels that supplied the region of Western Crete for centuries. Today, nineteen workshops/households continue to operate in Margarites, creating utilitarian and decorative ceramics inspired by the traditional forms and decoration of Margarites vessels, in many cases using local soils and applying ancient baking techniques in wood-fired kilns.
Source: Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage, Hellenic Ministry of Culture
*Of course, beekeepers were not able to construct clay hives themselves - they had to order them from potters.
Photographs: George Mestousis
Narratives
The potters' vendemes in Margarites involve the seasonal making, transportation and sale of various types of pottery throughout the area around the village, but also to the west, towards Chania, and south, towards Messara… Usually, in this system of work, each guild consisted of just 2 or 3 people. They did not travel to the east as much because other pottery centres addressed these needs - Thrapsano. In Thrapsano, the number of potters per guild was higher, and each guild stayed longer in its destination compared to Margarites. The potters would settle down in a specific site they planned to work, build their kiln and start producing on the spot. They also used animals and donkeys to transport various types of pottery that they made in the village, including beekeeping pottery, such as 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 vraskia*, there weren't any wooden hives. We made melokouroupes* with a special groove close to the rim in order to stop melitaki* from getting into the honey. The pourgoi* carried the soil, kneaded the clay, cut branches and carried them. 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, it was exhausting. The old potters went to villages where there was water, and made the pottery there, so they wouldn't have to carry them. They would then transport 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, in order to sell them in the villages, to exchange in kind. They would go because they couldn't sell them easily.
*vraski: vertical movable-comb clay hive of Crete
*melokouroupes: clay honey storage containers
*melitaki: ants
*pourgoi: potter's assistants
KOSTAS DANDOLOS
BEARER OF POTTERY TRADITION OF MARGARITES, MYLOPOTAMOS, CRETE