Page 34 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 34
stone narratives
villages of Lig and Breginj (Reja & Sirk, 1997, p. 50–51), and woven hoods in Brda and the
Karst. At first, hoods were spacious and they would stretch across the whole width of the
kitchen; however, as the fireplace grew smaller, so did the hood. With certain exceptions,
the hood was slightly bigger than the fireplace. There are no documented examples of stone
pillars that would support the hood, which Filip Terčelj wrote about in his description of
fireplaces in the Vipava Valley (1927a, p. 49) and Gorazd Makarovič recorded in Istria (1981,
p. 143). The hood was intended to catch and conduct the smoke from the fire into the chim-
ney. To better catch smoke and for draught, people would keep a door open or they would
hang a curtain over the hood, which was in addition a nice decoration (Musil, 1955, pp. 182–
183). Despite the chimney, smoke and soot remained a regularity of open fireplace kitch-
ens until the development of direct smoke exhaust from the closed stove. The inside of the
hood was intended for drying and smoking meat on wooden sticks, fruit on wooden boards
and, if necessary, firewood. The outer side of the hood, however, was convenient for shelv-
ing vessels and other objects that had to be at hand at all times, but at the same time had
to be kept away from children, cats and chicken (e.g. a fire steel and later matches, an iron,
brushes, paraffin stock, and elder tree blowpipe or bellows for fanning the fire). Often there
were upturned pots lined up on the shelf in order of size. Attached to the hood might also
have been an oil lamp (Keršič, 1990, p. 344; Šarf, 1958a, p. 4, 12, 19, 25, 33, 43; 1958b, p. 4, 6,
13; Ščukovt, 2007, pp. 424–426).
The most common piece of fireplace equipment in the Vipava Valley as well as the
wider western Slovenian Mediterranean area was the andiron (zglavnik). Iron andirons
were preserved in the Vipava Valley until the 20th century, but there are also records of the
use of stone and wooden andirons. Next to a simple type of an andiron with four legs and
a crossbar, there were two other types, namely an andiron with two shafts, each with con-
soles or cup-shaped holders, and an andiron combined with a tripod, with one leg of the
tripod extended into the andiron and another shaft with consoles in the middle of the
crossbar. A high andiron with two shafts joining into a crossbar was common in Friuli (Bri-
sighelli, 1930, f. 1; Scheuermeier, 1956, p. 69), the area of Trieste, Istria (Makarovič, 1981, pp.
144–145) and Brda (Reja & Sirk, 1997, pp. 47–51), and was only documented in the Vipava
Valley at a wealthy homestead in the village of Skrilje. The ends of crossbars, legs and con-
soles were sometimes decoratively spiral or ornamented with geometric patterns. Consoles
were meant for hanging ladles and fireplace tools, placing the grate and supporting the han-
dles of pans on the tripod; cup-shaped holders were intended for warming up drinks and
food in clay pots. Some andirons also had a detachable metal screen to protect fire from
draught (Bizjak, 1958, f. 184, 185, 235, 260; Feigel, 2009, p. 11; Makarovič, 1981, pp. 143–145;
Šarf, 1958a, p. 42; 1958b, p. 24).
Common fireplace tools in the Vipava Valley were also tripods for dishes. Triangular
tripods had one leg in each corner of the triangle, while the more stylish ones had curled-up
tips of the legs on the outside or incurved triangle sides which enlarged the surface which
dishes could be placed on. There was also a record of a tripod in combination with an and-
iron with a shaft which a pan could be stuck into. Tripods were sometimes substituted by
three-legged clay or iron pots. Another piece of fireplace equipment was a round or square
rack for roasting, a grill, which only few homesteads were wealthy enough to own (Bizjak,
1958, f. 21, 175, 185, 255, 226, 310; Makarovič, 1981, pp. 141–145; Šarf, 1958a, p. 4, 12). An iron
32
villages of Lig and Breginj (Reja & Sirk, 1997, p. 50–51), and woven hoods in Brda and the
Karst. At first, hoods were spacious and they would stretch across the whole width of the
kitchen; however, as the fireplace grew smaller, so did the hood. With certain exceptions,
the hood was slightly bigger than the fireplace. There are no documented examples of stone
pillars that would support the hood, which Filip Terčelj wrote about in his description of
fireplaces in the Vipava Valley (1927a, p. 49) and Gorazd Makarovič recorded in Istria (1981,
p. 143). The hood was intended to catch and conduct the smoke from the fire into the chim-
ney. To better catch smoke and for draught, people would keep a door open or they would
hang a curtain over the hood, which was in addition a nice decoration (Musil, 1955, pp. 182–
183). Despite the chimney, smoke and soot remained a regularity of open fireplace kitch-
ens until the development of direct smoke exhaust from the closed stove. The inside of the
hood was intended for drying and smoking meat on wooden sticks, fruit on wooden boards
and, if necessary, firewood. The outer side of the hood, however, was convenient for shelv-
ing vessels and other objects that had to be at hand at all times, but at the same time had
to be kept away from children, cats and chicken (e.g. a fire steel and later matches, an iron,
brushes, paraffin stock, and elder tree blowpipe or bellows for fanning the fire). Often there
were upturned pots lined up on the shelf in order of size. Attached to the hood might also
have been an oil lamp (Keršič, 1990, p. 344; Šarf, 1958a, p. 4, 12, 19, 25, 33, 43; 1958b, p. 4, 6,
13; Ščukovt, 2007, pp. 424–426).
The most common piece of fireplace equipment in the Vipava Valley as well as the
wider western Slovenian Mediterranean area was the andiron (zglavnik). Iron andirons
were preserved in the Vipava Valley until the 20th century, but there are also records of the
use of stone and wooden andirons. Next to a simple type of an andiron with four legs and
a crossbar, there were two other types, namely an andiron with two shafts, each with con-
soles or cup-shaped holders, and an andiron combined with a tripod, with one leg of the
tripod extended into the andiron and another shaft with consoles in the middle of the
crossbar. A high andiron with two shafts joining into a crossbar was common in Friuli (Bri-
sighelli, 1930, f. 1; Scheuermeier, 1956, p. 69), the area of Trieste, Istria (Makarovič, 1981, pp.
144–145) and Brda (Reja & Sirk, 1997, pp. 47–51), and was only documented in the Vipava
Valley at a wealthy homestead in the village of Skrilje. The ends of crossbars, legs and con-
soles were sometimes decoratively spiral or ornamented with geometric patterns. Consoles
were meant for hanging ladles and fireplace tools, placing the grate and supporting the han-
dles of pans on the tripod; cup-shaped holders were intended for warming up drinks and
food in clay pots. Some andirons also had a detachable metal screen to protect fire from
draught (Bizjak, 1958, f. 184, 185, 235, 260; Feigel, 2009, p. 11; Makarovič, 1981, pp. 143–145;
Šarf, 1958a, p. 42; 1958b, p. 24).
Common fireplace tools in the Vipava Valley were also tripods for dishes. Triangular
tripods had one leg in each corner of the triangle, while the more stylish ones had curled-up
tips of the legs on the outside or incurved triangle sides which enlarged the surface which
dishes could be placed on. There was also a record of a tripod in combination with an and-
iron with a shaft which a pan could be stuck into. Tripods were sometimes substituted by
three-legged clay or iron pots. Another piece of fireplace equipment was a round or square
rack for roasting, a grill, which only few homesteads were wealthy enough to own (Bizjak,
1958, f. 21, 175, 185, 255, 226, 310; Makarovič, 1981, pp. 141–145; Šarf, 1958a, p. 4, 12). An iron
32
