Lietuvos Viduramžių keramika: dirbiniai ir gamybos organizacijos bruožai

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Žurnalų straipsniai / Journal articles
Language:
Lietuvių kalba / Lithuanian
Title:
Lietuvos Viduramžių keramika: dirbiniai ir gamybos organizacijos bruožai
Alternative Title:
Lithuanian Medieval ceramics: products and features of production organization
Authors:
Poškienė, Justina
In the Journal:
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis [AAAV], 2025, 119, Viduramžių kultūros tyrimai, interpretacijos, tęsiniai, 14-61
Subject terms:
LT
13 a. - 1569. Viduramžiai. LDK; Archeologiniai tyrinėjimai / Archaeological investigations; Lietuva (Lithuania); Menai / Arts.
Summary / Abstract:

LTStraipsnyje aptariama Lietuvos Viduramžių keramika: pagrindinės buitinės ir statybinės keramikos dirbinių rūšys, gamybos technologijos ir organizacija, amatų raidos aspektai. Viduramžių keramika gali būti suprantama kaip bet kurie keraminiai dirbiniai, priskirtini Viduramžių epochai chronologiniu požiūriu. Kita vertus, radosi naujų – būdingų Viduramžiams – keraminių gaminių ir technologijų, kurių įsisavinimą bei paplitimą sąlygojo bendra valstybės raida, europinių socialinių, ekonominių ir kultūrinių reiškinių sklaida. Straipsnyje siekiama apibendrinti Viduramžių keramikos tyrimus, ir, pasitelkus archeologinę medžiagą, pateikti XIII–XVI a. pirmos pusės statybinės ir buitinės keramikos raidos vaizdinį išryškinant Viduramžių epochai būdingus bruožus. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Viduramžiai, amatai, statybinė keramika, buitinė keramika.

ENThe Lithuanian Middle Ages were characterized by the late emergence and incomplete development of certain cultural phenomena. Politically and socially, the medieval period began in the thirteenth century; however, it was only toward the end of the fourteenth century—following the Christianization of Lithuania—that the conditions for the adoption of European elements of medieval culture fully emerged. The approximate chronology of the search for ceramics characteristic of the Middle Ages thus extends from the thirteenth century to the first half of the sixteenth century. Because written records concerning ceramic production are fragmentary and relatively late, the primary sources of information are archaeological sites and finds that attest to production—specifically household and building ceramics, also known as architectural ceramics. Tiles may also be included in this latter category, although they were typically produced by potters. The development of building ceramics in Lithuania was closely linked to the political, social, and cultural transformations of the mediaeval period. The construction of the first brick buildings—an exceptionally costly endeavour—could only be undertaken by the rulers and dukes of the Gediminid dynasty. The required technologies were introduced from the West, along with skilled craftsmen. Archaeological evidence of kilns used for firing bricks and roof tiles indicate that building materials for brick castles were produced in close proximity to construction sites. Ceramics were also employed in interior finishes: the floors of brick structures were laid with tiles displaying a wide variety of shapes and decorative motifs. Exceptionally rare finds include fragments of Gothic relief wall decorations, while tiles remained the most commonly used ceramic elements.During the Middle Ages, pottery and tile production underwent a significant transformation—from a domestic craft or supplementary source of income to an organized form of manufacture serving urban markets. The professionalization of pottery was driven by technological innovations in ceramic production, the expansion of vessel types, and the growing specialization and standardization of products. The process by which artisans joined guilds, as well as the core principles of guild organization, became established in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and remained largely unchanged until the late eighteenth century. Pottery guilds, however, emerged relatively late: records mention the statute of the Vilnius Potters’ Guild, approved by King Władysław IV Vasa in 1634, although the text itself has not survived. Gothic reduction-fired (“black”) ceramics, which became widespread in Vilnius households during the first half and middle of the fifteenth century, represent a distinctive product of medieval professional pottery. Reduction-fired ceramics are considered a regional phenomenon from the second half of the thirteenth century, their dissemination linked to German colonization and the arrival of skilled craftsmen. Potters in Vilnius began producing wheel-thrown ceramics at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; however, the use of the rotary wheel became widespread only later, around the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, coinciding with the emergence of Renaissance glazed ceramics.Tile production developed in close connection with the growing specialization of household ceramics. The earliest tile fragments—most likely produced by immigrant craftsmen, with some possibly imported—have been found in archaeological layers in Lithuania dating from the late fourteenth to the early fifteenth century. The earliest stoves were constructed from cup-shaped tiles (also known as pot tiles). Later, bowl-shaped tiles came into use, dating from the late fifteenth to the mid-sixteenth century. From the mid-sixteenth century onward, stoves made of bowl-shaped tiles were installed in outbuildings. Beginning in the early fifteenth century, flat tiles were already being used in the homes of rulers, nobles, and wealthy townspeople, and in the sixteenth century they also appeared in manor houses and monasteries. Gothic tiles are distinguished by their heraldic, allegorical, and religious motifs. Potters’ workshops dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have been discovered in Vilnius, Kernavė, and in Old and New Trakai. A significantly larger number of workshops dating from the second half of the sixteenth to the seventeenth century have been found—not only in major cities but in provincial areas as well. Several of these sites provide valuable insight into the development of tile making and pottery, as well as into the economic, social, and cultural contexts in which these crafts operated. Keywords: Middle Ages, crafts, building ceramics, household ceramics.

DOI:
10.37522/aaav.119.2025.321
ISSN:
1392-0316; 2783-6843
Subject area:
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/68462
Updated:
2026-05-28 19:29:43
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