Particularly expensive delicacies in- cluded spices, sugar and wine. They mostly arrived by way of import, only for wine to start being produced during later periods, generally on royal and monastic estates. EARTHEN POTS AND A FEW GOLDEN PLATES In the winter of 1299, when the learned Theodore Metochites, a Byzantine states- man and envoy of Emperor Andronicus II, found himself at the court of King Mi- lutin in Nerodimlje, Kosovo, he was mes- merised by the king’s banquet spread, and he made special note of the plates made of precious metals. Such expensive dishes, unfortunate- ly, did not survive to our times, though modern science has a very clear picture of how those dishes for cooking and serv- ing food looked like, as well as the vessels from which they drank, but also the cut- lery, tablecloths and other kitchenware and table details at the Nemanjić court. Food was cooked in pots and most com- monly roasted in clay pot on a hearth, in an open fire, and less commonly in spe- cial walled ovens. Dishes for preparing food were usually made of ceramics and are similar to those produced today by skilled potters in the village of Zlakusa near Užice, and it is extremely unusual to come across iron or bronze cauldrons like the one found in Ras. The more wide- spread use of tin-plated bronze dishes be- gan during the 14 th century, when the Ser- bian medieval lands became stronger in economic terms. Dishes from glazed and unglazed ce- ramics also dominated dining tables, and on special occasions they rested on the finest linen tablecloths and were accom- panied by interesting napkins. Glassware and fine bottles were a real rarity even on the tables of the wealthy prior to the mid- dle of the 14th century. It was only after the strengthening of the Serbian gentry in the 14th century, or the formation of rich, powerful urban centres at the beginning of the 15th century, such as those in Bel- grade, Novo Brdo or Smederevo, that in- comparably more luxurious dishes began to appear on dining tables, with a special emphasis on expensive wine goblets made of noble metals. One completely unique example is the so-called goblet of Emperor Dušan, which is presumed to have been commissioned from one of the craft workshops of Kotor, Montenegro.
četkom 16. veka, stanovništvo srpskih zemalja u srednjem veku konzumira meso, mleko i mlečne proizvode, ali i namirnice koje na stižu iz uvoza. Izvori nam jasno pokazuju da su se na stolovima vladara i ugled- nijih ljudi, visokog klera i imućnijih trgovaca, mogli naći i plodovi mora i morska riba, smokve, bademi, gorke pomorandže, limun, maslinovo ulje i skupocena vina i začini, kao i zlata vredan šećer. Već od 12. veka vlastela u Rasu je- de breskve, a tlo srpskih zemalja još od pamtiveka obiluje najrazličitijim vrstama šumskog voća, gljiva i div- ljači. Nalazi pojedinih otpadnih jama nedvosmisleno dokazuju da u planin- skim regijama dominira jagnjetina, ali izvori ukazuju da je i svinja rado ga- jena životinja, a usoljeno i suvo me- so prestižan srpski izvozni proizvod tokom srednjeg veka. Posebno skupocene namirnice bili su začini, šećer i vino. Najvećim delom stizale su iz uvoza, da bi u ka- snijim periodima, mahom na vladar- skim i manastirskim imanjima, poče- la proizvodnja vina. ZEMLJANI LONCI I PONEKI ZLATAN TANJIR Kada se u zimu 1299. godine uče- ni Teodor Metohit, Vizantinac, izasla- nik cara Andronika II, našao na dvoru kralja Milutina u Nerodimlju, na Ko- sovu, bio je opčinjen kraljevom trpe- zom, a posebno su mu za oko zapali tanjiri od plemenitih metala. Tako skupoceni sudovi nisu, na- žalost, pretrajali do našeg vremena,
međutim, savremena nauka ima vr- lo jasnu predstavu o tome kako je izgledalo posuđe za kuvanje i ser- viranje hrane, kao i ono iz kojeg se konzumiralo piće, te escajg, stolnjaci i drugi kuhinjski i trpezni detalji na dvoru Nemanjića. Hrana se kuvala u loncima i najčešće pekla u crepu- ljama mahom na ognjištu, na otvore- noj vatri, a ređe u posebno zidanim pećima. Posuđe za pripremu hrane po pravilu je bilo od keramike, naj- sličnije onom koje i danas prave ve- šti grnčari u selu Zlakusa nadomak Užica, a sasvim izuzetno se nailazi na gvozdene ili bronzane kotliće kakav je onaj pronađen u Rasu. Veće kori- šćenje kalajisanog bronzanog posu- đa počeće tokom 14. veka, kad srp- ske srednjovekovne zemlje ojačaju ekonomski. Posuđe od glazirane i neglazi- rane keramike dominira i trpezom koja se u naročitim prilikama zasti- re i najfinijim lanenim stolnjacima i opasuje zanimljivom zajedničkom salvetom. Staklene čaše i fine boce prava su retkost čak i na bogataškim trpezama pre sredine 14. veka. Tek s jačanjem srpske vlastele u 14. veku, odnosno formiranjem moćnih i bo- gatih urbanih centara početkom 15. veka, kakvi su oni u Beogradu, No- vom Brdu ili Smederevu, na trpeza- ma počinje da se pojavljuje neupore- divo luksuznije posuđe s posebnim akcentom na skupocenim čašama za vino od plemenitog metala. Sasvim izuzetan primer predstav- lja takozvana čaša cara Dušana, za ko- ju se pretpostavlja da je naručena u nekoj zanatskoj radionici u Kotoru.
Vinska čaša, 14. vek Wine goblet, 14 th century
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