The negative on glass was made by Romulus Vuia, 1910-1923, at the Văcăria sheepfold and shows a woman, standing on a wooden chair, pressing ewe-cheese, to squeeze out the buttermilk. The milk press is a tall installation, consisting of two round wooden pillars, fixed in the ground, each with an elongated vertical notch at the upper part. The pillars are joined by two horizontal wooden ledgers, fastened in holes. The lower ledger is fixed, the upper one is movable and pressed down by wooden feathers beaten into the holes, exerting a pressing force on the ewe-cheese.
The woman is dressed in: black kerchief; long shirt with lapels, made of home-woven cloth, with wide sleeves, starting from the collar. Over his shirts, he wears a clogged breastplate, and over her laps she wears an apron and skirt (“catrință”), woven with horizontal stripes. In her feet, she wears socks and sandals with small tips. To the left of the image, there is the corner of a wooden building, and in the distance, there can be seen the mountains afforested with fir trees.
The negative, registered with title “Ewe-cheese press. Văcăria sheepfold”, with inventory no. 135, is made on glass support, in the dry gelatin technique, having dimensions of 9 cm x 12 cm.
Photo: MET Archive