Clay lid - what is it?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

It is hard to imagine a typical landscape of a 19th century Ukrainian or Russian village without clay pots and jugs that were hung to dry on fence stakes. In Russian villages, earthenware bowls, bowls, mugs used for milk were most often called with one word "lid". What is it and what was the technology for the production of such dishes? We will talk about all this and the scope of the lids in our article.

Krynka - what is it?

In Russia, earthenware has long been considered a symbol of village life. Dishes were mostly cooked in ovens, and clay pots were the best for this. The same dishes were also used to store milk, sour cream and other natural products. Such pots and jugs made of clay were called very simply - a lid.

What is it, today, few people will understand, having heard this outdated name. In fact, a lid is an earthenware vessel with a wide rim, a narrower neck, and a spherical shape at the bottom. The krynka was designed in such a way that it could be easily grasped by the hand in the narrow part. Outwardly, such dishes are more like an ordinary jug, but without a handle and without a lid. Flask heightis about 20 cm, the diameter at the widest part does not exceed 13 cm. The volume of dishes is 1-2 liters.

Production technology

Two hundred years ago pottery was made on the potter's wheel. To align the walls of the finished vessel, a wooden knife and a wet rag were used. The dishes were dried for a day at room temperature, and then dried for another 3-4 days in an oven to achieve the desired shade of the dishes. This is how the lid was made.

What it is can be understood by the characteristic design of the dishes. Although at that time there were several of its forms. Some jars were more like pots, gently curved and with a wide, open rim. Other gourds looked more like jugs, which were used to store milk and produce cream.

Clay pot: application

The main purpose of the lid was to store milk: fresh and cold. Due to the fact that the structure of earthenware is porous, the products seem to “breathe” in it, and thanks to this, they stay fresh longer. The jug was placed on the table and used to make baked milk in the oven.

The special design of the jug contributed to the settling of cream in the narrow part of the jug. Here they could be easily collected for the subsequent preparation of sour cream and butter. The jar was made without a lid, since it was customary to close the dishes only with gauze or cotton cloth.