In January, a rare artefact was added to our museum collection — researcher Śviatlana Liasovič donated a bieraścianik made by the Belarusian master-reconstructor Valery Zinkievič.
The technique of wrapping pottery with birch bark originated as a method of restoring damaged ceramics (compare with kintsugi, the Japanese technique of repairing porcelain). In the territory of present-day Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, archaeologists have found artefacts with traces of such wrapping dating back to the Neolithic period (Asaviec 2, Belarus). Ethnographically, the technique survived until the 1950s, but in our time it has almost disappeared, like many traditional crafts that were displaced by mass-produced tableware. Today, bieraścianiki can be found only in museums and private collections.
Valery Zinkievič has been working on reviving this technique since 1997. In 2023, the technique of wrapping ceramics with birch bark in the Viciebsk region was included in the State List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Belarus: https://living-heritage.by/nks/8233/.
Valery Zinkievič (b. 23 March 1964; Saldus, Latvia) is a National Master of the Republic of Belarus. A potter, he specialises in ethnography, archaeology and reconstruction. He worked at the Museum of Traditional Culture in Braslaŭ. In Poland, he is involved in the construction of open-air museums: Wolin, Biskupin, Osada Sławutowo.
We sincerely thank the master for this valuable gift!