Bulgarian folk art

The arts have played a strong role in the shaping of Bulgarian culture. Art, poetry, and music have been integral to different stages in Bulgarian history. The arts inform us about people and their values and beliefs.

Bulgarian icons

As early as the 9th century A.D., under the  reign of Tsar Boris the First when Bulgaria first of all Slav states adopted the Christianity, the sacred craft of icon carving was spread in the country by monks. To preserve the centuries-old tradition of icon carving and icon painting and pass down their skills to the generations to come, they established schools at some of the monasteries. In 11-13th cc A.D. wood carved icons were widely introduced into Russia. As of the 15th century, after the invasion of Bulgaria by the Turks who destroyed nearly all monasteries, Russia became the main center of icon making among the Eastern Orthodox counties. The unique icon carving and icon painting style created at that time has remained intact.

Bulgarian embroidery

The Bulgarian women's embroidering art was noted by many a foreign traveller in the Bulgarian lands during the 16th-19th centuries. The tradition of embroidery was mostly spread among the peasant population and predominantly connected with the decoration of garments. Ornamental needlework involved counting the cloth fibers and in the case of thin cotton and silk textiles, using an embroidery frame for stretching the material with the pattern being previously drawn on it using a pencil or a stick of charcoal.

Bulgarian pottery

Troyan pottery, a traditional Bulgarian pottery originated in the town of Troyan, where the clay was especially good for making useful vessels in warm earth tones. Bulgarian pottery is both unique and highly sought after in the world of ceramics. The ceramic historical influence began 3,000 years ago when the Thracians settled into Bulgaria, it is considered the purest form of Bulgarian pottery, Troyan pottery resembles the stripes and simplistic designs favored by the Thracians and Slavs. It makes use of the local red clay, which gives it a distinctive color and texture. Traditionally, the items are circular and decorated with a peacock-like design, with small raindrop effects created by painting with the fingers.

Bulgarian rugs

Weaving is an ancient craft. The earliest evidence of a weaving culture in the present-day Bulgarian lands dates from 6the – 5th millennium BC.

The Bulgarian people inherited the art and craft of weaving from its constituent ethnic groups, the Slavs and the Bulgars, who founded the Bulgarian State in AD 681. In turn, the Slavs and the Bulgars were influenced by the ancient weaving culture of the Black Sea Greeks and the indigenous Thracians, who lived on the Balkan Peninsula and were also incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire. Later, these inherited traditions were modified by foreign influences resulting from historical contacts, conquests, and trade.

The craft of weaving was passed on from one generation to another within the family. Girls would grow up by the loom. When a girl reached marriageable age, she would make her dowry herself. Thus, the weaver’s yearning for home comfort as well as her creative instinct turned the craft of weaving into an art. Folk weaving was an important part of the household material culture of the Bulgarians until the beginning of the 20th century. The most ample evidence of the extraordinary diversity of handloom-woven textiles can be found in Bulgarian museums, monasteries, churches and village houses, where parts of bridal dowries have been preserved to this very day.