Travel Finds... Wooden Box from Belarus

I always loved the wheat for its beautiful golden color and the way wheat kernels finish the stem in the braid pattern.  It reminds me of golden blond hair made into the braid.   Wheat also reminds me of my homeland, Belarus, with its infinite gold wheat fields.

Since Belarus always had abundance of the wheat, Belarus artisans used wheat not only for making bread but also used wheat straw to embellish their traditional wooden boxes.

This wooden box I brought from my travel to Belarus.  If you never seeing these boxes and do not know anything about it, you might think that geometric design is painted on the surface, but it is not.  In fact, this design is all made with inlay technique.  That is right, tiny pieces of the straw are cut and positioned on the surface, glued, and than covered with clear varnish to make the design last.  It is like mosaic, but instead of glass pieces, Belarus artisans use wheat straw to embellish these traditional wooden boxes.  Details of the pattern are so intricate and precise that I cannot stop wondering HOW DO THEY DO IT?

Can you see from this picture how the design is raided over the surface of the top lid? It is hard to believe that it is not paint, isn't it?

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Dog Misha... Travel Portrait from Belarus

 While traveling to Belarus, I visited Mir castle.  Outside castle walls, behind souvenir shops, I noticed what looked like a sculpture of black horse and a dog sitting on the back of the horse.  When the horse moved to grab some grass, I realized that both horse and a dog on the top of it were real animals.  Dog was sitting still, rarely reacting to tourists passing by.  Little boy, the owner of this attraction, was offering a horse ride for a small fee.  When I got close to photograph this strange duo, I was amazed with dogs eyes: it reminded me of sad human eyes, understanding and coping with reality.

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Travel Finds... Belarus, Castles and Ceramic Tiles

Summer is my favorite time for European travels.  I am from Eastern Europe, and always enjoy going back to visit my family and still exploring the country I came from.  Belarus is not big European destination yet, but I believe it would be real treat for the history lovers to explore Belarus complicated past that shaped Belarus castles and knighthood. 

Belarus lands lie on the crossroads of Europe. The strive of Vikings and later Scandinavians, the attacks of Tartars from South, The Teutonic and later German invasions from West, the continuous onslaught of Muscovy and later Russian Empire from East - all these factors have shaped a system of fortifications across Belarus lands.   Initially a number of smaller principalities it was later united by invited Lithuanian duke into a Slavic Principality with center in Navahrudak, that later grew into an enormous mufti-cultural state - The Grand Duke of Lithuania - which spanned from Baltic to Black Sea. While some of this expansion was voluntary other growth was done through military invasions and battles. And so Belarus military knowledge was acquired through constant clashes with and assimilation of these very different cultures.  During Soviet Era not much was done to preserve Belarus castles, but lately Belarus government invested into restoration projects.  Here are some pics from my last trip.

Mir Castle

 Amazing original ceramic tiles from the Mir Castle.  Belarus kept its tradition of ceramic tiles manufacturing that goes deep into the history.  Modern Belarus tiles are very beautiful and is still under the radar of European consumers.  Significantly lower cost of these tiles does not mean lesser quality or beauty when compared to the best known Italian ceramic tiles.

 Neswish Castle

 

Happy Monday!

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