For modern man So it’s natural when starting lunch, breakfast or dinner to use a spoon, fork, knife to eat, put food on a plate, and pour drinks into a mug or glass. And these are just the basic everyday table items that accompany our regular meals. And we don’t even think about how and when they appeared in our kitchen.
Let's start from the very beginning a simple knife. In traditional Russian cuisine, the knife began to be used a very long time ago. Our ancestors did not distinguish between a fighting, hunting or table knife. It’s just that each Russian had his own knife, which was worn in his belt or behind the top of his boot (only men wore it) and was used as needed. Special table knives appeared only in the 16th century, but in their own way appearance These knives were no different from combat or hunting knives: just as sharp and heavy. There is a belief that the first knife with a rounded end was ordered by Napoleon, who feared an attack by conspirators during a dinner party.
A spoon, like a knife, in Russian traditional cuisine has been used since time immemorial. The oldest mention of a spoon was found in the Tale of Bygone Years, where it is said that it is a familiar and absolutely necessary tool for eating. The story says that Prince Vladimir’s warriors began to complain that they were eating with wooden spoons and not silver. And the wise prince ordered spoons to be forged for them, because gold and silver cannot buy a real squad, but with a good squad you can always get both gold and silver.
Our ancestors made sheaths for knives, and special cases for spoons. However, much more often, a spoon, like a knife, was worn in a belt or boot. Imagine such a hero with a table set behind his boot. But what can you do - what happened, happened.
And if today we are talking about a table, tea or dessert spoon, then in traditional Russian cuisine the range of spoons was much wider: draft, mezheumok (simple wide), butyrka, burlatskaya, boskaya (long and blunt-nosed), semi-boskaya, thin, white, nosed and others.
Traditional Russian cuisine did not know the fork. More precisely, it would be said that for many centuries the fork was not used in Russian cuisine. This is one of the cutlery that appeared in Russian cuisine just some three hundred years ago. Our ancestors took the cut pieces with their hands or “as best they could.”
The aristocrats were the first to use forks during the time of Peter I. According to existing legend, the tsar's orderly was obliged to carry a wooden spoon, table knife and fork, and lay out the tsar's cutlery and plates - in those days, even aristocrats rarely used a fork and the tsar tried to instill culture nutrition. To be fair, it must be said that in Europe the fork was not used often at that time.
The forks were forged two-pronged. And very expensive. Perhaps for this reason, ordinary Russian people began to use a fork in the kitchen only in the 19th century.
Now let's talk about plates. Bowls in Russian cuisine, like spoons, have been known since ancient times. The bowls were made of clay or wood. This is from the peasants. Wealthy citizens, merchants and aristocrats used gold and silver bowls in the kitchen. Somewhat later, bowls made of iron appeared. Russian bowls were not intended for individual use, so they were quite large in size, because... The whole family ate from one such vessel.
There were even rules of etiquette that dictated how to eat from a common bowl. For example, cultured person should have wiped my spoon before scooping food because... Not everyone may like to eat food if someone dips a spoon into it directly from their mouth. Dubious advice: just imagine a family where everyone takes turns wiping spoons... What or how do they wipe them? Napkins appeared in Russian cuisine much later.
But let's get back to the plate. Still, a bowl is not a plate. Let's start with the fact that the plate is intended for individual use. So, real plates appeared in Rus' in the mid-16th century. But they became widespread only a hundred years later. And then only among the wealthiest part of the population. Ordinary people used bowls for a long time: they became smaller in size, they began to eat from them individually, but these were still bowls, not plates.
For many centuries, Russian cuisine has made the main serving vessel ceramic pot. There were pots different sizes and shapes, and were used as a modern saucepan, and as a jar for spices (and spices were very loved in Russian cuisine - Read “Traditions of Russian Cuisine”), and as a container for bulk and liquid, etc. In pots and pots they cooked cabbage soup, soups and porridges, stewed meat and fish, made sweets and butter, and boiled water. Accordingly, the sizes of the pots were very different - from multi-bucket pots to small ones with a capacity of 200-300 grams.
The pots also differed in their appearance. Russian cuisine has always been not only tasty and satisfying, but also beautiful. Those pots in which food was served on the table were decorated with ornaments and drawings. The most interesting are the pots that were made in ancient times. The more perfect pottery skills became, the less often the craftsmen applied ornaments to pots. Those ancient pots had extraordinary strength, and if it happened that the pot cracked, it was not thrown away, but was braided with birch bark and used for storing bulk spices and cereals.
