Basic HTML Version
59
Ieva Ose.
Building ceramics of Turaida Castle in the 13
th
–17
th
centuries
the number of objects and the research goal several types of classification can be used. Ceramics can be
classified according to the place of its manufacture (local or imported products), the visual peculiarity
and chemical composition of the rawmaterial, the way of their production (made using the potter’s wheel
or in moulds), or according to other features. According to the density and weight of the articles they
can be divided into massive (bricks, floor tiles) and fragile or fine ceramics (dishware and household
objects). According to the way of use ceramics is divided into three important groups (building ceramics,
stove ceramics, and ceramic vessels) as well as into several less-numbered groups (technical, household
and decorative ceramics).
Ceramics as a building material
Building ceramics is an aggregate notion for designating building materials made of clay and burnt –
including bricks, roof tiles as well as floor tiles and wall tiles.
The main significance of building ceramics is the practical one – it forms durable and heat-insulating
walls of a building, waterproof roof covering, smooth and easily cleanable floor covering. Simultaneously,
the form, colour and sometimes ornamentation of articles produce a decorative effect.
Since ceramic building materials are heavy they are produced in comparatively small sizes. Bricks
are made of a regular form and equal size so that it is easier to lay them in horizontal lines. In order to
level the unevenness of separate sections, or to introduce architectonic details in brickwork, sometimes
mortar joints of even more than 1 cm are made. This creates an impression of precise and even layers,
which is very important for a brick masonry wall of the main façade, or in cases when separate bricks
are used to create ornaments.
The form and type of roof tiles or brickwork bond shall ensure wall and roof endurance. This opens
wide possibilities for the diversity of architectural forms. The small building objects, arranged according
to a particular rhythm, interrupt with the monotony of a large, smooth wall, roof or plane of the floor
and enhance the architectural expressiveness. Alongside common rectangular parallelepiped-shaped
bricks, during the Middle Ages also moulded bricks, or specially shaped bricks, were produced that were
used to make wall divisions or frames of openings. They create the play of lights-and-darks and visually
interrupt the smooth plane of the wall.
In masonry colour contrasts of various building materials are used rather frequently, for example,
a pattern of red bricks and roof tiles in combination with grey granite boulder, yellowish dolomite, or a
surface covered with light lime mortar. In Latvia building ceramics is mostly matt reddish, which is the
colour of baked clay. The source material of bricks in the Middle Ages was occasionally of heterogeneous
content, with admixtures, and therefore even bricks that had been produced in the same oven could
be differently tinted. This interrupts the monotony of a monochrome surface and creates the peculiar
attractiveness of medieval brick architecture.