Tamara Simon

tami_simon2003@yahoo.com The National

Institute of Research Development in Tourism

“Tourist amenities of certain crafts in

Romania”

The basic environment for crafts in Romania

The Romanian rural environment comprises 87.1% of the national territory, 46% of the stable population, 29.1% of the employed population.In Romania, 89.5% of the population is represented by

Romanians and the rest by 20 ethnic groups, of which 13 range between 6.0-0.5% of the population – Hungarians, Gypsies, Germans, Ukrainian, Russians-Lipovan, Turks, Tatars, Serbians, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Croatians, Jewish.The other minorities have under 5000 inhabitants–

Czechs, Poles, Italians, Greeks, Armenians, Hungarian origin Romanians in Moldavia (2012).From the historic point of view there are 8 provinces

while administratively, there are 41 counties, with 2959 localities and 12751 villages (2012).Also, there are 46 ethnographic areas in Romania.

The historical regions of Romania

http://romaniaimaginideierisiazi.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/harti-provincii/

The characteristics of the ethnographic areas

The specificity, authenticity of the ethnographic areas is given by the following elements, with unitary character:historical age of human settlements in the rural regions;conservation of agriculture and crafts occupations;the building and traditional ornamentation of the house;traditional crafts;the conservation of the specific traditional costume;the continuity of some religious and lay customs, related to farming activities and family events (birth, baptism, wedding, etc.);diverse and old artistic events.

The craft conceptThis includes 6 essential elements:the geographic space of historical age;local community – occupations and traditions; natural resources that can be processed;the inheritance of forms, colours and decorations;the craftsman’s talent and creativity;household items and handicrafts

Traditional ceramics

many clay deposits in the hillock and plateau areas;wheel processing of the clay;covering 6 working steps – growing, tempering, cleaning the impurities away, shaping, finishing, decorating, burning in kilns;two types of ceramics – enamelled and non-enamelled; ornamenting through drawings and colours, graffiti technique, polishing with a stone, through bas-relief decorations;

great variety of forms and sizes – jugs, flower vases, plates, cooking pots, rushlights, clay vessels, cake moulds, figurines, ornaments, ceramic tiles;many ornaments are of Romanian, Greek and Byzantine originthe prevalent colours are green, blue (Byzantine influence), brown, red (Roman influence) and black;there are traditional pottery centres only in the Baia Mare and Rădăuţi urban centres.

The Horezu ceramics, judeţul Vâlcea

http://arta-ceramica.ro/poze

Ceramics from the Corund locality, Harghita county,

made by Hungarian craftsmenhttp://www.corund-ceramica.ro/2014

Blue ceramics from Corund, Harghita county

http://www.corund-ceramica.ro/2014

Ceramics from Cucuteni, the Iasi county http://www.artizanescu.ro/ceramica-de-cucuteni/

The Vama ceramics, Satu Mare county

Non-enamelled black ceramics from Marginea, the Suceava county

http://www.ceramicamarginea.ro/upload/produse/

Non-enamelled ceramics from Biniş, the Caraş-Severin county

http://www.intercultural.ro/turismintercultural/Centrul-Ceramica-Binis.html

Red ceramics from Săcel, the Maramureş countyhttp://www.vaduizei.ro/foto/vizite/20.html

Enamelled white ceramics from Vlădeşti, Vâlcea countyhttp://www.targuldelasat.ro/author--patru-eugen--340.html

Clay figurines made by Dumitru Diaconu, Codlea town, Braşov countyhttp://www.bucketlist.ro/targul-mesterilor-populari-din-oradea-la-a-douazecea-editie/2013

Kuty Ceramics – craftsman Florin Colibaba from a pottery family with a 240 years tradition, from city Rădăuţi, Suceava county.http://www.antidotul.ro/32912/Suceava:-Ceramica-de-Colibaba-renumit%C4%83-%C3%AEn-Europa.html

The art of wood traditional processing

Romania has a rich forest fund which represents 27% of the national territory surface(2013);

The wood use and processing art belong to the Romanian traditional culture as a part of an original combination between the Carpathian-Danube - Pontic culture, pre-historic tradition and Dacian, Roman and Byzantine elements;

The traditional wood processing is specific to the rural environment from mountain and hillock regions and implies the use of specific processing techniques and instruments. The most widely used is the wood from firtree, lime, oak, poplar and alder.

