Raw material analyses of the Modern Age ceramic from Kyiv pottery production sites

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2019
Authors
Chmil, Lesia
Khamaiko, Natalia
Buhay, Oleksandr
Shulzhenko, Anatolii
Sushko, Alina
Bilyk, Volodymyr
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
According to written and archeological sources, there were 12 pottery making sites at the nowadays territory of Kyiv. During last 50 years seven pottery production sites have been archaeologically discovered (kilns, clay pits, outbuildings, warehouses, semi-finished product stocks, etc.). The most of them were found at Kyiv Podil: over 20 kilns were located at the ravine of Honchari-Kozhumiaky, one at 6 Kostiantynivska Street, and another one site, at 37 Kyrylivska Street, has been identified by a cluster of semi-finished products. Two kilns were discovered at Vydubychi, one at Mykilskyi Polyk area near Askoldova Mohyla (Askold’s Grave), and one in the Lavrskyi Lane near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Kyiv Cave Monastery). Two kilns were situated at Mykilska Slobidka on the opposite left bench of the Dnieper River. In general we have information at least about 27 pottery kilns and a stock of semi-finished products. All of them can be dated to the different times from the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries to the middle of the 19th century. Historical sources mentioned the craftsmen from the ravine of Honchari-Kozhumiaky, who were related to a Potters' Guild. They were subordinated primary to a castle, and later, from the late 17th century, to a town magistrate. Other pottery production sites mainly belonged to Kyivan monasteries till the end of 18th century – Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Monastery, Vydubychi Monastery, Kyrylivskyi Monastery and Pustynno-Mikilskyi Monastery. Pottery production sites were rather big, with a high quality production using various decoration and glazing techniques, and wide selection of products; some of them used underglaze painting. Numbered pot sherds, both ready-to-use and semi-finished products, were discovered in the filling of kilns and related structures. Used for ceramic paste clay was exceptionally good, mainly light – from white to yellowish or pinkish colors, but sometimes the examples of darker colors can be met, like a reddish or brownish. Red color was used for decoration of unglazed white ware; white, green and red colors were applied for underglaze painting ceramics. Some series of the PIXE and XRD analysis has been performed to compare a chemical composition of ceramic row materials from the five pottery sites (Honchari-Kozhumiaky, Mykilskyi Polyk, Vydubychi, 6 Kostiantynivska Street, 37 Kyrylivska Street). The paints of the ware decoration have also been analyzed through studying the semi-finished products, which were rejected after the first firing before the covering with a transparent ceramic glaze and secondary firing in a kiln. The sherds are covered with white engobe and later painted with engobes and mineral dyes, so absence of glazed layer allows chemical identification of the dyes.
Description
Keywords
Kyiv, pottery production, ceramic, Modern Age, conference materials
Citation
Raw material analyses of the Modern Age ceramic from Kyiv pottery production sites / Chmil L., Khamaiko N., Buhay O., Bilyk V., Shulzhenko A., Sushko A. // The 4th International Symposium on Pottery and Glass OSTRAKON "Ceramics and glass as a source for research on the past" (Wrocław, 26-28 September, 2019) / Centre for Late Antique and Early Medieval Studies, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences. - Wrocław : [s. n.], 2019. - P. 42-43