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Wood-carving
Since olden times wood has been the most
widespread and popular material.
In nearly every Northern home there
is chip bird floating under the ceiling. Such birds are made by local craftsmen, with the help of an axe, a knife and a chisel.
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The craftsman takes a pine log, carefully shave
it, splits the end into chips and spreads them
into a fan so that a bird’s body and a tail emerge.
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Another log is turned into wings, then the
parts are put together and a beautiful bird appears
which is said to bring happiness to the home.
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Decorative painting on wood
Besides carving, folk craftsmen painted
their household utensils. Distaffs, birch-bark boxes, berry baskets, bread-bins,
candlesticks were painted in bright festive colours.
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The main theme is the life of the
common people, rendered in a highly poetic form.
Some of
the wooden objects were adorned with a series of pictures, which, taken together, told a single story.
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The style of painting varied from one district
to another. Northern Dvina painting usually features a floral
design framing a scene from every day peasant life.
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Fine graphic painting is typical of the Mezen
river area.
Floral and bird patterns
are characteristics of the dis
distaffs
found in the
Kargopolsky district.
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Birch-bark processing
Not long ago one could see birch-bark
items almost in every peasant family. They were used
for keeping milk and sour-cream, cottage cheese butter, kvass and berries, mushrooms and fish.
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As compared with modern kitchen utensils, birch-bark vessels
called tuyesa or buraki have several advantages. Firstly, they
are leak proof. Secondly, foodstuffs kept in them can stay fresh for a long time.
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Kholmogory Bone-Carving
The art of Kholmogory bone-carving is a
brilliant and original phenomenon in Russian folk culture.
The Northern
art of bone-carving, rooted in the ancient past became especially well-known about 400 years ago.
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In the 16th-17th centuries bone-carvers from Kholmogory were
invited to Moscow to decorate the Armoury in the
Kremlin where they worked side by side with foreign masters.
Northern masters used walrus tusk and whale tooth obtained by Pomors while sea-hunting.
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Contemporary masters develop the rich traditions of this
ancient northern art. They make unique creations intended for
museum collections and articles for sale.
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Clay Toys from Kargopol
The art of making clay
toys in the town of Kargopol goes back to
ancient times: some years ago archeologists dug up duck-shaped whistles which are 5.000 years old.
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Peasant women, centaurs, cows, horses, deer, rams, hares,
bears and ducks were the most typical characters of
the toys. In local folklore and rituals all these animals are associated with fertility and solar symbolism.
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Later on, new motifs appeared, which depict the
life of the present-day northern village.
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Nowadays, the toys are made by the Kargopol
toy-making workshop and individual toy-makers who together help to
preserve the ancient Kargopol tradition.
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Northern Kozoolyas
Baking pryaniks is another folk craft which
is very popular in the North.
Northern pryanics, the so-called
kozoolyas occupy the special place. The origin of the word may be explained by the fact that the most popular shape of such pryaniks was that of a sheep or a goat.
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Arkhangelsk kozoolyas vary in shape and colour: they
may have the form of a sheep, a horse,
a reindeer, Santa Claus, a fir-tree, a basket and so on. They are usually of brownish shade (due to burnt sugar) and are decorated with coloured icing.