Painted furniture in traditional Saxon style — an element of intangible heritage

The handmade production of painted furniture is considered a traditional activity, as it developed gradually from 14th century to the 20th century. Folk craftsmen have passed on this craft over time by word of mouth from father to son and beyond. Craftsmen have also specialised through guilds and art/vocational schools. The artisans carried out this activity both for economic reasons, in order to ensure their daily living, and for artistic considerations. Painted furniture represents both a material and an immaterial form of heritage, because at the basis of the physical production of furniture pieces lie a number of immaterial aspects such as: ideas, knowledge, skills, spiritual beliefs, life experiences, feelings, aspects that are part of the immaterial sphere of human activity. The uniqueness and authenticity of this Saxon tradition with heritage values is given by the skill in which the craftsmen introduced some stylized local cultural peculiarities into the style and composition of the painted furniture (ornamentation, colour, symbolism, wood species, shape, structure).

See also related exercise.

The technique of producing painted furniture is a manufacturing process, with origins in the craftsmanship field dating back long before the period of the functioning of the Transylvanian Saxon guilds. The handmade production of painted furniture is considered a traditional activity, as it developed gradually from 14th century to the 20th century. Folk craftsmen have passed on this craft over time by word of mouth from father to son and beyond. Craftsmen have also specialised through guilds and art/vocational schools. The artisans carried out this activity both for economic reasons, in order to ensure their daily living, and for artistic considerations.

The old pieces of furniture made by the craftsmen have acquired a historical, aesthetic and technical value over time, as a result of the structure, the elegance of the shapes and decorative elements, and the wood finishing techniques (Cionca, 2004). However, when we talk about very old pieces of furniture, several decades and hundreds of years old, we are in fact talking about pieces of heritage with an inestimable heritage and economic value both nationally and internationally.

Considering the fact that furniture was designed to meet human needs, which evolved over time, consequently the technique of its manufacture has developed continuously with the evolution of human society. In time, furniture has acquired new functionalities and values, from the practical and functional to the aesthetic and artistic, thus becoming the expression of human culture and civilization in continuous development (Liu et all, 2019).

Painted furniture represents both a material and an immaterial form of heritage, because at the basis of the physical production of furniture pieces lie a number of immaterial aspects such as: ideas, knowledge, skills, spiritual beliefs, life experiences, feelings, aspects that are part of the immaterial sphere of human activity.

What we call heritage today is the fruit of the popular creation of several dozens of generations who developed these artistic creations in relation to the economic development through the diversification of production, increasing demand and the development of technologies (Horșia , O. and Petrescu, P., 1971). The technique of the painted Saxon furniture developed over more than 400 years, reaching its peak in the 16th century (Negoescu,  G, 2010). Art in general, including the continuous development of furniture painting, could not be entirely prevented by bad times (Capesius, R., 1974). During the Communist period, traditional handmade products were more expensive than industrially mass-produced ones. The explanation was that the craftsman's handiwork is more expensive as it incorporates the know-how that only they possess. In this way, the survival of folk artists was encouraged and the national heritage was passed on.

However, the decline of this ancient tradition began towards the end of the 20th century with the mass exodus of the Saxons to the FRG.

Nowadays this folk tradition with heritage value is on its way to extinction, the causes that led to its decline are:

• The massive migration of the Saxons to Germany,
• Depopulation of Saxon villages with this ethnic group and the gradual disappearance of intangible traditions,
• Modernisation of society in general and the assimilation of a different lifestyle from the traditional one,
• Changes in the local economy, as some crafts are no longer profitable, and products no longer sell.

How did the painted furniture of the Saxons become a tradition?

When referring to painted furniture as part of the intangible heritage of the Transylvanian Saxons, the following aspects must be taken into account:

1. cultural background,
2. materials used,
3. pattern and style, the characteristics of modelling.

1. Cultural background

The Saxons are German settlers from today's Rhineland, France, Luxembourg and Belgium who were brought to Transylvania by King Geza II in 1141 (Nägler, T., 2003). According to Roswith Capesius the beginnings of painted woodwork date back to the Middle Ages, long before it was practised in the organised guilds of Transylvania. But most documentary sources suggest that the guilds played a major role in the development and transmission of this craft, followed by the support of the Saxon churches and King Matthias Corvinus or political events.

