Top Kurdish antiques
Kurdish antiques are usually devices, tools, a pieces of clothes which Kurds used in their daily life centuries ago. Today They are kept in museums, folklore homes and cafes because of their age, beauty, rarity, condition, and usefulness. They are all nostalgic icons to many people who are fond of the ancient lifestyle.
Like other nations, Kurds have many antiques, some of which have an ancient history and are legendary behind them.
Kurdish antiques remind us of Kurdish history and also show us how Kurds lived centuries ago. Each antique has hundreds of legends and stories behind it. These antiques are still common and somehow popular among Kurds, especially those living in villages and mountainous areas.
Generally, we can define an antique as something that is perceived as valuable because of its aesthetic or historical significance. Antiques are usually objects of the decorative arts that show some degree of craftsmanship, assembly, or attention to design, such as a desk.
Before these antiques were in every household, our ancestors used them every day, but over time, better tools and things came into our lives and we have completely given up on them and they became antiques. The Kurdish antiques include utensils, rugs, agriculture machines and household appliances.
In Kurdistan, antiques can be found in almost every museum, antique shop, folklore Cafe, and Restaurant.
Here is the list of Top Kurdish antiques :
Reed Screen
Reed Screen is usually to make a fence for Kurdish Rashmals. Though in springs the Kurdish nomads used the reed screens as a rug to sit and sleep on.
Each individual reed is wrapped in coloured threads in such a fashion that the screen will present a pattern, usually a diamond pattern.
When the process of the Reed screen making finished, the reeds are held together with strong yarn. The tightness of the fastening is achieved with heavy stones hung over a horizontal pole. This process is a two-person job as stones are passed from side to side, over the pole.
Nomad Kurds used The screens as the side walls of the nomadic tent and as partitions within it.
The inner screens will be highly decorated whilst the outer ones will be less so and sometimes will simply have only the patterns of the binding threads as decoration. Usually, the Mentk, Boli and Baboli nomadic tribes make the most famous reed screen.
Kurdish milestone
This is rotating Millstone, a deceive used to grind grain to make bulgur, flour and many other foods. The Millstone was a mini-mill in every home, consisting of two round stones placed on top of each other and with a wide hole in the middle, to fill it with grain and a wooden handle above for rotating the Millstone.
Rotating the Millstone was a two-person job, one to rotate the stone with a wooden handle and the other to fill the hole with the grain. During the process, many folklore songs were sung.
Black tent
Rashmal meaning “black tent” in English, is one of the most important Kurdish antiques.
It is a traditional Kurdish tent made from black woven goat hair. The goat hair is woven such that it expands when wet, creating an extremely tight surface which is resistant to melting snow and rain.
The outer wall (Terrgh) of the tent is made from reeds. The reed is woven or wrapped following a pattern which varies from tribe to tribe.
A Middle wooden column (Astunda) functions as the central structural support for the tent. Depending upon the size of the tent additional columns, usually from three to twelve, are used to provide additional structural support.
The interior of the tent is partitioned using a screen functioning as a wall. The wall (Chighi Nawbir) is a barrier to separate the sleeping, kitchen and dining rooms from each other and provide privacy.
The ‘middle screen’ is traditionally decorated in colourful patterns similar to those used in Kurdish rugs.
The black tent usually had some Kurdish arts and pictures, symbols and legendary animals such as Shahmaran.
Tribal Skull Caps
Skull caps “klaw” is The traditional Kurdish headdress which is made up of two parts.the skull cap (klow’) and the turban (‘hewri’.)
The skull cap is specific to each tribe though some tribes share the same cap. The turban is wrapped around the head to leave the tribal cap visible through the top but can be wrapped in different ways.
Each Area of Kurdistan has a different tribal cap as shown in the picture above. You can know where someone belongs by the colour and style of their tribal cap.
Wooden Butter Churn
This one is Mashka, something used to make butter, Many versions of Kurdish cheese Yoghurt, and This is the wooden version of the calfskin Mishka made in the same way as a barrel but used in the same way.
Modern Meshka’s are made from metal.
Wooden Butter churn was one of the most important household appliances among Kurds.
Shaghra
Shaghra is an ancient Kurdish wooden equipment used to transport harvested wheat, dried grass and barley from the farmlands to shop or home.
The equipment is usually mounted on the back of a horse or donkey. The equipment was like joint stairs, each stair holding grass and barley.