There is an opinion that our distant ancestors, if only boiled, steamed and baked, did not eat fried food. Allegedly, there was not even such utensils in Russian kitchens. Once again, I suggest you read the article “Traditions of Russian Cuisine”, and there you will find a description of dishes that are described as frying dishes. It was frying pans, as we know them today, that appeared in Russian cuisine much later.
The traditional Russian frying pan was... ceramic!!! It was shaped like a pan that expanded at the top. Such pans were called patches. The patch had a hollow handle into which a wooden handle was inserted. Agree, it’s simply an analogue of a modern frying pan – ceramics with a removable handle.
However, over time, frying pans began to be made from cast iron.
Now let's talk about the tablecloth. This item is not new to Russian cuisine at all. The first written reference to survive mentioning a tablecloth dates back to 1150. This is the “Smolensk Charter”.
Now let's remember the cutlery that was intended for drinks. In my opinion, Russian cuisine has no competitors in this dishware: cups, horns, brothers, charms and cups, shot glasses and glasses, and, of course, ladles.
Ladles are a completely different story: scoops, brackets (with two handles), liqueurs (small ladles), ladles and a huge number of varieties of ladles.
And in conclusion of the article it is necessary to recall such a traditionally Russian tableware like a samovar. The tradition of tea drinking appeared in Russia relatively recently - a little over three hundred years ago.
And this “water-heating vessel for tea with copper pipe"appeared... no, not in Tula. The first Tula samovar was made by master Lisitsyn in 1778. And in the Urals, samovars began to be made in 1740. And our Russian samovar had predecessors in Europe. True, the Russian samovar and its European analogue are similar only in name.
I will not engage in criticism, but will draw your attention to only one interesting fact. Have you ever drunk tea from a real samovar? Not electric! From a real Russian samovar? The thing is that in a Russian samovar the water heats up evenly, and does not boil from bottom to top. As a result, salts, scale, and mechanical particles contained in the water settle to the bottom of the samovar rather than being agitated. Accordingly, all this “garbage” does not end up in the tea. Our ancestors were wise.
A mandatory attribute of a Russian samovar was a tray.
Well, perhaps that’s all about the traditions of Russian cuisine.
I hope I was able to convince you that Russian cuisine has its own deep traditions not only in preparing dishes, but also in using kitchen equipment and dishes. This is part of Russian culture, which is being conveniently forgotten today.
POT
Pot - (“gornets”) and “potter” (“gornchar”) come from the Old Russian “grn” (“horn” - melting furnace), according to V. Dahl: (also for flowers) - a round, shaped clay vessel of various kind, scorched on fire. Also, a low, stable vessel with a wide neck can have a variety of purposes. Korchaga, south. makitra, the largest pot, a turnip, with a narrow bottom; melting and glass pots or pots are more or less the same; pot shchanoy, tamb. estalnik, ryaz. Negolnik, the same species, is the same as kashnik, but only smaller. The pots are called: makhotka, potshenyatko, baby. Tall pots, narrow-necked, for milk: glek, balakir, krinka, gornushka, gorlach. For many centuries it was the main kitchen vessel in Rus'. It was used in royal and boyar cooks, in the kitchens of townspeople, and in the huts of peasants. The shape of the pot did not change throughout its existence and was well adapted for cooking in a Russian oven, in which the pots were on the same level with burning wood and were not heated from below, as in open hearth, and on the side. The pot, placed under the stove, was lined around the lower part with firewood or coals and thereby became engulfed in heat from all sides. The potters successfully found the shape of the pot. If it had been flatter or had a wider hole, then boiling water could have splashed out onto the stove. If the pot had a narrow, long neck, the process of boiling water would be very slow. The pots were made from special potting clay, oily, plastic, blue, green or dirty yellow, to which quartz sand was added. After firing in a forge, it acquired a reddish-brown, beige or black color, depending on the original color and firing conditions. Pots were rarely decorated; they were decorated with narrow concentric circles or a chain of shallow dimples and triangles pressed around the rim or on the shoulders of the vessel. A shiny lead glaze, which gave an attractive appearance to a newly made vessel, was applied to the pot for utilitarian purposes - to give the vessel strength and moisture resistance. The lack of decoration was due to the purpose of the pot: to always be in the stove, only briefly on weekdays to appear on the table during breakfast or lunch.
BROTHER'S POT
Bratina's pot - the dish in which food was served to the table, differs from an ordinary pot in its handles. The handles are glued to the pot so that it is convenient to grasp them, but they should not extend too far beyond the dimensions of the pot.
POT FOR HEATING OIL
A pot for heating oil is a specialized form of ceramic ware that had a wavy rim and a handle directly for removal from the stove.
