Square Baking Pan in Molelos Black Clay | Medium

Molelos Black Clay

A representative art of the parish, the Barros Negros from Molelos stand out for their innovative and perfect finishes.

The characteristic black colour of its firing, combined with innovative and creative aesthetic standards, make this art the main tourist and cultural promotion of the municipality of Tondela.

Molelos, a parish in the municipality of Tondela, has been an important centre for the production of black clay artefacts since ancient times. The clays of excellent plasticity in Molelos (Carvalheira) and Casal do Rei (Canas de Santa Maria parish) led to the development of a traditional rural handicraft that has become a remarkable school for many generations. Since the 16th century, the existence of potters in the parish has been recorded in documents, as well as references to the production of "tiles or bricks and other clay work and crockery"

Over the centuries it has proved to be a very fruitful cottage industry, both in terms of production and the number of craftsmen. Today it has tenaciously resisted the modernity of everyday life, combining tradition and modernity.

The clay products of Molelos do not live on their own, but also because of the context in which they come from and the role they may have played. The black clay of Molelos has made a name for itself through its utilitarian function in people's daily lives. Used to preserve cereals and olive oil, to fire and cook food, to store liquids such as water and wine, or even to be served at the table, black earthenware has maintained its indispensable role in people's daily lives throughout the ages.

Traditionally, the ware was fired in SOENGA, a process of firing ceramics in a shallow pit dug into the ground. In Molelos, reductive firing (by completely blocking oxygen from the kiln at the end of firing) produces a completely black and partially waterproofed ware.

This traditional art has taken on a new shape with the emergence of young, creative potters who are determined not to let the art die, looking for new approaches, sophisticated aesthetic patterns, stylised typologies, new uses and diversified production.