Greek potter keeps ancient ways alive, wins UNESCO recognition

20/11/24 - 07:16 am

Published by VEMA

In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesvos, Dimitris Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honoured with inclusion in UNESCO’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.

greek-potter-keeps-ancient-ways-alive-wins-unesco-recognition0 — Dimitris Kouvdis, 70, works in his pottery workshop using traditional methods in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesvos, September 5. [Elias Marcou/Reuters]

Their pottery is among the last in the Mediterranean to be produced from clay in local soil, using a traditional kiln with olive pits as fuel, with the pieces painted with natural lime.

“It’s an honour for me,” Kouvdis said with regard to the UNESCO recognition of his work.

greek-potter-keeps-ancient-ways-alive-wins-unesco-recognition2 — A view of Dimitris Kouvdis’ pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesvos, July 16. [Elias Marcou/Reuters]

He said a mechanised press can work at 10 times the speed of an individual potter. “There’s no continuity. There’s no space for (our) method to continue.”

greek-potter-keeps-ancient-ways-alive-wins-unesco-recognition4 — Paraskevi Kouvdi carries ready handmade pieces in the pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesvos, July 22. [Elias Marcou/Reuters]

Still, he continues to produce individual pots on an outcrop of land overlooking the Aegean Sea.

“Above all, it’s a passion – trying to create something that fulfils you,” he said.

greek-potter-keeps-ancient-ways-alive-wins-unesco-recognition6 — Dimitris Kouvdis, 70, works in his pottery workshop using traditional methods in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesvos, July 20. [Elias Marcou/Reuters]

Source: Reuters

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