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Berkovitza

Near mountain | Berkovitza

Traditional Berkovitsa Pottery forms are expedient, functionally connected to people’s every day life. They are described as ones having proportional purity, clearness and explicitness, simplicity and genuine strength. Graceful line of an upside down trapezium with a well expressed hoof. Same form is developed in pots and earthenware jars with a handle across the opening. Among special forms produced by Berkovitsa potters, there are wine jugs and wedding krondirs with two horizontal projections on aside the body with holes for binding of gilt crowns. 
    
Berkovitsa Ceramic Center is famous for its special stylization of plant patterns laid on vessels pictorial surface with simple lines. This decorative system could be described as vegetative-graphic, because does not offer the presence of multicolour compositions. Its distinctive feature is simplicity and clear reading of the image formed in severe centric composition. Berkovitsa potters openly prefer strait lines. Vessels have natural colour of baked clay with linear decoration of two – three strait parallel lines engraved with small stick, situated in the widest part of the vessel: “scratched patterns”. Sometimes mechanical / printed decoration is used. Engraved decorative frieze is laid with a jagged tool when the vessel is being spin on the wheel. This is a way to decorate mainly economic use vessels and vessels for food preparation and storage. Together with concentric circles decoration, patterns full of Sgrafito technique: pine-trees, branches, flowers, rosettes are used often. This decoration is characteristic mainly for table and ritual pottery, mostly on shuleta (wine vessels) and ploski (grape vessels). One of main distinctive features of Berkovitsa pottery decoration is the lack of naturalism, Barroque tendencies and entering into painted pattern. Polychrome decoration, engraved lines and colourful glazes     
    
    
Local mineral colouring agents define Berkovitsa pottery colour. Angobas have been made out them and used to pour on the vessels. This type of polychrome decoration is found independently and in combination with engraved lines and colourful glazes. Berkovitsa pottery reaches regional nuances of the main colours through masterly mixture of different mineral colour agents. Berkovitsa pottery uses widely colourful angoba and colourful glaze spots decoration. For Sgrafito technique a thick layer of desired angoba is laid. After object’s “scratching” it is harmonically combined with main tone of baked vessel. Thanks to colour glazes light tones are predominant in the colour: yellow, green, okra. Glaze’s main colours depend on colour of mineral paint (angoba) chosen for background. Berkovitsa potters’ favourite method is “batarman” – when on orange colour glaze they splash freely green glaze.
Pottery in Montana Museum. Now Berkovitsa potters’ works could be seen in the town of Berkovitsa Museum, in the city of Montana Museum and in the town of Varshets museum collection. This ceramic center works are included into National Ethnographic and National Historic Museum in Sofia exhibitions.