Specific typology Traditionally, wood is used: to build wood churches, houses, households annexes and building elements;traditional means of transport – cart, sleigh, dog cart;household furniture with sculpted, incised motifs;painted furniture, from the XVII-th century, of Transylvanian Saxon influence, specific for the Rupea, Sighişoara, Sibiu, Sebeş, Ţara Bârsei, Vârghiş, Bistriţa, Bran regions; objects used as supports: wood panels, spoons, salt cellars, boxes, chests, mortars, plates, plate-racks, pegs, trays;wood painting includes floral, geometric, astral, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic or phytomorphic motifs that are painted against an olive green or dark blue background;

Specific typology

agricultural and house tools – for processing and weaving textiles, kitchen;church furniture – iconostases, benches, wood crosses and painted icons;manufacturing musical instruments – whistles, panpipes, violins, lutes, etc.;making toys for children and games for adults (chess, backgammon); knitting objects made of hazel and willow twigs, thin wood strips.

Processing and ornamenting there are modern methods to extract wood from forests, but the processing is done traditionally;processing means sculpting, bending, perforating, fret-sawing for which they use old, traditional methodsornamenting implies notching, etching, excising and incising, smoking, painting with coloursthey use instruments such as: saws, axes, hatchets or chisels having different forms and sizescraftsmen have different specialisations depending on the objects they create –carpenters, coopers, wheelwrights, spoon-makers, etc.

Wooden church - the Bârsana main village (1711), Maramureş county, in the UNESCO World Heritage

Foto INCDT : iulie 2012.

1. Wood gate , Maramureş county – Vişeu 2. Wood gate in the Covasna county – Szeckler region

www.google.ro/imagini cu porti de lemn

Hand painted furniture of Transylvanian Saxon influence, Prejmer locality.

http://www.ornamentica.ro/ro/atelierul.php

Household wood items

http://costumepopulare.freewb.ro/plosti--si-casete-lemnhttp://jurnalul.ro/special-jurnalul/omul-lingura-539621.html

Weaving loom made of wood – Oltenia. Such weaving looms function in Maramureş, Bucovina, Transilvania

http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/ro/romania/oltenia-traditii

Traditional toys in the Village Museum, Bucharest – carved and polished wood dolls

http://jurnalul.ro/special-jurnalul/jucariile-traditionale-110924.html

The art of etching eggs The symbol of red eggs is connected to Jesus Christ’s life, to the crucifixion and resurrection moments. The egg symbolises the resurrection of nature and resuming of agricultural activities in spring. The legend says that when Jesus was beaten with stones, they turned into red eggs. The most popular motifs are:animal motifs: bee, frog, snake, butterfly,

lambvegetal motifs: fir needle, carnation, wheat

ear anthropomorphic motifs: rake, ploughshare,

star, Romanian cross;geometrical motifs .

The most widely used colours– red, green, black, blue, yellow. Each ethnographic area of the country has its own egg models and these represent a real religious, artistic and aesthetic code.

The painting and ornamenting processses

they paint the eggs using wax and natural paints which are applied gradually on the egg; the procedure is repeated depending on the number of colours, starting from lighter colours to darker ones; the tradition says that the egg can be painted and etched on Thursday and Saturday during the Passion Week, the craft of painting the eggs being reserved exclusively to women.

The Hungarian and Szeckler eggs are decorated with two colours: the egg natural colour and red.

Romanian eggs are painted in 4 colours: egg natural colour, yellow, red and black.

With the urban modern influences, craftsmen started to paint eggs with a brush, to stick small glass beads, to use plant leaves, with new motifs – icons, flowers, landscapes.

Images with the egg painting technique http://www.bucovinart.ro/site/index.php/ro/tehnica

Etched eggs from the Ţara Bârsei region, the Braşov county

www.mestesuguritarabarsei.ro/mestesuguri.php

Etched eggs from the Ciocăneşti main village, Suceava,

Bucovina historical provincehttp://www.muzeuloului-vama.com/atelieruluideincondeiatoua.html

Etched eggs from Moldoviţa, the Suceava countymuzeul-oualor-incondeiate-lucia-condrea-moldovita-bucovina/2014

Etched eggs from Oltenia – the Dolj and Gorj counties

http://www.turism-oltenia.ro/sucidava/mestesuguri-stravechi

Eggs with glass beads decorations, Salva village, the Bistriţa Năsăud countryhttp://www.realitatea.net/oua-de-paste-incondeiate-in-stil-traditional-ce-metode-se-folosesc-la-bistrita-nasaud_932528.html