GOSTER
Goose pan is a ceramic utensil for frying meat, fish, cooking casseroles, scrambled eggs in a Russian oven. It was a clay frying pan with low (about 5-7 cm) sides, oval or, less commonly, round shape. The rim had a shallow groove for draining fat. The patch could be with or without a handle. The handle was straight, short, and hollow. A wooden handle was usually inserted into it, which was removed when the patch was installed in the oven.
ENDOVA
Endova - low, large ceramic, tinned, with a stigma, for beer, mash, honey; drinks are served in the valley at feasts; it is also found in taverns and taverns, on ships, etc. The peasants call a wooden, tall vessel, a jug, or a horse-dish.
ROASTER
A brazier is a stove in the form of a vessel filled with hot coals. Dutch ovens are one of the primitive kitchen utensils, and our use of them is decreasing day by day. The Turks and Asia Minor have various forms and types of braziers, and their use also has different purposes, for example, for brewing coffee, for lighting pipes, etc.
KANDYUSHKA
Kondushka, kondeya - the same as valley. Vyatka, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver provinces. This is a small bowl made of wood or clay, sometimes with a handle, used for drinking kvass, melting butter and serving it on the table.
KANOPKA
A canopka is a clay vessel that performs the functions of a mug. Pskov province.
KATSEYA
Katseya - in the old days, a brazier, according to the explanation of the alphabet books, “a vessel before censing.” In the old days, katsei were made with handles, clay, stone, iron, copper and silver. Archbishop Filaret (Gumilevsky) sees sprinkler bowls in Katsei, pointing to the Czech “katsati” - to sprinkle with water.
POTTY POT
A pot is a small pot with one handle. Intended for frying and serving thick (second) dishes and porridges.
KISELNYTSYA
Kiselnitsa is a large bowl with a spout. Kiselnitsa - a jug for serving jelly on the table. A convenient item for a ladle, a ladle and a mug, and also with a spout for draining the remaining jelly.
KORCAGA
Korchaga - clay vessel large sizes, which had a wide variety of purposes: it was used for heating water, brewing beer, kvass, mash, boiling - boiling laundry with lye. The pot could have the shape of a pot, a jug with an elongated, almost cylindrical body. Korchagi jugs had a handle attached to the neck and a shallow groove - a drain on the rim. In korchag pots, beer, kvass, and water were drained through a hole in the body located near the bottom. It was usually plugged with a stopper. As a rule, the pot did not have a lid. When brewing beer, the neck was covered with canvas and coated with dough. In the oven, the dough was baked into a dense crust, hermetically sealing the vessel. When boiling water or steaming laundry, the vessel was covered with a board after the fire in the stove burned out. Beer, kvass, and water were drained from the pot through a hole in the lower part of the body. Korchagas were widespread throughout Russia. In every peasant farm There were usually several of them of different sizes, from pots of half a bucket (6 liters) to pots of two buckets (24 liters). 2. Same as tagan. IN Kievan Rus 10-12 centuries a clay vessel with a sharp or round bottom, widening at the top, with two vertical handles at a narrow neck. Its shape is similar to an antique amphora and, like an amphora, it was intended for storing and transporting grain and liquid. Images of korchaga are available in ancient Russian miniatures. Their fragments are often found during archaeological excavations of ancient Russian cities. On the pot found in the Gnezdovo mound, the word “pea” or “pea” is scratched, i.e. mustard seeds, mustard. This word is the oldest Russian inscription (early 10th century). There are also other inscriptions. Thus, on a vessel from the 11th century, found in Kyiv, it is written “Blessed is this pot full of grace” (i.e., “Blessed is this pot full of grace”). In modern Russian, the word “korchaga” means a large, usually clay pot with a very wide mouth. In the Ukrainian language, the idea of korchaga as a vessel with a narrow neck has been preserved.
KRYNKA (KRINKA)
Krynka is a lined vessel for storing and serving milk on the table. Characteristic feature Krinki has a high, rather wide throat, smoothly turning into a rounded body. The shape of the throat, its diameter and height are designed to fit around the hand. Milk in such a vessel retains its freshness longer, and when soured it gives a thick layer of sour cream, which is convenient to remove with a spoon. In Russian villages, clay cups, bowls, and mugs used for milk were also often called krinka.
JUG
Jug - derogatory jug, kukshin, kuka - a clay, glass or metal vessel, relatively tall, barrel-shaped, with a recess under the neck, with a handle and a toe, sometimes with a lid, urn, vase.
JUG KRUPNIK
A krupnik jug (or pudovik) is a container for storing bulk products (15-16 kg).
