The negative was made by Romulus Vuia in 1923, at the entrance in a village in Hunedoara county. In many villages, there were village fences and entrance gates, made of woven twigs or wooden strips / boards, being a way to defend the cultivated border, both against damages caused by wild animals and damages caused, intentionally or by chance, by domestic animals (cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, etc.) belonging to the village inhabitants or the neighboring villages. The village entrance gates were guarded by a warder, called a ”jitar” in the Hunedoara villages. The warder was obliged to supervise traffic inside these gates, to prevent animals from entering the cultivated lots and to keep gates closed during night time.

The village gate in the picture is road-wide and high enough to prevent animals from jumping, being guarded by a field warder, leaning on a wooden stick. The warder is dressed up in a folk costume, probably from Hațeg Country: a hat with strong brims turned and bent upwards; cloth-made winter coat, with dark ornamentation applied to collar and chest; on his feet, socks and closed toe sandals.

The negative, registered with title “Gate at the village entrance”, with inventory no. 150, is made on glass support, in the dry gelatin technique, having the dimensions of 9 cm x 12 cm.

Photo: MET archive