The art of glass icons

This craft belongs to the naive rural painting which developed in Transylvania and the north of Moldova;Its existence was due to the presence of several workshops of traditional glass processing; It appeared at the end of the XVII-th century, under a direct influence from Austria and the Czech Republic – Bohemia;The Romanian glass painting in Transylvania is an original artistic creation, specifically belonging to the Romanian rural art;

the drawings are applied on the back of the bottle, with paper patterns and the outline is made with a thin brush, goose feathers and later, with steel pens;the colours are prepared with natural pigments and have a certain transparency; for the basis they use an emulsion made of natural substances (vegetal clue, egg yoke, etc.);for the final decorations they use a golden thin paper to make the halos bright; in the end, the entire icon is ointed with turpentine to be protected from humidity; these icons were meant to trim the peasants’ houses and were created by peasant craftsmen.

Motifs and glass icons workshopsthe main motifs are the religious ones connected to

events in the lives of Saint Mary and the Holy Baby, Jesus Christ, saints Nicholas, Haralambie, Gheorghe, John the Baptist, Stelian, Ilie for their significance and importance in religion;painters inspired from the mural paintings in churches

and wood icons; glass painting was not their main occupation; after working in the fields, they manufactured such art objects;there are 24 centres in Romania where such objects are

made, the craft being transmitted in the family;the most famous centres lie in the Nicula locality,

Cluj county, Fagaras town and Şcheii Braşovului, a district of Brasov-both in Brasov county, Iernuţeni locality –Mures county, Alba Iulia municipality, Laz main village, Alba county.

Glass icons from Scheii Braşovului http://www.culturaromena.it/Milano-4-decembrie-2010-Expozitie-de-icoane-pe-sticla-din-Transilvania.aspx

Icons from the Pr. Zosim Oancea Glass icons museum in Sibiel

http://www.sibiel.net/Home_RO.html

Icons from the Pr. Zosim Oancea Glass icons museum in Sibiel

http://www.sibiel.net/Home_RO.html

Evaluation of selected craftsStrengths

Keeping a large traditional villages holding workshops; submission craft family and the local community; The formation of large associations to historical and ethnographic (Association of craftsmen from Moldova, Neamţ County); Connecting craftsmen making folklore events (festivals, competitions, Neda) and traditional fairs; National Rural Development Programme, LEADER axis supporting handicrafts

(2007-2013); National program to support arts and crafts - October 16, 2013, officially opened the first edition of the National Arts and Crafts Fair, organized by the Department for SME Business Environment and Tourism of the Ministry of Economy.

WeaknessesThe emergence of urban artists imitating traditional products but without experience; multiple forms of manifestation of kitch model; Rapid demographic aging and migration endanger young people continue their crafts; Involvement shortcomings with polling Ethnography and ethnographic outdoor museum to achieve catalogs but old patterns and ornaments that guides it; Poor accessibility due to a modernized road infrastructure; The lack of broader partnerships between local municipalities craftsmen, trade and tourism businesses to promote and market their products.

Statistical evaluation centers and craftsmen

No.

The traditionalcraft

Counties and the communes processing centers Number of masters

1. Ceramic Argeş -1, Botoşani-2, Braşov-1, Buzău- 1, Dâmboviţa-1, Dolj-1, Galaţi-1, Gorj -2, Harghita-3, Hunedoara -2, Iaşi -3, Ilfov-1, Maramureş -2, Mehedinţi – 1, Olt-2, Suceava- 2, Vâlcea -4.

1457 în oraşe

2. Wood Alba - 7, Argeş - 4, Bacău-2, Bihor -5, Bistriţa-3, Botoşani-1, Braşov - 5, Buzău- 3, Călăraşi -2, Caraş-Severin -2, Cluj -2, Covasna -5, Dâmboviţa - 3, Dolj -1, Gorj -3, Harghita -5, Hunedoara -3, Maramureş -7, Mehedinţi -3, Mureş-1, Neamţ-2, Prahova -3, Satu-Mare -2, Sibiu - 4, Suceava -5, Vâlcea – 4, Vrancea -3.

14825 în oraşe

3. Paintedeggs

Arad -1, Braşov -7, Buzău-1, Hunedoara-1, Iaşi-1, Suceava-21, Vrancea -6.

