Museum Collection
Clayware
Clayware was widely used on the Don: jugs, cooking pots, pitchers. Withal, such utensils were used both in poor and in well-to-do Cossack families.
To manufacture clayware potteries were built. They were small houses half-way set up in the ground, consisted of a forepart for drying clayware in summer and a so-called warm room, where the products were manufactured.
Clay vessels were variously formed: large narrow-necked jugs for milk (“korchazhka”), wide-necked low jugs (“makhotka”, or “krinka”), used for keeping milk products, big wide-necked pots (“makitra”), pitchers – vertical narrow-necked barreled vessels with a handle and a spout, sometimes with a cap, cylindrical or narrowing down clay vessels for keeping oil (“balsan”).
Earthenware had a wonderful property to keep milk, water fresh, add a flavour to the food cooked in it. The forms and décor of such utensils pertained to the products they were intended for: light articles – for milk, dark ones – for beer, kvas, black clayware – for cooking food in the kitchen stove.
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