Cretan Terracotta – a short history

Crete has a rich heritage in the art of ceramics, dating back some 12,000 years and passing from generation to generation up to present day.

Four Cretan villages are famous for pottery and ceramics: Kentri, Thrapsano, Margarites and Nochia. Thrapsano, 25 km South East of Heraklion has around 1,000 inhabitants of whom approximately 26 are potters today, although over half of the population there has some links to the art.

The name Thrapsana comes from ‘thrapsala,’ which translates as potsherds. Today the village is synonymous with pottery, particularly very large pots or urns called pitharia and it is here that Cretan Terracotta sources most of its products.

Thrapsano potters follow in the footsteps of their Minoan ancestors, observing traditional materials, forms and manufacturing techniques.

Earth and water are mixed until the mud becomes workable as a clay. Slowly, pots and urns are shaped and left to dry before being baked in traditional kilns for at least 14 hours at high temperatures and then cooled for a further 14 hours. Items are then filled with water and left for at least 24 hours as part of a manufacturing process that ensures excellence resistance to high and low temperatures.

Historically, ceramics have been used for preserving and storing foods, oil and wine and also for decorating the Minoan Palace. They are just as functional, practical and ornamental today.