1336 în oraşe

4. Icons on glass

Alba-2, Argeş-3, Bihor -1, Braşov-2, Bucureşti-1, Buzău-1, Caraş- Severin -1, Cluj- 4, Constanţa-1, Dâmboviţa- 2, Galaţi -1, Giurgiu-1, Gorj-1, Hunedoara-1, Iaşi-1, Maramureş -2, Mureş-1, Sibiu-5, Suceava-4, Teleorman -2, Timiş-3, Tulcea-1, Vâlcea-2, Vrancea-2.

19934 în oraşe

Source: Ministry of Culture - National Heritage Institute, August 2014

Tourist amenities of the presented crafts

the evolution of Romanian ceramics is linked to the life necessities and taste of different epochs, conditioned by the economic and social relations between the urban and rural centres;traditional products are more and more requested in urban households and for interior design;currently, the analysed crafts have become more applicable and stable, the number of craftsmen has increased; the wood objects crafts has returned through the use of wood items in the kitchen, as ornaments for handicrafts or as multifunctional toys for kids;etched eggs and glass icons have become interior design objects in many urban houses, many people owning real collections; these objects are sold at national level in fairs connected to certain religious holidays (important saints, Summer alms fair and Winter alms fair in the Greek-orthodox calendar);the promotion and marketing of traditional ceramics products in fairs and expositions, at international level or in national tourist souvenir shops is limited and insufficient.

Bibliography

1. Stoica Georgeta, Horsita Olga (2001) Meşteşuguri artistice tradiţionale, Editura Enciclopedică, Bucureşti, p.1-208;

2. Stoica Georgeta, Petrescu P (1997) Dicţionarul de artă populară, ed. II-a, Bucureşti, p. 1- 427;

3. Gorovei A. (2001) Ouăle de Paşti, Editua Paidea, Bucureşti, p. 2- 183;

4. Pop M. (1999) Obiceiuri tradiţionale româneşti, Editura Univers, Bucureşti, p.5-230;

5. Constantinescu N., Dobre A.(2001) Etnografie şi folclor românesc, Editura Fundaţiei România de Mâine, Bucureşti, p.9-140;

6. Iuraşcu Barbu Viorica (2008), Studiu de cultură tradiţională românească, Editura Fundaţiei România de Mâine, Bucureşti, p.1-180;

7. *** INCDT – (1995) Studiu de valorificare a valorilor culturale româneşti, specifice grupurilor etnice din România (coord. Tamara Simon);

8. *** INCDT – (996) Promovarea în turismul internaţional a valorilor etnoculturale şi muzeelor etnografice din România, faza I –a şi a- II-a, (coord. Tamara Simon, Ioan Istrate);

http://www.info-delta.ro/traditii-in-dobrogea-28/olaritul-%e2%80%93-prelucrarea-lutului-%e2%80%93-mestesuguri-454.html;

http://arta-ceramica.ro/poze; http://www.corund-ceramica.ro/2014;http://www.artizanescu.ro/ceramica-de-cucuteni/;http://www.ceramicamarginea.ro/upload/produse/farfurie_pictata;http://www.intercultural.ro/turismintercultural/Centrul-Ceramica-Binis.htmlhttp://www.vaduizei.ro/foto/vizite/20.html;http://www.targuldelasat.ro/author--patru-eugen--340.html;http://www.bucketlist.ro/targul-mesterilor-populari-din-oradea-la-a-douazecea-editie/2013;http://www.antidotul.ro/32912/Suceava:-Ceramica-de-Colibaba-renumita.htmlhttp://www.romanianmonasteries.org/ro/romania/oltenia-traditii;www.google.ro/imaginihttp://www.ornamentica.ro/ro/atelierul.php;http://jurnalul.ro/special-jurnalul/jucariile-traditionale-110924.htmlhttp://www.bucovinart.ro/site/index.php/ro/tehnicahttp://www.turism-oltenia.ro/sucidava/mestesuguri-stravechihttp

://www.realitatea.net/oua-de-paste-incondeiate-in-stil-traditional-ce-metode-se-folosesc-la-bistrita-nasaud_932528.html

www.mestesuguritarabarsei.ro/mestesuguri.phphttp://www.sibiel.net/Home_RO.html.

Note: This scientific paper was presented inside the Charts – Interreg /IVC project in 2014