Semifaience of Gzhel pitchers was as near-white as faience and china, shape and decoration were not copied. One specific element of the semifaience pitcher should necessarily be noted, namely the spout, the vessel’s sole geometrized element. Triangular, it was ever “humanized” by introducing eyes in order to accentuate the nose-like shape, an observation made by noted Russian folk arts and handicrafts scholar Alexander Saltykov, who was the first to really research the history and manufacture of Gzhel ceramics.