The earthenware basin is one of the most characteristic objects of traditional cooking on Terceira Island, existing in different sizes and for various functions. The larger basins (about 80 cm in diameter) were used for bread preparation, and occasionally for other domestic tasks – during Carnival, for making malassadas, at pig slaughtering, for washing intestines and seasoning meat, for example, or even for personal hygiene. Around the 1970s, with the development of industrial baking, bread ceased to be baked at home, and the basins were temporarily forgotten. Some were later recovered for sentimental, decorative, or heritage reasons.
This piece is part of the Ethnography Collection of the Museum of Angra do Heroísmo.
Text | Maria Helena Ormonde, in “Instrumentos de Trabalho e de Cultura”, MAH, 2017
