Our story
Three centuries of Zlakusa pottery
Zlakusa is a village known for one skill: shaping earth into cookware that lasts. For more than three hundred years the same knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation: how to choose the clay, turn it on the wheel and turn it into stone with fire.
Every sač, pot and roaster of ours is made by the same hand and to the same recipe. No industry and no mass production, only clay, stone, water, air and fire. That is why food cooked in it has a taste you remember.
Where is Zlakusa and who are its potters?
The village of Zlakusa lies in western Serbia, on the road towards Montenegro, Zlatibor, Tara and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It sits in a fertile plain along the river Đetinja, surrounded by hills. The village's average altitude equals the highest peak of Fruška Gora, and the surrounding hills rise to 900 metres.
Here the potter's craft has been handed down for centuries in about ten families. Potters once carried their pots and roasters by horse-drawn cart to fairs and festivals; today you can choose cookware for your kitchen in the village itself or along the main road.
Certificate of origin
The cookware was certified in mid-2020. The certificate holders are the families of the “Zlakusa” potters' association who, despite more modern and easier techniques, have remained faithful to traditional making on a hand-driven, never electric, wheel: the so-called coil building.
Besides the certificate, which you receive with your purchase, every piece must carry the marks (seals): a small handprint, the master's seal and the inscription “Zlakusa” with the old stylised letter Z in Cyrillic script.
This cookware has two main qualities: it is 100% handmade, and it is made of clay and the mineral calcite in equal parts, entirely natural materials with no chemical additives. These two qualities are what make the pottery so good; it is made to last forever. You only need to follow the instructions and take care not to break the pot, as it is quite heavy.
Marks of an original
- Small handprint
- Master's seal
- “Zlakusa” inscription with a stylised Cyrillic З
UNESCO heritage
Hand-wheel pottery making in Zlakusa is inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. By buying this cookware you support the families who keep the craft alive.
- 300+years of experience
We are glad you are part of our story and that together we preserve and promote the rich heritage of authentic pottery! Enjoy your meal!
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