Spanish crafts [antikvár]

Spanish craftsUnspoilt rural environments which exist alongside a fully developed industrial civilization can hardly provide a wholly satisfactory explanation of the vitality found in many sectors of Spanish crafts. Sometimes close to large towns, the traveller will be surprised at coming across a production still perfectly suited to the times when mule drivers were in charge of distributing the goods which were the result of hard work in small workshops and family homes. Today, the crafts cater to quite different needs. On the one hand, they still fulfil the same functions in the areas where the way of life still follows the traditions of old; on the other hand, they have become much sought after by customers who are collectors or, more generally, people who somehow miss the harmony of the past. The craftsmen on their part to a large extent continue using traditional techniques and forms.Of all the crafts surviving in Spain from the Middle Ages, that of the potter is without doubt the one occupying the place of honour. Without wishing to lessen the importance of such authentic and varied crafts as basket making, spinning, weaving, wood and leatherwork, there is no doubt that the clay objects have always been and still are of special interest to researchers and ceramic lovers of all kinds. Perhaps because of the important role which they have played in the history of Spain since the Iberian civilization, with the Muslim presence being an especially outstanding period of splendour, pottery and ceramics are among the best ways of approaching the curious manner of understanding things, a feeling accompanying every object made with the skilled hands of a craftsman who knows the material out of which he is to make something useful. The traveller will find that the number of clay objects is disproportionately large: the huge variety of clays and techniques still existent in Spain is in itself a justification of such abundance. It must be pointed out, however, that there are some crafts which have not been dealt with because they did not logically fit the description of "popular". These crafts although still wholly faithful to the techniques of old developed to cater for the needs of a luxurious Court or a bourgeoisie fond of the"good things". These include tapestry making, the production of musical instruments and stained-glass work.Along the itineraries of the crafts, a contradictory phenomenon can be observed: in some (fortunately frequent) cases, the actual users of the traditional farm tools are as proud of them as are their makers. In other cases, however, the anonymous craftsman's work is looked upon as a sign of backwardness, as something that does not measure up to the stuff sold in department stores. True enough, not everything can be ascribed to set cultural values: the fact is that the objects produced after a laborious process cannot compete in a market where they are ready-made. Time is against those made by hand.1.Hand-made domestic articles. La Payeria Museum. Cervera (Lleida).2.The Romantic Museum. Barcelona.2Wooden furniturew ood has without doubt been the raw material most widely used by man to produce hundreds of useful objects for everyday life, from all kinds of furniture to means of transport, religious figures, domestic and other tools, shoes, containers for liquids, musical instruments, elements for buildings, etc. In view of this, the great tradition of working with wood in Spain does not come as a surprise, nor do the variety and accomplished techniques found in the corresponding crafts (carpentry, cabinet making, the turner's, carv-