CUP
A jug is the same as a ladle, a salt shaker, round in shape, with a lid. A clay vessel with a wide body, sometimes with a handle. Vladimir, Kostroma, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Yaroslavl provinces.
PATCH
Latka is an ancient clay oblong frying pan for frying vegetables. The patches were usually covered with a clay lid, under which the meat was not so much fried as steamed - “spun” in its own juice. Vegetables are “hidden” under the lid in sour cream or butter. Patches were widespread both in cities and villages already in the 15th-17th centuries, and were used in peasant farming until the mid-20th century.
A BOWL
Bowls - small clay or wooden bowls for individual use. There were special “lenten” bowls, which, together with similar pots and spoons, were used only in fast days. In the wedding rituals of the northern provinces, the bowl, along with wedding bread and other utensils, was sewn into a tablecloth, which the newlyweds had to embroider after visiting the bathhouse. They used a bowl to tell fortunes: before going to bed, the girl placed a bowl of water on which a “bridge” of straw was formed at the head of the bed or under it, asking her future husband to lead her across the bridge. On the day of St. Andrew the First-Called, November 30 (December 13), the girls placed a bowl of porridge on the gate and whispered: “Betrothed and betrothed, come eat porridge with me!” - after which they were supposed to see the image of the groom. The bowl is known to be used in folk medicine. During special type treatment - “spraying” - a bowl of water was placed in an empty hut, salt, ash, and coal were laid out in the corners. A person who came to a healer for treatment had to lick objects placed in the corners and wash them down with water from a bowl. At this time, the healer read incantations. On the third day, a thunder arrow was given to the person and slander was transmitted verbally. When treating sleepyhead (an abdominal disease), the healer asked for a bowl that “would hold three glasses of water,” hemp and a mug. He placed a bowl of water on the patient’s stomach, lit the hemp and wrapped it around the patient. After which he put the hemp in a mug, and put the mug in a bowl and read the slander. The patient’s screams during treatment were attributed to “removal evil spirits" After the treatment was completed, the healer gave the patient water to drink. The term bowl has been known since ancient times. In the 12th century. Daniil Zatochnik called a large common bowl from which several people ate “salt.” In the XVIII-XIX centuries. the term bowl was widespread throughout Russia. At this time, other utensils - a dish, a plate, a bowl - were sometimes called a bowl.
JARGER
Oparnitsa is a ceramic vessel, a pot in which dough is prepared for sour dough. The utensils for preparing the dough and nurturing the dough for pies, white rolls, and pancakes were a round clay vessel with a wide neck and slightly tapered walls towards the tray. WITH inside The jar was covered with glaze. The height of the jar ranged from 25 to 50 cm, the diameter of the neck from 20 to 60 cm. The shape was convenient for kneading the dough both by hand and with a whorl. To prepare the dough in warm water leaven was added (usually dough left over from previous baking), mixed with half the flour needed to make bread or pies, and left in a warm place for several hours. After souring, the dough, if it was intended for baking rye bread, was transferred to a bowl or kneading bowl, flour was added, kneaded and, covered tightly with a lid, placed in a warm place. If the dough was used for pies, then it was left in the jar, flour, eggs, sour cream were added, kneaded and left to rise. In the popular consciousness, the word “dough” was interpreted as an unfinished, unfinished business. When matchmaking was unsuccessful, they usually said: “They came back with the dough,” and if the matchmakers knew in advance that they would be denied matchmaking, they said: “Let’s go get the dough.” The term was used throughout Russia.
BOWL
Ploshka - (flat) low, wide, sloping vessel, b. including clay, skull; patch, clay frying pan, round or long.
MILKER (MILKER, MILKER)
A milk pan is a milking utensil that is a wooden, clay, or copper vessel with an open wide neck, a spout located in the upper part, and a bow. Clay and copper vessels had the shape of a pot, while wooden vessels followed the shape of a bucket with walls widened upward. The milk pan was usually made without a lid. Freshly milked milk was protected from dust by a thin linen cloth tied around the neck of the vessel. Milk that was capped immediately after milking could turn sour. The milk pan was always bought together with the cow. However, it could not be taken bare hand. It was passed from floor to floor, from mitten to mitten, it was lifted from the ground, blessed. If the cow did not milk in the new place, the sorcerer baptized the animal’s horns, hooves, and nipples with a milk pan filled with water, whispered a spell and sprayed it with water from the milk pan. For the same purpose, all other milk pans were filled to the brim with water. Milk pans were distributed throughout Russia under different names, derived from the word “milk”. Rilnik - a vessel for churning and melting cow butter, was a clay vessel with a wide neck, a round body, slightly tapering towards the bottom. At the top of the body there was a short nose - a “stigma” or small hole to drain the buttermilk and melted butter. On the side of the body opposite the spout there is a long clay straight handle. When churning butter, sour cream (cream, slightly sour milk) was poured into the firebox, which was churned together with a whorl. The oil that had clumped together was pulled out, washed, and placed in a clay basin. The buttermilk was poured into the tub for drinking water for the cattle. When reheating, a firebox filled with oil was placed in a well-heated oven. The melted butter was poured into a wooden tub. The buttery curd mass remaining at the bottom of the firebox was used to make pies and pancakes.
