A Vessel of Significance

The distinctive form of the Russian drinking vessel known as the kovsh dates back thousands of years. The earliest kovshi were crafted of wood, though not surprisingly, Ivan the Terrible’s personal kovsh was cast of solid gold. These vessels were used to hold mead (honey wine), kvass (a brew fermented from black bread), and braga (a light beer). Kovshi came in many different sizes, the largest of which could be nearly 2 feet in length and hold up to 2 or 3 vedros (each vedro, or bucket, equaled two and a half gallons). Small, individual-sized kovshi served as dippers for ladling the drink from a large kovsh. For presentation, the kovsh handles were often hooked decoratively along the edges, the way punchbowls and cups are sometimes displayed in our own times.

The art of making kovshi found its greatest expression in seventeenth-century Russia. The wooden vessels were beautifully painted, most often with forms from nature – tendrils, flowers, and berries. Many also had abstract decorations carved right into the wood. Until the late seventeenth century, the kovsh was a largely utilitarian object, but then it became a token of merit or remembrance. Such kovshi generally exhibited the tsarist double-headed eagle and included an inscription to the recipient. A family might present a kovsh to the Church na pomin dushi, to ensure that a deceased loved one would be remembered and prayed for. These more lavish vessels were often encrusted with precious stones.

In the early eighteenth century, under Peter the Great’s westernizing reforms, Russia’s age-old drinking vessels began to give way to European forms such as goblets and shot glasses. Traditional vessels like the kovsh, charka, kubok, and stopa that the Russians had used for centuries gradually fell out of use, a process accelerated in the nineteenth century by the rise in metal, porcelain, glass and earthenware production. However, during the late-nineteenth-century Slavic Revival, the kovsh and other old forms of decorative art once again found a place on the table. These kovshi were made of metal, often elaborately decorated with hammering or chasing, or covered with cloissonné or niello.

The traditional kovsh has a flat bottom and most often appears in the shape of a bird or waterfowl, with either one handle (representing the head) or two (representing head and tail feathers, in which case it is known as a skopar). The avian shape reflects the Russians’ kinship with nature. Ducks were seen as a link among the heavenly, earthly, and underground realms, since they live on the earth, fly in the sky, and swim in the water (which leads to the underworld). In pagan mythology ducks, geese and swans pulled the chariot of the sun god Dazhbog as he traveled across the ocean. By recalling this divine connection, the kovsh might afford protection to whoever used it.

Only skilled craftsmen could make a fine kovsh. While tree roots were sometimes used as the base, the best kovshi came from tree galls – diseased protuberances on the branches or trunks of trees that offered a perfect rounded shape for carving. The texture of galls is gorgeous, with extraordinary patterning that differs from tree to tree, depending on its type and the environment it grew it. Because of the gall’s irregular grains, its wood is difficult to work, but this very hardness results in extremely durable objects – one reason so many old kovshi still survive.

The kovsh illustrated here was made in the early-twentieth-century workshop of the Eleventh Moscow Artel. Its lines are very fluid, with a beautiful sense of sweep and flow. Although the basic form of this kovsh is traditional, its handle is not – instead of being elongated and flat, it forms a loop for ease of grasping. The brilliant colors and the naturalistic design with its profusion of flowers interspersed with abstract forms recall typical Russian folk art. But the expertly applied cloissonné enamel and the fine beaded silver around the kovsh’s edges identify it as an object of desire for an affluent consumer, far beyond the means of a peasant.

Cranberry Kvass

клюквенный квас

Although standard Russian kvass is made from fermented black bread, medieval monks were known for their excellent fruit kvasses. This is a good time of year to try cranberry kvass, which resembles a dry sparkling wine. It is lovely even when not served from a kovsh.

1 pound cranberries

7 cups boiling water

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 package active dry yeast

6 raisins

In a large bowl, crush the berries with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Pour the boiling water over them, then cover the bowl and let them stand undisturbed for 12 hours.

Strain the berries into a half-gallon container by pouring the berry-water mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Do not press down on them, or the liquid will turn cloudy. To the liquid add the sugar, cream of tartar and yeast, which has been dissolved in a little of the liquid. Stir well to mix. Cover the container and let stand in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight.

Strain the liquid once more through cheesecloth and pour into a large bottle. Add 6 raisins to the bottle and seal it. Leave at room temperature for 8 hours, then refrigerate until ready to drink.

Makes ½ gallon.

Adapted from A Taste of Russia