From the 14th century onwards, the Saxons organised themselves into craft guilds specialising in various fields, including the guild of carpenters and woodworkers who made furniture. The first guild of carpenters, which included all the craftsmen from southern Transylvania, was attested in 1589 (Beșliu, O; Frâncu, R; 2007), it is considered to be the first organized structure that painted furniture in the 15th century. XV. After the painters broke away from the common guild, they organized themselves into their own guild, continuing to paint furniture, using different styles of painting, with paper clogs that they carefully preserved (Stoica, G, 1973).

The guilds played an important role in the training of the folk craftsmen, the Transylvanian guilds were obliged to undertake study trips to Austria, Bavaria, Tyrol or Italy (Butură, V. 1989) with the aim of learning and bringing new techniques for processing materials and graphic concepts for decorating pieces of furniture. Travelling horse riders were assimilated as promoters of change and mutual cultural influences (Sedler, I, 2007).

In this way, the local technique and theme assimilated some cultural influences from the European space, influences that were integrated by the Saxons in their own way. It is considered that the craft of wood painting can be dated after 1526, but the first really significant productions of painted furniture appear after 1550 with the Religious Reformation (Capesius, R, 1974). The earliest pieces of painted furniture are bedsteads, followed by beds, and chest of drawers. An example in this respect are the 15th-16th century sarcophagus-type coffers with pillar legs from Brădeni, Sibiu county. Given the fact that the Saxons created economically, socially, culturally and politically prosperous communities, many centres for the processing of painted furniture developed within them. With time, this craft became a prosperous one, the painted furniture pieces were sold by the Sami in the fairs of Brașov, Sighișoara, Odorheiul Secuiesc, Târgul Secuiesc and Rupea (Olaru, 2014).

Starting in 1638, in Sighisoara, the foundations were laid for higher forms of "schooling" of carpenters, sculptors and furniture painters (Stoica, G, 1973). It is worth noting that the Saxons were the first to establish vocational schools and compulsory seven-class education. They paid special attention to the transmission of this technique in an institutionalised framework, as evidenced by the publication of specialist books, which preserve models and samples used by Transylvanian carpenters and painters in the making of painted furniture (Nagy M, 1970). The production of painted furniture could be considered at that time as an example of social division of labour, because carpenters and painters formed a social category of craftsmen with specific skills and knowledge, experience and professional qualifications.

The antiquity of this traditional activity ensured its perpetuation even after the abolition of the craftsmen's guilds in Transylvania in 1872. The craftsmen reorganised themselves into associations of folk craftsmen and continued to produce painted furniture until the 20th century. In isolated communities, furniture painting was preserved until the middle of the 20th century. In the 20th century, folk craftsmen were encouraged to practise these ancestral activities, their field of activity being liberal, independent and untaxed for a long period of time precisely to encourage them to preserve and pass them on.  Today, this tradition of making painted furniture is perpetuated by private companies (limited liability companies, small and medium-sized enterprises) that are developing a niche activity. An example of this is the company Mobilapictata.ro from Cisnădioara, Sibiu county.

References

Butură,V. (1983). Străvechi mărturii de civilizaţie românească, București, Editura Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică, p. 333

Cionca, M. Proiectarea mobilei stil – Cassoni din Renasterea florentină (Design of art furniture – Cassoni from Florence Renaissance), University Transilvania, Brasov, 2004, 205.

Cionca, M. Stiluri si ornamente la mobilier – Renasterea italiană (Styles and ornaments for furniture – Italian Renaissance), University Transilvania, Brasov, 2004, 120.

Horşia,  O., Petrescu, P.  (1971). Meşteşuguri artistice în România, editura Uniunea Centrală a Cooperativelor Meșteșugărești, București.

Liu et all, Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series II: Forestry • Wood Industry • Agricultural Food Engineering • Vol. 12 (61) No. 1 – 2019 https://doi.org/10.31926/but.fwiafe.2019.12.61.1.6

Liu, Q.; Gao, D.; Xu, W. Effect of Paint Process on the Performance of Modified Poplar Wood Antique. Coatings 2021, 11, 1174. [CrossRef]

Nägler, T. (2003). Evoluţia demografică a Biertanului. Acta Terrae Septemcastrensis 2003, II, 167–175. (In Romanian)

Sedler, I. (2007), Mobilier pictat din Sudul Transilvaniei .Un proiect internațional realizat la Casa Artelor din Sibiu. August- Noiembrie 2007.