Ceachtanna do dhaltaí meánscoile

These exercises can be applied in high school classes in history, geography, sociology or in other subjects. The exercises allow the development of skills such as critical analysis, reflection, questioning or argumentation. 

The exercises are based on the Romanian pilot workshop on Saxon furniture painting, but they can be adapted for many other forms of heritage by finding similar source materials.

Exercise: A reflection task

Starting from the observation that all participants in the piloting activity managed to learn the technique of painting on wood in a short period of time, many questions were raised about the causes of the disappearance of this intangible heritage. This heritage tradition is not in danger of disappearing strictly because of the lack of manufacturing materials (wood, paints), the difficulty of the technique or the lack of folk artists/painters. Moreover, the national educational institutions provide, via vocational high schools and universities, the training of a fairly large number of specialists and artists in the field of heritage (conservation, restoration). Basically, the painting technique of Saxon furniture uses fundamental elements of painting on wood, the particularity being given by the specific chromatic elements used in the Saxon ornaments and their symbolism. These are the main features that give it uniqueness and identity.

Read carefully the text above and answer the following questions:

1. Why is the tradition of painted Saxon furniture in danger of disappearing?
2. Propose some solutions to help save this heritage. A worksheet is also useful here.

Exercise (individual or group)

1. Search the official database of the National Heritage Institute, Intangible Heritage section, MeșteșCraftsmen — Directory of traditional crafts and trades, and analyse:
   • the degree to which folk artists practicing the tradition of Saxon painted furniture are represented at a national level: Meștecrafts — MeșteCraftsmen (patrimoniu.ro)
   • folk artists declared Living Human Treasures because they carry on the tradition of painted Saxon furniture: Living Human Treasures | Ministry of Culture (cultura.ro)
2. Based on the above data: What did you observe? Can we include Saxon painted furniture on the list of endangered traditions? If yes, please make a list of measures that should be taken to save this heritage.

Exercise (individual or group)

Consider the following points:

• Do you consider Saxon painted furniture pieces to be of current interest or not?
• Can they be integrated into an interior design?
• Which models/pieces of traditional Saxon furniture would you choose for your home? If so, why?
• Has your attitude towards Saxon painted furniture changed as a result of what you have just learned?