| Imagine living in Europe in the 1800’s, a time without electricity, powerful ships, internal combustion engines, or even steel shipping crates.
Food needed to be stored, goods shipped across oceans, commerce carried on. What was needed was durable container that could hold large amounts of material and relatively easy to handle.
Someone (or most probably many someone’s) in the forgotten past came up with a solution that survives today in the form of incredibly beautiful pottery that offered solutions to these problems. To the dismay of all however, the secret of their construction is lost in the back roads of history.
The name given to these very special ‘pots’ is Tinaja. They can vary in size from 3 feet in height to almost 12 feet in height and weigh up to 5000 pounds.
 | | They could be (and often were) buried in the ground to hold and keep cool oil, wine, and grain. But they could just as easily be loaded into ships to transport valuable cargo. The special process that made them so durable also is what made it possible for us to appreciate them today.
Being so large, turning them on a potter’s wheel was impossible so craftsman had to slowly, over what is believed to be a period of months to add layer upon layer of special clay found only around the Southern Spain and perhaps parts of Italy. Somehow they were able to keep the pots nearly perfectly cylindrical.
The firing process is also a secret. It is known that enormous amounts of wood kept burning at a relatively low temperature made the clay strong but not hard, making it less likely to shatter when handled roughly. Some have even been found with iron staples holding them together when for some reason they cracked. This repair process is perhaps the greatest mystery since it is thought that the repair process was carried out after firing.
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It is believed that at the height of demand for these fantastic containers over a 1000 men were involved in the manufacture of Tinaja’s in one town in Spain alone.
Being as there were a number of craftsmen involved, and like artists today, many denoted their Tinaja’s with their ‘mark’. It may be a signature, or a religious symbol, or a family crest.
But a mark is not necessary to distinguish different craftsman’s work. Each had their own style of creation, different finish, or color of clay.
Today these earthenware art objects are rare but they can be made available to the home owner who wants a object in his garden or home that tells a story of the hard work, ingenuity, and creativity of those who came before us.
They add a special touch of history and elegance as well as an investment and heirloom to any setting.
There is only one importer of this beautiful antique terracotta. He is located in Minneapolis and it is worth a pilgrimage to his showroom just to touch these irreplaceable pieces of history. | |  |
Daniel Dix has 2 small examples of Tinaja’s in his garden and looks forward to the day that he can acquire another. If you would like more information on Tinaja’s or just want to see WoodSpirit Gardens display where Dan’s Tinaja’s are carefully placed give him a call at 218-947-3663. |
