Sacel, Maramures
Encyclopedia
Săcel is a commune in Maramureş County
, Romania
. Composed of a single village, Săcel, it is the last locality up the Iza Valley. From here one can get to the Vişeu Valley through Dealul Moiseiului Pass (towards the northeast) and to Transylvania
(specifically Năsăud
, towards the south) through Dealul Ştefāniţei Pass, which separates the Ţibleş and Rodna Mountains
.
techniques that date back more than 2000 years ago. Nowadays, an ancient Roman type oven is used for burning the clay. Săcel pots are manufactured in Dacian style and they are ornamented using mineral elements. The ornaments are simple and resemble natural elements (the flow of water, the sun, the line of life, folkloric motifs). These elements were also used in the Dacian ceramics.
The ceramist Tanase Burnar from Sācel belongs to a family in which pottery making was transmitted from generation to generation. He is the son of Tanase Cocian, the famous craftsman. Tanase Burnar is familiarised with the potter's wheel since he was 10, when he started to make his first objects. Now he makes with great skill ceramic plates, pots, cups and jugs burned once in the oven. The oven uses wood fire so the colour of the clay is preserved. The clay used is kaolin, a fine and dense clay taken from deep springs (10-15m) in Drobodeava Hill, Săcel.
Maramures County
Maramureș is a county of Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.- History :* The 10th century frontier county of Borsova was founded by Stephen I of Hungary. Since then Máramaros served as the north-eastern border of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1920, the Trianon Peace...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Composed of a single village, Săcel, it is the last locality up the Iza Valley. From here one can get to the Vişeu Valley through Dealul Moiseiului Pass (towards the northeast) and to Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
(specifically Năsăud
Nasaud
Năsăud is a town in Bistriţa-Năsăud County in Romania located in the historical region of Transylvania. The town administers two villages, Liviu Rebreanu and Luşca.The name Năsăud is possibly derived from the Slavic nas voda, meaning "near the water"...
, towards the south) through Dealul Ştefāniţei Pass, which separates the Ţibleş and Rodna Mountains
Rodna Mountains
Rodna Mountains are a subdivision of the Eastern Carpathians in Northern Romania. The name comes from the nearby Rodna Veche village.The Rodna Mountains have one of the longest continuous ridges in Romania, with over 50 km from west to east...
.
Săcel pottery
Săcel is famous for its red, unglazed pottery obtained through ancient, dacianDacians
The Dacians were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia...
techniques that date back more than 2000 years ago. Nowadays, an ancient Roman type oven is used for burning the clay. Săcel pots are manufactured in Dacian style and they are ornamented using mineral elements. The ornaments are simple and resemble natural elements (the flow of water, the sun, the line of life, folkloric motifs). These elements were also used in the Dacian ceramics.
The ceramist Tanase Burnar from Sācel belongs to a family in which pottery making was transmitted from generation to generation. He is the son of Tanase Cocian, the famous craftsman. Tanase Burnar is familiarised with the potter's wheel since he was 10, when he started to make his first objects. Now he makes with great skill ceramic plates, pots, cups and jugs burned once in the oven. The oven uses wood fire so the colour of the clay is preserved. The clay used is kaolin, a fine and dense clay taken from deep springs (10-15m) in Drobodeava Hill, Săcel.
Tourist attractions
- The Iza Spring nature reserve
- The pottery workshop of Burnar Tānase
- The folk masks workshop of Vasile Şuşca
- The workshop of Grigore Ţulean, the sculptor
- The watermills