Mordovian art.
A lively, vigorous branch in the tree of modern popular art, the work of Mordvinian handicraftsmen is clearly distinct from what is produced by folk artists in other regions and national territories of Russia. It possesses many features and traits forming a unique aesthic entity.
The traditions of Mordovian folk art, its origins and roots are as old as the national culture itself. Over centuries this cultural tradition developed in close contact and interaction with other national cultures. Among the influences that helped Mordvinian artists crystallize and perfect their vision of the world, the national concept of beauty was the impact of Russian cultural achievements. The specific qualities of their work were largely determined by the natural conditions, those of the wooded areas lying between the Volga, the Oka and their tributaries, in the upper reaches of the Sura and the Moksha. An imprint on their concepts r work has certainly been left by the historical record of their people, the growing national consciousness, the ethnic and cultural contacts with the neighboring national groups and the Russians. In earlier times there was close cultural relationship with Eastern Slavs and the Finno-Ugric tribes. The traces of these old influences can still be found in motifs of Mordovian ornament and plastic art imagery. Figures and pictures of a horse, a duck, a blossoming branch - the traditional images of folk poetry - are traced back to the cult of trees and water, the cult of deified nature, of which the man perceived himself to be a part.
For centuries man and nature, art and nature were in unity. Nature stimulated imagination, served as the object of observation, developed the sense of beauty. These properties were acquired in the process of work. Work sharpened the intuition, gave a creative impulse. The system of folk art symbols grew from the correlation of natural and man-related images. These symbols reflected people's concepts of the world, their collective experience which was gained in daily work and outstanding events of life: in sowing, haymaking, harvest, the first sending of cattle to grass in spring, as well as wedding, funeral and all the events of the year according to nature's calendar. Joint action in work, ritualistic ceremonies, all other man's activities consolidated the force of the collective, created an ensemble unity of everything that surrounded people, including natural and man-made objects and space.
In Mordovian folk art, as in any other, this unity began from the home, as it was there that most of the objects serving the man were gathered. There was a definite orderly arrangement in the
interior and the outside decor, each object showing a harmony of the functional role and beauty. The aesthetic content of the surrounding space, its spirit and poetical atmosphere are created by various complemental elements including the ornamental motifs of the external wood carvings, the sculptural expressiveness of plastically – shaped utensils, the pattern and the colour schemes of the embroidery fabrics, etc. The culture of form, rhythm, colour, ornament derived, on the one hand, from the master's contact with his material, be it wood, clay, yarn, cloth or metal, on the other hand, from his poetic vision of nature, his imagination and knowledge of the world.
Over centuries Mordovian folk art was evolving its image of the world, its ornamental compositions, motifs and aesthetic principles. They reflected the moral and aesthetic ideals of the people. Developing in close relationship with workaday existence and domestic chores, folk art was likewise inalienable from another important aspect of popular culture: the traditional holidays and merrymaking. Most vividly this aspect of culture is linked with folk art in the national costume. This is true of any country and nation. The particoloured Mordovian costume, including numerous ornamental details made of metal, glass beads, strings and chains, represents an artistic ensemble—flamboyant, jingling, emotionally harmonious and consonant with Mordovian folk singing. Articles of folk handicrafts, just as folk tales and musical folklore, belong to one indivisible world of popular poetry.
The mytho - poetical imagery, which in the old times had a magic, ritualistic significance, underwent historical transformations but has retained its aesthetic importance as a set of artistic symbols representing the vital phenomena of the world and of human existence. They are carefully preserved by Mordvinian artisans and passed on from generation to generation. In villages they are widely used in embroidery and wood carving.
Folk art is not only an individual master or an association of artisans collaborating in a certain kind of work. It is also the natural environment in which popular art develops in the course of its history and the invisible living ties which arise as links between the man and his home, the man and his village, the native landscape and, ultimately, the man and his country. Such ties develop the historical memory of a nation, lay the substrata of the people's culture, they give birth to everything that is talented and great.
Salt-cellar carved in the shape of a bird. Late 18th century.
Bratina loving – cup and duck-shaped scoops. Late 18th century
Earthenware jugs. 19th century.
Earthenware pots. Second millennium B.C.
Elements of embroidered decoration on bridal veils. 19th century.
The Mordva-Moksha. Kovylkino District. Republic Mordovia.
Tifks woman’s breast ornament. Late 19th century
The Mordva-Moksha.
Krasnoslobodsk District. Republic Mordovia
Goroshon krganya woman’s breast ornament. Late 19th century
The Mordva-Moksha. Krasnoslobodsk District. Republic Mordovia
Bridal costume. Second half of the 19th century
The Mordva-Erzya. Kochkurovo District. Republic Mordovia.
