Mezen spinning wheel refers to the type of whole spinning wheel - bottom. The blade has a trapezoidal shape and is cut off at the lower corners. The upper part of the blade is decorated with heads on thin necks (the center of the neck is high; the size of the necks decreases towards the sides). A distinctive feature of the Mezen spinning wheels is not only the shape, but also the painting, covering both the blade itself and the leg of the spinning wheel.
Mezen painting developed by the beginning of the 19th century in the lower reaches of the Mezen river. It got its name from the name of the area: Mezen, now the Mezen district of the Arkhangelsk region. After some time, the Mezen spinning wheels were distributed along the Pinega River, exported to Pechora, Dvina and Onega. Speaking about the painting in the context of the Mezen spinning wheels, the following should be noted: the entire surface of the spinning wheel without a preliminary primer can be painted in a golden brown tone. A fancy ornament with interspersed ocher elements was drawn on this background or directly on a black ( soot ) tree with a contour line (later, red eye was used instead of ocher). The painting was covered with drying oil , which helped both preserve the picture and give a golden hue to the whole composition.
Motives
The ornament densely covers the surface of the blade up to the heads and is divided into registers (the largest register is located in the lower half of the front side of the blade). Its elements include “ bird ”, wavy lines, curls, crosses, rhombuses, solar symbols, dots and dashes (neat diagonal hatching). The manner of execution of the drawing resembles a trihedral-notched thread or embroidery. This kind of decoration can also be interpreted as follows: squares symbolize fields, arable land, are a symbol of fertility. In addition to the geometric pattern, there are also stylized sketchy images of horses and deer running in a certain direction and creating a sense of dynamics. The overall composition is rhythmic. There are also registers with images of birds in a single smear of red paint. The main register is reserved for genre scenes: hunting, festivities, sailing ships and all kinds of stories in which horses are involved (a horse led by a goblin bridle or a man riding a horse, etc.). The drawing is made schematically - the animals have long torso and gracefully curved "spider" legs. Deer run, holding their heads high, so that the horns lie on their backs. Long hair and branched horns are made with thin shading. Signatures are often found next to the image with the name of the author, customer, date of manufacture or price of the spinning wheel.