Cretan Pottery Art
Pottery is among the most ancient arts and deals with the manufacture of earthen vessels.
Pots are objects that are first shaped of wet clay, and then hardened by baking. It is a subcategory of the ceramic art (the word ceramic is derived from the Greek word kerameikos, name of an Athens suburb) that in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms.
Actually, pottery satisfies, people's various daily needs for some basic utensils, from the Prehistoric era.
So using the simplest material soil and water with rudimentary treatment makes clay, and creates pots that stamped the development of civilization.
Fire kept them through the centuries. minoan jarsFirst marks of residents from ceramic discoveries are found in Crete in 7000BC while the first earthen vessels of the Neolithic period were presented around 6000BC.
The history of pottery in Greece up today completes 8000 years. More specifically and regarding the Hellenic area, pottery initially prospered in Crete in the first Minoan years (3000-2100BC) and flourished in the middle Minoan year's (2100-1580BC).
Observing the materials, the forms and the technique of the manufacture (specifically of big jars) but also the way of baking that our ancient ancestors used, you feel that this unique art has passed through centuries without radical changes and is continued even today in our place.
Cretan Pottery Art is flourishing again in ourdays in Crete and the biggest center is in our village Thrapsano.