Bárkányi Ildikó – F. Lajkó Orsolya (szerk.): A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve 2017., Új folyam 4. (Szeged, 2018)
Néprajz
László Mód For the artist is a potter” - The ceramic center of Szentes in the 19-20th „For the artist is a potter" The ceramic center of Szentes in the 19-20th László Mód The aim of the study is to attempt to analyze the transformation process of the ceramic center of Szentes between the middle of the 19th century and today. Due to the widespread expansion of cheap, factory-made products the clay industry in Szentes - similarly to other centers in the Carpathian Basin - ended up in a state of crisis; from the last decades of the 19th century, the representatives of the industry were faced with ever shrinking number of options. This negative tendency led to the gradual reduction in the number of handicraftsmen, since the interest towards clay products has decreased as well. From the last decades of the 19th century a group of craftsmen started making decorative pots using a reductive firing method, and they regularly attended national and sometimes even international exhibitions. The history of these reductively fired decorative ceramics can basically be considered as a series of trends formed by local potters and artists and their continuous recreation. In certain periods, these aspirations tried reaching back to the pottery of the archeological ages while sometimes using the design of 19th century household pots. From the middle of the 19 th century, the practice of making black and glazed ceramics has undergone a distinct separation from each other, which meant that clay craftsmen specialized in one type or the other. In the first half of the 20th century, a unique style of making decorative pots has emerged in Szentes, its primary aim was to satisfy civic needs; local artist were instrumental in the formation of the style. From the 1950s’, due to the changes in political ideology, this trend was toned down significantly and folksy dish forms became prominent. These dishes were remodeled in various manners by handicraftsmen. The handicraftsmen of our present time are faced with at least as much difficulty as their predecessors in the end of the 19th century, when traditional clay products were gradually pushed out of the market by factory-made products. The question is, whether they are going to be able to adapt to the changing circumstances and come up with a new range of products, one that suits the needs of modern consumers. The researcher may be of help to us in a sense that he outlines and analyzes strategies followed successfully by clay craftsmen from the last decades of the 19th century. It is my firm belief that these examples hold several lessons, hence it is recommended to take them into consideration, when attempting to take note of the perspectives of the black ceramics of Szentes. 313
