Russia, with its birch bark baskets, nesting dolls, and gilded icons, may seem exotic, even strange, to Westerners. Though the Iron Curtain has lengthy since fallen, many American collectors stay unfamiliar together with her extensive number of crafts and treasures.
For centuries on end, wood, so ample in this land of dense forests, was commonly fashioned into utilitarian, home objects. Every winter, when bitter snows blanketed the fields and winds swept the woodlands, peasants traditionally exchanged their plows and cut-saws for blocks of wood and carving knives at their firesides. For long months, by the dim light of their smoky cabins, they patiently turned out wooden plates, bowls, spoons, and ladles. Those with time and inclination could have painted their handicrafts.
By the mid-17th century, expert craftsmen in Khokhloma (pronounce this by clearing your throat twice, then rhyming with “coma”), a trading post within the Nizhny Novgorod area, alongside the mighty Volga River, had gained fame for creating a novel, decorative wooden lacquer ware.
Perhaps khokhlomas, as Khokhloma’s creations themselves came to be known, have been inspired by Russia’s traditional non secular works of art.
In response to some sources, khokhloma’s traditional shade combination, red, black, and gold, once held deep non secular significance. Within the Eastern Orthodox Church, they clarify, vivid shades of red representing beauty, black representing grief that cleanses the soul, and gold representing heavenly light once embellished sacred church vessels and icons. True, only clergy and wealthy nobility could afford to personal such costly works of art, which featured gold-haloed saints set against shimmering gold leaf backgrounds.
But because of their similarity, a woodsman or laborer, eyeing his first red, black, and golden khokhloma purchase, will need to have felt as if he owned a little bit of heaven. Though he doubtless ate from his plainer pieces each day, he probably used his most interesting khokhlomas solely on special events, like christenings, marriages, and spiritual holidays—if at all.
Creating khokhloma was, and nonetheless is, an intricate, time-consuming craft passed down from generation to generation. First, artisans seasoned blocks of linden, beech, or birch, then both carved them with knives or turned them on lathes to create traditional home items. After drying them in kilns, they primed them with liquid clay to seal their pores. Then they fired their creations again. Subsequent they hand rubbed them a number of times with raw linseed oil till they turned glossy. Finally, they coated these things with particular metallic powder, and fired them up but again. When khokhlomas emerged from the kiln, they glistened with golden (or sometimes silver) shade like fine metal ware. Yet khokhlomas do not contain a bit of metal. To further gild the lily, expert artists then adorned these shiny implements with traditional red and black geometric patterns or highly stylized flowers. Then they finished them with coats of clear lacquer.
By the 20th century, curiosity in khokhloma had waned dramatically. Russia’s 1917 October Revolution, nevertheless, heralded a national revival of the country’s people arts, together with khokhloma. Through the Nineteen Twenties and ’30s, artisans banded together into cooperative associations, adopting modern tools and strategies, like replacing tin with aluminum powder and replacing linseed with artificial oil. Prior to now, khokhlomas had easily cracked, crazed, chipped, or dulled through years of use. With immediately’s innovations, nonetheless, even delicate ones, once deemed suitable just for decoration or festive events, are durable sufficient for use 12 months round.
Within the Nineteen Sixties, the Soviets, to encourage manufacturing, founded two khokhloma factories, one near Khokhloma village and another in nearby Semyonov. Between them, 1,000 artisans protect this craft’s secret strategies and traditions for future generations, producing home gadgets, furniture, and souvenirs. Even at present, crafting a khokhloma can take wherever from to four months, relying on the intricacy of its design and its size. Since each is hand painted, every is one of a kind. Because Russians hold master artists in high esteem, the Soviet Union, in 1979, issued postage stamp honoring khokhloma craftsmen and their art.
Most fashionable khokhlomas, to increase buyer enchantment, feature themes drawn from nature. Luscious-trying strawberries, red and black currants, cherries, rowanberries, and raspberries, all a-swirl with grapevines are favourite choices. So are khokhlomas rich with gilded green leaves and orange berries, though they break with traditional colors. Today, khokhlomas come in a thousand sizes and styles, together with egg cups, honey pots, trinket boxes, mugs, goblets, cutting boards, and salt boxes.
As years go by, khokhloma dishes continues to gain in popularity. Few vacationers depart Russia with out tucking a khokhloma souvenir or two in their suitcases. Khokhloma designs adorn t-shirts, decorate world class racecars, and even grace the tails of several British Airways Boeing 757s. Units of widespread khokhloma spoons, inexpensive and extensively available even in the U.S., make unusual items or striking ornamental accents for dining areas or kitchens. So do khokhloma trays, tea units, spice units, serving dishes, and candle holders. Delicate keepsake boxes or fetching brooches make advantageous, relatively low cost personal gifts. All-inclusive dining units, which include serving bowls and platters in varying sizes, may, however, command hundreds of dollars. Bigger, more intricate pieces, like khokhloma swan-bowls, chairs, beds, benches, and children’s table and stool sets, naturally are even more costly.
Russians, true romanticists at coronary heart, embrace khokhloma’s beauty and history as one. Almost every household in Russian boasts glassed cabinets filled with khokhloma tea cups, saucers, and serving dishes. A lot of their treasures, like brightly lacquered borsch ladles, vodka shot glasses, bread basins, diminutive bowls and spoons for having fun with jam, and caviar units, reflect typical Russian culture. There are even khokhloma toy balalaikas, beloved folks stringed instruments, available on the market.