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Exhibitions :::
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TRADITIONAL VESSELS
Ethnographic museum in Belgrade |
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Dishes and vessels were originally made of meagre materials and with simple techniques. Their use was intended to satisfy elementary needs. With the passage of time, these articles were developed so that they were produced in increasing numbers of form and purpose while changes were reflected in the use of new materials and more highly developed techniques. Likewise there appeared decorative elements, at first very simple ones but later such that rank certain examples among significant specimens of folk art. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By a pragmatic attitude to life, the folk in some areas differentiated dishes from vessels. According to popular concepts, dishes are smaller than vessels and are used to hold food during meals while vessels serve to hold food and drink much longer. Moreover, dishes are shallow and have a broad opening or ”mouth” while vessels are deep and have a narrow ”mouth”. Thus, among dishes we can list plates, dishes, water jugs, scales and the like. Among vessels we number earthenware jugs, flasks, casks and others. Implements for the table include scoops, spoons, forks and knives. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This was the folk differentiation but seen from the ethnological viewpoint, we distinguish the dishes and vessels according to their form, function, technique and decorative elements or else according to the materials used. This exhibition presents the dishes and vessels according to the materials – gourds, leather, textiles, wood, ceramics, metal, stone and glass – as this is a very appropriate way to show various forms, techniques, ornamentation and purposes, all at the same time. The very rich holdings in the Ethnographic Museum enable us to present all types and variants of dishes and vessels that have appeared in the traditional culture of virtually the whole Balkan Peninsula. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vessels made of gourds are the simplest ones in both form and usage and could be found in every home. Due to their simple form and fragility they were rarely decorated and were mainly used to carry liquids or salt. |
 Gourd |
 Gourd |
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 Wineskin |
 Flask |
Of very simple workmanship were the vessels made of leather. These were mostly used to hold dairy products and to transport food. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bag |
 Saddlebags |
Vessels made of fabric were made principally of wool and goatskin. Various kinds of bags were used to carry food while sacks and bales were used to store grains. Also used were saddle-bags mostly to carry seeds for sowing and were carried on the shoulder. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wood was used in traditional cultures to make various vessels. Over time, three basic ways of producing wooden vessels were developed in two types of cattle rearing areas, namely the transhumance type and the sheepfold kind. The simplest way was to hollow or carve out a piece of wood. A somewhat more complex way was to join two carved halves of a log and insert a bottom into the corresponding groove. The most elaborate way to produce a vessel was to join small boards and to hold them together with wooden or metal rings. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Wine bottle |
 Pail |
Wooden vessels were utilized on numerous occasions to scoop up, transport or hold water, wine or brandy as well as to contain various staples and to prepare food that does not require a flame. They were also used to serve meals and to produce dairy products. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In addition to the
above, the villagers also used large quantities of ceramics. It is a
cultural feature of our peasantry that until fairly recently all the three
ways of making ceramic vessels have been practised – namely – without a
potter’s wheel, with a hand-wheel and a foot- wheel. Those vessels made
without the wheel were only dried and not baked. Those made on the
foot-wheel have a finer texture and thinner walls. Ceramic ware in our
country generally is called ”grnčarstvo” or ”lončarstvo” meaning pottery,
after the best-known products – the ”grne” (pan) or the ”lonac” (pot). Only the earthenware dishes for baking bread and a similar lid were made without the potter’s wheel and were used to cook food over the hearth. The foot and hand-wheel-shaped various vessels for the preparation of food, for carrying it, for holding water and storing food as well as for serving it and drinks at mealtimes, were made on the hand and foot-wheel. |
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| Pottery
was decorated in various ways, the simplest of which was by shallow
indentations. For decorative purposes also used were methods of shaping,
perforating, colour glazing, various applied motifs and patterns. |
 Ware dish |
 Water jug |
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| The utilization of
metal dates for back into past eras among all the ethnic communities which
used to live and still live in the Balkans. There are countless historical
sources that confirm the fact that the old Serbian nobility used vessels
and other implements made of metal. Metal vessels, however, entered rural
homes in mass quantities only when the Turkish dominance was established
in this region. From that time onwards copper (and it alloys) started
being used more widely thus leading to the growth of crafts dealing with
the use of metals. The rural population generally used plain metal vessels while those used in urban localities were often richly decorated with the hammering technique and glazing. |
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| In the
past, the use of metal utensils in a village home was the sign of a higher
status in the local community. This metal ware was used for virtually the
same purposes as the wooden vessels and tinned copper served also for the
preparation of food cooked over the hearth. |
 Plate with cover |
 Flask |
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| Stone
vessels were not greatly used in the traditional culture. Most often they
served as various troughs and to granulate grained foods as well as press
cheese and for millstones. |
 Hand mill |
 Mortar |
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 Flask |
 Glass |
Glass vessels were used in rural areas very rarely due to their fragility so that their appearance became more frequent only since the XX century. These have mostly been used as glass bottles and glasses to serve brandy and wine. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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