Jars: the workshops of hand made ceramics in the gulf of Messene

The large ceramic storage vessels called jars (tzares), were being made as late as 1960 in the villages of Charocopio, Petriades, Komboi and Vounaria, in the Koroni region. In this region of Messene, the very ancient technique of making ceramics by hand (without a potter’s wheel) had survived. Since the 18th century, the hand made jars of Koroni were famous throughout Greece and the Mediterranean countries. During the summer of 1993, extensive research was undertaken in the region and one of the last surviving artisans, Antonis Rebelos from Komboi, made jars, after thirty years. The film shows us all the procedures that have to be followed, from the extraction of the raw materials right up to the firing of the kilns and the finished ceramics.