Our original EMKP project was intended to record pottery production in south-western Ukraine, at Kobolchyn, in northern Bukovina (Chernivtsi administrative region), and at Pyrizhna, on the northern border of Odessa administrative region. The EMKP grant was awarded in May 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which prevented this fieldwork.
In 2025, we decided to change the study region for the first year of the project, moving it to the neighbouring Iaşi county of Romania (c. 100km from the Chernivtsi region), where a few potters still make traditional ceramics similar to those made by the Ukrainian potters we would have recorded.
This project is now a collaboration between Lviv Polytechnic National University and Institute of Ethnology in Lviv of the National Academy of Science in Ukraine (Prof. Romana Motyl), the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, ARHEOINVEST Center, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi in Romania (Dr Felix Tencariu and Dr Radu-Alexandru Brunchi) and the British Museum in Great Britain (Dr Michela Spataro).
We are documenting the pottery production of master potter Daniel Ifrim in the village of Schitu Stavnic (Iaşi County). Daniel Ifrim learnt the pottery craft from his late father Dumitru and is the last potter in the region using the traditional kiln. In the second year, we would like to keep the option of Ukraine open, if the war ends. If not, we will document another potter, Vasilii Gonceari, in Chişinău, Republic of Moldova.
Until the mid-20th century, pottery making was an important part of the rural economy in both areas. Traditional pottery making was strongly connected with daily life. These areas were ethnically diverse, with Ukrainian, Romanian, Polish, German and Jewish components, which are reflected in traditional crafts.
PI:
Michela Spataro
Collaborators:
Vyacheslav Kushnir
Romana Motyl
Nadiya Borenko
Location of Research:
Schitu Stavnic (Iaşi County), Kobolchyn, Chernivtsi and Pyrizhna, Odessa
Host Institution:
The British Museum
Top Banner Image: Wheel-made black-burnished earthenware. Kobolchyn, Chernivtsi region, end of the 20th century. (Photo: Hanna Savchuk)