Bridal costume. Second half of the 19th century
The Mordva-Moksha. Krasnoslobodsk District. Republic Mordovia.
The traditions of Mordovian folk art, its origins and roots are as old as the national culture itself. Over centuries this cultural tradition developed in close contact and interaction with other national cultures. Among the influences that helped Mordvinian artists crystallize and perfect their vision of the world, the national concept of beauty was the impact of Russian cultural achievements. The specific qualities of their work were largely determined by the natural conditions, those of the wooded areas lying between the Volga, the Oka and their tributaries, in the upper reaches of the Sura and the Moksha. An imprint on their concepts r work has certainly been left by the historical record of their people, the growing national consciousness, the ethnic and cultural contacts with the neighboring national groups and the Russians. In earlier times there was close cultural relationship with Eastern Slavs and the Finno-Ugric tribes. The traces of these old influences can still be found in motifs of Mordovian ornament and plastic art imagery. Figures and pictures of a horse, a duck, a blossoming branch - the traditional images of folk poetry - are traced back to the cult of trees and water, the cult of deified nature, of which the man perceived himself to be a part.
For centuries man and nature, art and nature were in unity. Nature stimulated imagination, served as the object of observation, developed the sense of beauty. These properties were acquired in the process of work. Work sharpened the intuition, gave a creative impulse. The system of folk art symbols grew from the correlation of natural and man-related images. These symbols reflected people's concepts of the world, their collective experience which was gained in daily work and outstanding events of life: in sowing, haymaking, harvest, the first sending of cattle to grass in spring, as well as wedding, funeral and all the events of the year according to nature's calendar. Joint action in work, ritualistic ceremonies, all other man's activities consolidated the force of the collective, created an ensemble unity of everything that surrounded people, including natural and man-made objects and space.
In Mordovian folk art, as in any other, this unity began from the home, as it was there that most of the objects serving the man were gathered. There was a definite orderly arrangement in the
interior and the outside decor, each object showing a harmony of the functional role and beauty. The aesthetic content of the surrounding space, its spirit and poetical atmosphere are created by various complemental elements including the ornamental motifs of the external wood carvings, the sculptural expressiveness of plastically – shaped utensils, the pattern and the colour schemes of the embroidery fabrics, etc. The culture of form, rhythm, colour, ornament derived, on the one hand, from the master's contact with his material, be it wood, clay, yarn, cloth or metal, on the other hand, from his poetic vision of nature, his imagination and knowledge of the world.
Over centuries Mordovian folk art was evolving its image of the world, its ornamental compositions, motifs and aesthetic principles. They reflected the moral and aesthetic ideals of the people. Developing in close relationship with workaday existence and domestic chores, folk art was likewise inalienable from another important aspect of popular culture: the traditional holidays and merrymaking. Most vividly this aspect of culture is linked with folk art in the national costume. This is true of any country and nation. The particoloured Mordovian costume, including numerous ornamental details made of metal, glass beads, strings and chains, represents an artistic ensemble—flamboyant, jingling, emotionally harmonious and consonant with Mordovian folk singing. Articles of folk handicrafts, just as folk tales and musical folklore, belong to one indivisible world of popular poetry.
The mytho - poetical imagery, which in the old times had a magic, ritualistic significance, underwent historical transformations but has retained its aesthetic importance as a set of artistic symbols representing the vital phenomena of the world and of human existence. They are carefully preserved by Mordvinian artisans and passed on from generation to generation. In villages they are widely used in embroidery and wood carving.
Folk art is not only an individual master or an association of artisans collaborating in a certain kind of work. It is also the natural environment in which popular art develops in the course of its history and the invisible living ties which arise as links between the man and his home, the man and his village, the native landscape and, ultimately, the man and his country. Such ties develop the historical memory of a nation, lay the substrata of the people's culture, they give birth to everything that is talented and great.
Salt-cellar carved in the shape of a bird. Late 18th century.
Bratina loving – cup and duck-shaped scoops. Late 18th century
Earthenware jugs. 19th century.
Earthenware pots. Second millennium B.C.
Elements of embroidered decoration on bridal veils. 19th century.
The Mordva-Moksha. Kovylkino District. Republic Mordovia.
Tifks woman’s breast ornament. Late 19th century
The Mordva-Moksha.
Krasnoslobodsk District. Republic Mordovia
Goroshon krganya woman’s breast ornament. Late 19th century
The Mordva-Moksha. Krasnoslobodsk District. Republic Mordovia
Bridal costume. Second half of the 19th century
The Mordva-Erzya. Kochkurovo District. Republic Mordovia.
Bridal costume. Second half of the 19th century
The Mordva-Moksha. Krasnoslobodsk District. Republic Mordovia.
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