Poplar wood bowl from Romania

Romania is full of wood. With its unique wooden architecture and woodcarving, an entire culture has developed in Maramures, in the north of the country. The wooden churches in the region have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. And everywhere you look, you can still find magnificent wooden courtyard gates decorated with intricate carvings. Each village had its own woodcarver, the ‚cioplitsori’, who passed on his knowledge from generation to generation. So it’s no wonder that wood is also the most popular material when it comes to producing household goods. The classic examples are the three-legged stools carved from simple poplar wood, which with their minimalist form would easily find their way into any super-chic design shop. Poplar wood is light and easy to work with. Sometimes you see women and men in the markets carving these stools with such ease, as if they were cutting a slice of bread from a giant loaf. The woodcarvers belong to the group of settled, Romanised Roma and are called ‘rudari’ in Romania. Until the 1970s, the Rudari still travelled from village to village, offering their services in exchange for food such as grain and vegetables.

Diameter 30 cm, Height