Today it is difficult for us to imagine our life without dishes. Ancient people had to do without it for a long time. Primitive man began to make his first dishes from bark and wood, and wove baskets from twigs. But all these dishes were inconvenient, you couldn’t cook in them, you couldn’t store liquids.
People tried to use all available materials to store food: shells, shells of large nuts, made bags from animal skins and, of course, hollowed out vessels from stone.
And only in the Neolithic era - in the last era of the Stone Age (approximately the 7th millennium BC) - was the first artificial material invented - refractory clay, from which they began to make ceramic dishes.
It is believed that pottery was invented by a woman. Women were more involved in housework, and it was they who had to take care of the safety of food. At first, wicker dishes were simply coated with clay. And, probably, by chance such dishes ended up not far from the fire. It was then that people noticed the properties of baked clay and began to make dishes from it.
To prevent the clay from cracking, sand, water, crushed stone, and chopped straw were added to it. Potter's wheel there was none then. They made ropes from clay, placed them on top of each other in a spiral and squeezed them. To make the surface of the dishes more even, they smoothed them with grass. The damp dishes were lined with some flammable material and set on fire. In this way it was possible to burn the dishes from all sides.
The oldest ceramic dishes are simple in shape: the bottom is pointed, the walls widen towards the top and resemble an egg with the upper part cut off. The walls of the vessels are thick, rough, unevenly burned. But, already having such dishes, a person was able to significantly diversify his food, learned to cook porridge, soups, stews, fry in fat and oil, and boil vegetables.
Gradually, primitive potters improved their dishes; they became thinner and more perfect in shape. Ancient people sought to make it not only comfortable, but also beautiful. Various designs began to be applied to dishes. Rough dishes were covered with liquid clay and painted with mineral paints. Sometimes the pattern was scratched out with special sticks.
Most often, the dishes were decorated with various ornaments, these were geometric figures, dancing people, flower rosettes, animal figures.
In addition to the dishes, primitive people learned how to make stoves and hearths. Bread began to be cooked in ovens. Inside clay oven lit a fire. The walls of the oven became hot, and when the fire died down, bread cakes were placed in it.
Tableware for the royal and princely courts in Rus'
Tableware at the royal and princely courts in Rus' in the 16th-17th centuries was mostly silver and gold. Naturally, gold and silver dishes, decorated precious stones and pearls, was only among the nobility. However, the utensils used simple people, had exactly the same shape, although it was made from less noble materials - wood and clay.
Dishes made of precious metals, crystal, glass and mother-of-pearl accounted for wealth at home,
and occupied, after icons, almost the first place in the decoration of the home. Tableware was an object of ostentation and was displayed at every opportunity as evidence of the owner’s wealth. Feasts and receptions were especially lavishly furnished. Everyone knows the phrase “throw a feast for the whole world.”
K.E.Makovsky 1883_Boyar wedding feast in the 17th century.
Ladle
Ladle of Ivan the Terrible 1563. Gold, niello, sapphires, pearls.
Silver ladle, partly gilded, late 16th-early 17th century
In Rus', it has long been customary to accompany a good treat with intoxicating drink. This custom has been going on since pagan times, and Vladimir the Red Sun became famous with the memorable words: “Rus' is the joy of drinking, it cannot exist without it.” The most common intoxicating drink in Rus', honey was drunk from ladles. It is believed that ladles originated from the North of Rus'. Ancient ladles were carved from wood and looked like ancient boats or waterfowl - swans, geese, ducks. The first metal ladles, according to some researchers, were made in the 14th century by Novgorod craftsmen.
Korchik
Korchik 17th century. Russian enamel. Novgorod 17th century.
Silver, embossing, carving, casting, precious stones.
Miniature silver crusts, intended for drinking strong drinks, have become widespread in Russian everyday life. They appeared in Rus' in the 17th century with the advent of the first strong drinks - cognac and vodka. In its shape, the korchik is close to the traditional Russian ladle and, like it, goes back to the image of a waterfowl. The inner and outer walls of the crust were richly decorated with chased patterns in the form of images of the inhabitants of the seabed, figurines of animals and birds, and coat of arms eagles. The raised spout ended with a cast ball, bud or mascaron - a sculptural decoration in the form of a human face or the head of an animal, cut off from the back and resembling a mask. Inscriptions with the owner's name, wishes of health, or moral teaching were often carved along the crown of the korchik.
