Alfàbia, gerra and gerricó (Mallorcan earthenware jars) — Traditional Mallorcan object

What is

The three pieces of the gerrer to store and carry liquids:

Alfàbia (oral aufàbia): large pantry jar for oil, water, brine, salted meat.
Gerra: in the Balearic Islands, the jug with a narrow mouth, long neck and two large handles, for carrying and storing water. (In Catalonia and Valencia gerra is the tinaja; the DCVB makes this difference.)
Gerricó: small gerra, little jug (DCVB, Mall.).

Alfàbia: baked clay or stone, glazed inside and sometimes outside; belly much wider than the cul and mouth; without collar or with a very short collar; without handles or with small handles. Usual height from 40 cm to 1.60 m. Those of less than two spans: aufabietes or aufabions (DCVB).
Gerra: pear-shaped body, small flat base, straight neck without lip and two vertical handles (Coll Conesa 2020). Guys:
gerra someral - very large, carried in arganells on a donkey (Mall.).
gerra de coll estret / de beassa — narrow neck to avoid losing water when carrying it on the back.
coll ample gerra — the one for daily use: take water from the well and store it in the gerrer.
Gerra amb pixerell — a single handle and a spout for drinking from galet (Mallorca).
private garden - that of the latrine, to fertilize the garden.
Gerreta felanitxera (gerricó brodat): decorative and openwork, see olleria-de-felanitx .

Calcareous and white clay for jugs (in Pòrtol, that of Es Pou des Coll; before, that of Son Cos/Marratxinet) (Coll Conesa 2020).
Turning; large pieces, by successive layers and long firing (Pere Coll). The old jars, made by warping (churros), like in the Islamic pottery on Botons street in Palma.
See torn-de-gerrer .

Alfàbia: oil in the possessió and the tafona; water by the stove; pork in salt.
Gerra: women wore it on their heads (full right, almost empty horizontal) or on their hips; in arganells on a donkey to water; with a chain around the neck as a well to draw water from the well or cistern (Archiduque, cited by Coll Conesa 2020).
Gerrer: in Mallorca, the poyo or table in the kitchen where the gerres are placed (DCVB).
The gerres continued to be used with broken necks or handles; The alfàbies were repaired with nails.

alfàbia / aufàbia: jar (from the Arabic al-habiya).
aufabieta / aufabió: small alfàbia.
gerra: in the Balearic Islands, a two-handled jug (from the Arabic garah).
gerricó: little gerra.
gerra someral: very large gerra to carry on one's back.
gerra amb pixerell: gerra with a handle and spout.
arganells: load frame on the back to carry gerres.
gerrer: potter; in Mallorca, also the Poyo de las Gerres.
tant va sa gerra en es pou, que a la fi se trenca: proverb (Mall.).
una gerra, quan se trenca, a qualque lloc deu ferir: proverb (Mall.).

10th-13th centuries: the potters of Madina Mayurqa make gerres and jars; hence alfàbia, gerra, cadaf, caduf (Coll Conesa 2020).
1388: "vuyt alfabias buydes" in a document from the Bulletin of the Societat Arqueològica Lul·liana (DCVB).
1434: «alfabia oliera de tenor de LX quartans d'oli» (BSAL, cited in the DCVB).
1493: «four gerres de terra per tenir olives» (BSAL, DCVB).
1655: prices set for gerres de mesure, mitjenseres, bastardes and taula (BSAL, DCVB).
Around 1891: the Archduke draws alfàbies and gerres among Majorcan ceramics.
Today: gerres and alfàbies survive especially in gardening (Coll Conesa 2020).

Shape according to the liquid: wide-mouth jar to put the saucepan in; pitcher with a narrow neck so as not to spill when walking.
Carrying ergonomics: the large handles and center of gravity allow the gerra to be carried on the head or hip.
Cold without energy: porous mud cools water by evaporation.
Measurement and market: sizes with name and fixed price; the object as a unit.

Piece: contemporary gerra or alfàbia for water or oil with a Pòrtol gerrer (small table format).
Exhibition: loan of large works from Pere Coll.
Trades: ceramics-i-gerreria · olleria-de-felanitx . Files: cantir , poal-i-cadufos , cossi-i-bugada .

The three pieces of the gerrer to store and carry liquids:

Some words: alfàbia / aufàbia, arganells, aufabieta / aufabió, gerra, gerra amb pixerell, gerra someral, gerrer, gerricó.

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.