ABSTRACT
Famous by its achievements in the field of folk art, the village of Poiana –Deleni, Iaşi county, has always touched by its creative force and energy of folk craftsmen – where potters, stone masons, coopers were generally the most appreciated. Their craftsmanship and wisdom are reflected in the multitude of artistic crafts, among which pottery has a special position, as a continuously transmitted profession, from Neolithic to present times. The black vessels are an undoubted argument in this regard. Benefiting from a perfect sense of proportions, with faultless harmony of the ornamental compositions, the ceramic ware of Poiana – Deleni is a living testimony of the industry of these craftsmen, among whom Teodor Nica. He has been acknowledged as an artist of great sensitivity, who raised this craft at the level of perfection. Beyond the production of utilitarian ceramic ware, consisting in milk vessels, large food storage vessels, pots for preparing the sarmale, all fired in reducing atmosphere, special mention should be made of the black vessels for the commemoration of the dead, known as moşi (old men) or moşăncele (old women).
Their motifs (the wave, the zigzag, the small fir-tree, the spiral, the pod) drawn with the straw softened in lime, intermediate the dialogue between the real world and the netherworld, transmitting messages from „the world of those wailing to the world of those who wail not”. These vessels are present in numerous funeral customs, and the moşănce made by „old man Nica” remain in time a living testimony of the spirituality of Romanian people.