Charka
The cup of Peter 1, which he carved with his own hands and presented it to Matvey Gagarin, the Moscow governor. 1709
The cup is gold, decorated with niello, enamel on the edge and a pearl. 1515
Charka 1704
Silver cup 1700
Charka, a round drinking vessel, is an ancient form of utensil that has long been used in Rus'. They were poured into Reviver- “sovereign wine”, as it was called in those days. Cups were made of silver and other metals. Decorated with embossed plant patterns, images of birds and sea animals. Often the ornament covered the body and base of the glass. Personal inscriptions were made along the crown. In the 17th century, the shape of the cups changed. They become taller, with a narrow bottom. Particular attention is paid to decor. The glasses are decorated with precious stones and multi-colored enamel. Widespread in the 17th century they received glasses made of mother-of-pearl and various types of stones - carnelian, jasper, rock crystal, often in silver frames with precious stones. Such glasses were very highly valued.
Charka honey.K.E.Makovsky
Bowl
Gilded bowl 17th century.
The bowl, the oldest deep drinking vessel without a handle, was used in Rus' in the 11th-18th centuries. The word “chalice” in Rus' had not only an objective meaning, it also meant the custom of declaring for festive table toasts - toast bowls. Drinking a healthy cup meant making a toast to someone's health or in someone's honor. They drank the “sovereign’s” cup for the health of the sovereign, the “patriarch’s cup” for the health of the patriarch, the “Virgin Cup” in honor of the Mother of God, etc. In the first half of the 17th century, the shape and decoration of the cups clearly changed. They become taller and are placed on a pallet. Much attention is paid to decor. The bowls are decorated with multi-colored enamels and precious stones.
Bro
Clinton Broyles
Since ancient times in Russia there has been a custom of proclaiming a “cup of health” at the banquet table. In ancient times, in the 11th century, in monasteries after meals they drank three cups: to the glory of God, in honor of the Mother of God, for the health of the prince. This custom also existed at the grand ducal, and later at the royal court, bearing the name “chalice rank”. For the “chalice rank”, especially elegant spherical bowl-vessels were made on small pallet, sometimes with a lid. During the feast, they were passed from neighbor to neighbor, thus fraternizing. Hence their name - brothers. The first written mentions of brothers date back to XVI century, but in the most numerous copies the brothers of the 17th century have survived to this day. They were made from gold, silver, bone stone and even coconut, in precious frames. The surface of the body was decorated with chased or engraved floral ornament, was decorated with stamps and “spoons”, enamel, and black drawings depicting biblical scenes. The lid of the bratina had the shape of a helmet or the dome of a church. The most interesting part of the bratina is the ornament and inscriptions running along the crown. Usually this is the name of the owner, some wise saying or moral teaching. For example, the most common inscriptions are: “The brother of a good man, drink from it for health...”, “Wine is innocent, but drunkenness is damned.” Brothers were also used as funeral cups, they were filled with well-fed water and honey, and placed on graves and tombs.
Endova
Another type of utensil is close to Bratina - endova, which was widely used in everyday life before late XVII century. In shape, it was a vessel in the form of a wide brother with a spout along the crown. Ends were made of silver or copper: the body was decorated with chased “spoons” and floral patterns, and inscriptions were placed on the crown. Endova was used as tableware. In it, drinks were brought to the table - beer, mash, honey - and poured into drinking vessels. The valleys were of different sizes and contained from two or three to twelve liters. On holidays, smartly dressed housewives with valleys in their hands treated passersby with drinks at their huts.
Stavets
Among the Old Russian dishes there are small cylindrical bowls with lids, called stavtsy. The purpose of such dishes has not been precisely clarified to this day. It is known that wooden staves were intended for liquid food: cabbage soup, fish soup, broth (compote). Stavtsy were widely used in monasteries. There was even a saying “how many elders, so many stavts” or “for every elder there is a stavts”. For royal and boyar life, they were made of silver and used for dessert. Stavets was a personal utensil. Thus, Peter I owned a stave in the form of a gilded silver bowl with a lid decorated with niello. The surface of the stavka is covered with carvings depicting gilded double-headed eagles. Along the crown there is an inscription: “To the Great Sovereign and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich of all the great and small and white of Russia, the Autocrat.”
