Romanian crafts: Horezu pottery, icons on glass and woven rugs

About Romanian crafts: Horezu pottery, icons on glass and woven rugs

By the ULTIMATE Bucharest Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Romania’s village crafts are among the richest in Europe: the hand-painted pottery of Horezu, the naïve icons on glass of Transylvania, woven rugs, carved wood and embroidered blouses. In Bucharest you can find them in museum shops and craft fairs.

Horezu ceramics

In the town of Horezu, in Oltenia, potters still shape and paint red clay with motifs such as the Horezu rooster, spirals and stars, in browns, greens and blues on cream. The craft is inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.

Icons on glass

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Transylvanian village painters began painting icons on the back of glass, in bright, naïve colours. Old examples are prized museum pieces, and the tradition continues today.

Each Horezu plate is painted by hand with a cockerel, a fish or a star.

Rugs, wood and textiles

Woven rugs from Oltenia and Moldavia, carved wooden spoons and gates from Maramureș, and the embroidered ie blouse are among the crafts you will see in Bucharest’s museums.

Where to buy

The shops of the Museum of the Romanian Peasant and the National Village Museum sell work by traditional makers, and both museums host craft fairs through the year.

Our advice: buy from museum shops and fairs, where you can meet the makers; ask whether a piece is handmade and painted, and pack pottery well for the journey home.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Romanian crafts: Horezu pottery, icons on glass and woven rugs before you go.