Storage vessel

Vessels used for the storage of foodstuff, mainly loose products, have been known to humanity for ages. They come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes with one handle or two, sometimes with none. The collection of the Department of Ethnography of Pomerania of the National Museum in Szczecin has a storage vessel with no handles, dated to the first half of the 20th century. The vessel has a characteristic shape with the largest width above the middle of its height. In Poland, some vessels of that shape have been known as garnek or garczek. The presented storage vessel has been made with a pottery turning wheel and is completely covered on the inside and outside with a brown, terracotta-like coating, and enamel. It is decorated with a simple, geometrical pattern consisting of a group of three vertical stripes, separated by zigzag lines. This vessel was a daily object in a homestead. According to the information from the inventory book, it was used to store milk.

Agnieszka Słowińska