Cup
Since ancient times, another form of tableware has been known in Rus' - a goblet, an ancient vessel for wine. The shape of the cups was different and was determined by the shape of the body: in the form of a glass, bell, brother, various types fruits: pumpkin, bunches of grapes, etc. There were figured cups in the shape of birds and animals. Cup stands were made in the form of a leg, a cast human figurine, a tree entwined with branches, or a baluster (column). The tray was shaped like an inverted bowl or saucer. Cups almost always had lift-off lids. Cups were made of gold and silver, decorated with relief, cast and engraved, enamel ornaments, applied medallions, and precious stones. Cast figures were placed on the lids of the cups. Cups made of colored stones, coconuts, mother-of-pearl shells, horns of various animals, and burl - wood infusion - are mentioned. Such cups were often skillfully mounted in silver and decorated with precious stones. Until the 17th century, cups were predominantly used in Rus' foreign work, which were brought from Europe by merchants or foreign guests as gifts or diplomatic gifts. In Russia, cups appeared mainly in the second half of the 17th century, Russian craftsmen began to create vessels in the forms of which the influence of Western European utensils was felt. They were presented for family celebrations, anniversaries, and also upon accession to the throne. Silver cups were the pride of the owners; they were displayed at feasts for foreign guests and ambassadors to see.
A duck is swimming
Since time immemorial, wood has been the most favorite material in Rus'. They built houses from it, made tools, and made household items. And so for centuries. Wood processing techniques and the ability to understand the properties of different wood species have been passed down from generation to generation.
Wooden utensils- one of the most interesting sections folk art. Russiansmasters achieved such perfectionforms that the things they made can rightfully be called workssculptures . And the amazing patterns and colors covering many products! Ordinary things became the phenomenon of the genuineart , which reflected both the inexhaustible imagination of the Russian people and their special understanding of beauty.
Wood is short-lived, so the utensils that have come down to us are few. Most of the items are from the 19th century, but there are only a few items from the 17th century, and they can only be found in large museums. ABOUT ancient Russian dishes we have to judge from archaeological excavations. Sometimes they are very successful. For example, in Novgorod, scientists unearthed wooden bowls, spoons, and fragments of ladles from the 10th-12th centuries!
Ancient dishes and more recent ones are similar in many ways. This is understandable: folk art is traditional, and manymotives - let's say an imagehorses , birds, solar sockets - they have been living in it since ancient times. At the same time, taking over the craft from their fathers and carefully preserving its foundation, each new generation of masters introduced their own understanding of the old forms.
The dishes of our ancestors are incredibly diverse. There are dugout ladles and turned bowls, cooperage jugs and carved spoons - it’s difficult evenlist all types. Wooden utensils served a variety of segments of the population of the village and city, so the demand for it was constantly increasing. The number of craftsmen engaged in such crafts also grew. Mostly they were peasants. They did not break with their main work, and were most often engaged in making dishes in winter time. Finished products were bought and distributed throughout Russia by merchants.
Wooden utensils were made everywhere. But there were also large centers - in the Moscow, Kaluga, Tver provinces; Trinity-Sergius Monastery. A lot of it was produced in the north, especially in the Kirillo-Belozersk monastery.
Each region had its own local forms of dishes and methods of decorating them: colorful painting here, skillful carving there. Based on these characteristics, folk art researchers determine where this or that thing was made.
Already in the 16th century, wooden utensils were exported for sale beyond Russian borders. There it was extremely valuable, especially in eastern countries. ABOUT high quality It is also indicated by the fact that wooden vessels, along with gold and silver ones, were donated to churches and monasteries. They were often presented as gifts to tsars, and they, in turn, donated products of Russian craftsmen to foreign ambassadors and monarchs.
What types of wood were used for tableware? In a country rich in forests, craftsmen had a large choice. They took birch, aspen, conifers. From softer linden they cut spoons and ladles, which were used to pour drinks from large ladles. Documents sometimes mention “straight spoons” and “radical ladles” - what are they? "Straightforward" nameThey felled the wood of the trunk, and the “root” vessels were made from powerful rhizomes. The peasant used everything that nature gave him: tree forks, bast, bark, even flexible roots, convenient for weaving, were used. Dishes made from burl, a growth on wood, were especially durable and beautiful, but they also cost a lot of money.
For many centuries, wooden utensils have faithfully served the Russian people. Only in the last century did it begin to be replaced by cheaper factory ones - earthenware, porcelain, glass. How much time has passed, but you won’t see any ladles, brothers, or valleys on our table anymore. You can only see them in a museum: beautiful, orderly, unusually natural, these things tell us about the amazing art of our ancestors. Except on rare occasionsUnfortunately, we do not know the names of the masters - even the most talented did not sign their works. They simply passed on the skill to their children, grandchildren - to all subsequent generations. That is why we perceive these products as the creations of an entire people.
