The beginning of clay moulding and its consequent

shaping into a range of pots and rite objects,

for household or decorative purposes, dates back to ancient times.

 


Old pots discovered during archaeological

excavations or those belonging to the nineteenth

and twentieth centuries are on display here, a

long with tools used in this handicraft: from t

he clay extracted from a local soil “vein”, to

the kilns used in those times.

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Bukovina is a land rich in forests and this

has enabled the use of wood as raw material

in all the fields of human activities and its

crafting and artistic decoration.

As an important furniture article in the t

raditional village house, the bed displays the

most wonderful textures and the wedding

trunk is usually decorated with notches or

painted. One can also see here spoons of

different sizes with geometrical notches

or animal symbols as decorations.

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Metal, bone and leather objects, used by the

royal courts, the army, the townsmen or

villagers, can be found throughout all t

he regions of the medieval Moldavia

and even more in Bukovina, where

the necessary raw materials and the political

and economical conditions encouraged the

development of the handicrafts.

The metal is processed by forging and stamping

iron, casting tin or engraving copper.

The objects made of forged iron have

got the stamp of the craftsman through

different signs. Beside massive locks,

safety locks or door handles, even t

he work tools, such as knives, scales

or earthen lamps, are decorated.

The craftsmen of the ”hutuli” people

are very skilful in processing copper.

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In the world of traditonal artistic handicraft,

egg-painting requires special attention

because of their fragility and because

of the difficulties imposed by the narrow

decoration space.

In Bukovina, this handicraft has become a

real art, through the drawing and coloristic

pattern, through the delicate but abundant ornaments.

The eggs from the villages of this

region and from the surrounding areas

are the proof of a wide-spread custom.

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 Traditional Ornaments

One can also admire the coral chains that

women until their mid – or late thirties

used to wear at weddings, Venetian style

beads, necklaces made of silver coins, bronze

rings decorated with blue or red stones.

The waist ornaments appear in various shapes

with regard to the structure, fabric and design.

Most of the girdles are made of textile fabrics,

the breadth, themes and chromatic palette

being determined by age, and their names

according to the breadth and length:

„cingatori” or „braciri”.

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Traditional Bukovina folk costumes,

which stand out through their sobriety and simplicity.

The women's costumes include the wrinkled

neck blouse, the head kerchief and the skirt,

while the men's costumes consist of the

traditional shirt, the thick long coat, t

he tight peasant trousers, the belt, the

sheep skin coat and the fur cap, as a

sign of the people's continuity on these lands.

The women's wrinkled neck and sleeve

blouses have the greatest importance

in the collection, dating back to the

First World War's period and even to t

he second half of the nineteenth century.

They are either embroidered or woven with

red wool and metallic thread, or vividly

coloured, their design resembling the

nearby monastery's frescos. However, the

twentieth century shirts present brighter

colours, more patterns and a more complex

design. The sheep skin coat and the sheep

skin vests, which replace the traditional

vests during winter time, are decorated

with geometrical motifs associated with floral

ones. The men's costume has much more

discreet embroideries, the thick long coat, the

fur cap and the belt representing a traditional

folk element which has lived on in the

memory of the elder and in the museum's collections.

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Another important collection of the

museum is represented by the weaving

collection. The items, of housegold use or decorative,

used at interiors’ design are made of linen, hemp

or wool. Kerchiefs made out of linen or cotton,

table cloths and pillow cases, curtains and bed

covers were sewn and decorated. The simple

carpets, some kerchiefs,

peasant bags and

towels were made only of hemp.

Presenting a variety of motifs, the wool

fabrics (paretare, grinduse, scoarte, laicere)

combine colors in a specific way and

personalize the decorations, using not

only warm colors, but also cold ones...

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