Petrykivka decorative painting is an acknowledged national Ukrainian brand

This variety of folk art has an over 200-year history. It originated in the village of Petrykivka in Dnipropetrovsk Region, where the appellation is derived from.

It was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as an extant cultural phenomenon at the eighth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.

Petrykivka painting on chinaware was first applied in Kyiv in early 1940s. In postwar period, an artistic laboratory was organized at the Kiev Experimental Ceramics Art Factory (KECAF), to which Petrykivka folk painting masters (Vira Klymenko, sisters Vira and Hanna Pavlenkos, and after a while – Marfa Tymchenko) were invited for work. Their principal task became the treatment of an original national manner in the realm of porcelain.

Since then a singular trend – Petrykivka decorative painting on chinaware – has been distinguished out of house mural painting, while the Kyiv factory has become the first enterprise to create conditions for its development.

With adopting the principles of operation on porcelain (being the material novel for folk decorative art) and adjusting conventional painting methods to volumetric ware forms, paintresses have considerably developed composition schemes and decorative motifs and enriched colour palette of Petrykivka painting that induced the latter’s further progress.

Petrykivka painting masters of the KECAF have greatly contributed to the dissemination of Petrykivka painting methods at other Ukrainian porcelain works. Just Petrykivka painting was the trademark of Ukrainian chinaware at international expos and fairs, and unique ware ornamented by it were the most prestigious gifts to officials of high standing of many states of the world.

The Kyiv Porcelain Museum collection holds unique vases and decorative dishes, everyday tableware, souvenirs, and porcelain figurines painted in Petrykivka manner. The collection numbers more than 100 pieces and is being increasingly replenished.