Ancient traditions continue to live today. Modern masters of Khokhloma, Gorodets, and the Arkhangelsk region carefully preserve and develop them, creating new products that decorate human life.
Ladle
Ladle is the most common type of holiday drinkware. In large vessels that could hold up to several buckets, honey, beer, and kvass were served on the table. But the guests drank from small ladles, which repeated the shape of the large ones. Together they made up an integral ensemble - the main decoration of the table.
Ladles in the shape of a boat or a swimming bird are very expressive. A ladle with two handles resembling the head and tail of a duck was made on the Northern Dvina. Its name - skobkar - is very ancient and is preserved only in the North. Pay attention to the elegant painting that Severodvinsk masters used to decorate the most various items peasant life.
The ladle with the image of horse heads was made in the Tver province (now Kalinin region). Such vessels were called “grooms” there. Their surface was decorated with carvings. In the very center there is a geometric rosette - ancient symbol sun. And the very shape of the buckets takes us back to ancient times: a waterfowl and a horse were once symbols of water and the sun: In any case, scientists date a sample of a bucket-bucket in the form of a swimming bird, found in the Urals, to the 2nd millennium BC .
Breadbox
The most honorable place on the table has always been occupied by bread and salt. No wonder they greeted the most dear guests. “Without salt, without bread - bad conversation,” they said in Rus'. Nevertheless: “Eat bread and salt, but tell the truth!”
Bread was stored in special bread boxes, for the production of which bast was usually used - the layer between the bark and the core of the tree. In such dishes the bread did not become stale or moldy. The bread box you see in the picture is painted dignity by the hand of the talented peasant artist Yakov Yarygin, he lived in early XIX century in Arkhangelskareas. This is one of the few folk craftsmen of the past whose names have been established.
Solonitsa-chair, solonitsa-duck.
Salt was very expensive. Therefore, the vessels where it was kept were decorated with special care with paintings and carvings. There are two main forms of salt solonica known. One is a chair with a lifting seat-lid, which reflects the outlines of an ancient princely throne. The other, with a back that also served as a lid, resembled the same swimming duck.
Bro
The name probably comes fromfrom "brothers"- holiday stagnationlias known from documents from XII century. Usually such a vesselspherical body, intercepted at the top by a neck-crown with a foldedthose edges.
Before you is one of the hundredry brothers who have survived to this day.It is made in XVIII century onRussian North. The body is decorated with painted scaly ornaments. Over it- the strip that at firstperceived as a pattern. But, looking more closely, we read:“Gentlemen, come as a guest, don’t get drunk, don’t wait until evening.”
Inscriptions on wooden utensils are not common. Sometimes they talk about the place where the thing was created, talk about its owner. Of great value are the dates, which are also sometimes found. If they are not there, then paleographers help to approximately date objects based on the manner in which the letters are written. Inscriptions like the one we read seem to bring to us the living breath of our ancestors, who, like us, valued a cheerful joke.
Endova, cups
Another antique vessel forpitkov- valley This is a round bowlhollowed out by hand or turned on a machine. And here is the drain spouteraser was always carved by hand, decoratingit is sometimes carved. The Endovs werevariety- from very young onesto bucket ones.
Endova in the illustration- hardlynot the most beautiful in the assembly SovereignState Historical Museum, Divinesometimes decorated with paintings and carvings.It was made in XVIII century in the NorthDvina There a century laterCups were also made. Along with smallwith ladles, glasses, cups cubeki have long been used in Rus'during holiday feasts.
Two staves, two spoons
Stavets - most commonutensils for food- turned outon lathe. It consisted oftwo deep bowls, one of them serveLa lid, but could have been usedcall each half separatelyness. This thing is especially convenienton the road. The documents mention staves of different sizes; "stavy""Stavs" and "Stavchiki". Proverb“Every old man has his own station” indicates that it is an individualNo utensils.
Finally, neither festive noran ordinary table could not do withoutwooden spoon. In old Russiathey were made up to several millionpieces per year. And very different:from a burl- and even in silverframe; artistic work -with painting or carving; with shortenedwith a long stem to clean up on the roadin stavets. But the majority were the most ordinary spoons are simple and convenientnew form. There were spoon centersa lot, but XIX the century's most assSemenovsky spoons, which were manufactured in Semenovsky, became popularcounty Nizhny Novgorod province(thoseper Gorky region). Hence theirtransported all over Russia and even toother countries.
ABOUT. STRUGOV
Researcher at the State Historical Museum
