A small rock in the Atlantic: 11/10/2009

Friday, 16 October 2009

The Molino Museum

Old weights at the windmill museum, Mazo.

A collection of old weights

As well as the workshop making replica ceramics, the windmill at Mazo houses a small museum. Entry is free, but there are a couple of places you can make a donation. Upstairs is mostly a collection of old tools: an old Singer sewing machine, combs for flax, knife grinders, braziers...

Old oil lamps at the windmill museum, Mazo.

Old oil lamps at the windmill museum, Mazo.

Oil lamps

... the millers glasses, shepherd's poles, long handled pallets for putting bread in a large oven. To be honest, it's all crammed in rather haphazardly, but it's almost all labelled, and it's rather fun.

Gears underneath the windmill, Mazo.

But the best bit is downstairs. Much of the bottom of the windmill is still there. You can see the main flywheel and the gears, and hoppers for the grain.

Gears underneath the windmill, Mazo.

Best of all, you can still turn some of the mechanism by hand. Of course young boys love this.

Gears underneath the windmill, Mazo.

The brake and the bread kneader

Labels: Ceramics, El Molino, La Palma, La Plama, Mazo, museum, windmill

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Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Pre-hispanic Ceramics

Inside the workshop at El Molino

The Benahoaritas (or Auaritas or Awaras) were the people who lived on La Palma before the Spanish invasion. They lived in caves and wore animal skins, but they farmed, and they had ceramics. The older ceramics are simpler, and the newer ones usually more decorated.

At El Molino, in Mazo, they make replicas of these ceramics. The business was started by Ramon and Vina, but these days they have other people working there too.

Cutting the decoration into a replica bowl

Cutting the decoration into a replica bowl

Cutting the design into the clay

Each design -- usually a bowl -- is an exact copy of a object made before the Spanish invasion in 1492. The walls of the workshop are lined with the reference pieces, each one labelled with the place where the original was found. The finished items are for sale in the shop, and prices range from €12 to €200. They also sell souvenirs.

Smoothing the base of a replica bowl

Smoothing the bowl with a pebble.

The workshop is in an old windmill. To get there, take the road from Santa Cruz to Fuencaliente which passes below Mazo, and look out for the signs and the windmill's sails. The windmill also houses a small museum (more in another post) and it's set in a beautiful garden.

Open Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 7 pm. Tel 922 440213

The web site is listed as http://www.ceramicaelmolino.com, but it isn't up at the time of writing.

The kiln at el Molino, Mazo