Ethnographic Museum Berat

Ethnographic museum (Area)

The Ethnographic Museum with a rich collection of 1,300 objects is an important testimony to the culture, the interesting and rich traditions of the Berat area. On the first floor, a recreated street of a medieval bazaar showcases objects that are representative of the once most developed crafts of the region, such as weaving, silver-smithing, copper-smithing as well as clothes and decorations that indicated the aristocratic quality of life of the middle and rich classes of the city. In the open space of the porch there is an exhibition of crafts which were practiced at home for the needs of the family. The porch is naturally connected to the well and the courtyard in which there is an exhibition of ceramic and stone-carved objects. The exhibitions in the rooms on the second floor show the former lifestyle, organization, traditions and customs of a rich family from the city in the late Medieval Ages

The medieval bazaar (Area)

The baazar, once built along the main road in the center of the city, stood out among the Albanian cities for the significant number of crafts it had at the end of the XVI century, becoming one of the most important commercial-crafts center in the southern region of Albania (with 900 shops) during the XVII-XVIII centuries. The products displayed and traded in bazaar fulfilled the needs not only of the citizens of Berat. The bazaar and its cobbled streets an open squares were damaged during World War II. One of the streets of the bazaar is recreated in the porch of the building. The street is lined with shops on both sides, with shop shutters and stands, presenting the most representative crafts of Berat and other different objects which testify to the high artistic and professional skills of the craft masters. The recreation includes a weaving shop with ceremonial city costumes, a silversmith shop with silver and bronze products made with the filigree, stamping and carving techniques, a boilmaker shop with products from daily life, ceremonial products and dishes made with the hammering, carving and incision techniques, and other products made from leather and felt as well as other working tools.

The porch (Area)

The porch is the ground floor in the houses with a chardak. It is open and it has a stone construction. The front of the porch is supported on five arcades and has a direct connection with the yard of the building. The porch was used to connect the ground floor with the upper floor through a single stone staircase. The ancillary areas of the porch, such as the basement and cellars, were used to store food reserves. In the porch there are some representative crafts of the city of Berat which were practised in family life for family needs and trade as well: the millstone and the wooden press for the production of olive oil, the forge for processing iron, the copper distillery for the production of raki and the pottery wheel for making clay vessels. The porch exhibits also some working tools, archaeological objects and architectonic elements.

The chardak (Area)

It is a commonly found in Berat typical houses and it has the main and central position. Many important family activities were done in this area with a wooden structure, supported on wooden poles along its front, with wide shelters extending out of the buildings. The significant dimensions of the chardak, the easy communication with the other premises of the house make the chardak a suitable place for family festivities and ceremonies. In the chardak, the structure of the roof is visible because this is the place where most of the domestic artisan activities take place, such as the processing of natural silk, the loom work, weaving, etc. Varies products were hang to dry on the roof beams: meat, vegetables, fruits, etc. In winter the chardak would lose its function and life would continue inside of the house.

The corner (Area)

The corner (Point)

An elevated area stands out in the chardak, detached from the hallway which connects the chardak with the other interior rooms of the building. This area is the corner. The corner is covered with carpets, wool blankets and wool rugs. The first corner spans over the entire width of the chardak and on the north it is decorated by three windows which bring in fresh air during the hot months of the year. The second corner, a little more elevated, rises over the stone steps and it is the most favourable place for the elderly and guests.                               

The kitchen (Area)

The kitchen is an important space, located at the house’s center, designated only for cooking. A special thing of this space, is the lighting, which comes from the roof, a new architectural solution for the special conditions. Around the kitchen, on the walls, in a certain height there are the shelves that served for the placing of the copper dishes and were hanged the dried products of the winter. An important element of this space is the chimney, where the woman used to cook around the fireplace, while the services during the ceremonies were done by the boys in the family. On the floor, around the walls there are placed the cooking dishes, the cashboxes as deposits for winter foods, and the jars for the olives or other liquids.                      

The guest room (Area)

The Guest Room where the guest is waited on. The important architecture elements of the guest room are: antique closets complex, wall closets, doors, chimney, and the decorative ceiling, windows, plastered, in the middle in the center of the room is placed the rowed line to the ground eating table called sofra with it’s plate settings and many other things needed for service. The Guest Room is unique from the other rooms due to the rich decorative treatment. The chimney is one of the elements that talk about the familys ansestary.

Country room (Area)

Built for the relaxation and sleeping of the man guests. In the center is the round eating table called the (sofra) where the food is eaten. Away from center, is the chimney and on the four sides are the dishholders where the dishes are held. In the left of the room is the wardrobe of sleeping clothes. Over the closet was the mafili where the woman stayed. In this room the guests as well as the members of the family would seat by what age they were.

The workroom (Area)

In this room women used to sit and work while girls used to prepare the dowry. Inside there is an exhibition of the looms and working tools that were used for embroidery and weaving wool, cotton, silk, etc.

Food service (Point)

The food in big Berat families was placed in a large cooper pan worked with geometric figures and flowers with oriental influence. Over this pan are placed utensils with a cover. The covers are worked with incizme in the shape of leaves, geometric figures, as well as the plates, they also have figurative decorations. This service is completed with spoons, knives, forks and glasses which are made of silver. This set was used mostly in Berat families. Their artistic value was priceless that is why only the wealthy families could afford them. 

The mafill (Area)

The mafill (Point)

The Mafill is the most interesting thing in the guest room. The Mafill is usually used by muslims families but it’s accepted by orthodox also. In the mafill stayed women who had the commodity to listen to the men below them and also to sew.

The tradition of eat... ... (Point)

The tradition of eating in the country zones as well as same city families, especially those of muslim faith would eat in the sofra as described earlier. Sofra was made of wood and it’s legs with a height of 20-25 cm. Over the sofra was placed the lengjeri (a big serving plate), the big deep plate made from mud also used for eating all the people invited. The dishes with a cover are from copper. The members of the family as well as the guests would seat around the sofra while using spoon and their hands.

The chest (Point)

The chest was used for holding food, which were protected from insects, parasite that could harm them. While these chests were hermetic and dark, inside them could be protected food for long periods of time especially fruits. The chest is dark colored and the outside part is worked with a relief technique average, with a vase with flowers.

Blacksmith’s (Point)

One of the oldest and most popular crafts in Berat has been the metalworking, but mainly of iron. Alony the whole Mangalem quarter, from Gorica Bridqe to fachelors’ Mosque were blacksmiths and coppersmith’s shop's. Blacksmith’s in Berat were real professionals. They produced: agricultural tools such as plows, shovels, shavings, blades, drum: machine tools like hoes, repairing metal parts of carts. The craftsmen also had their own artistic items such as window ails, stairwells, handles, elegant gloves, locks, door locks, and nails of various sizes. The blacksmiths also produced demiroxhak, masha, shovels, creams, ankles, legs, and daggers.  Blacksmiths generally worked on the ground. In the center there was the fireplace, with cobble, and near the gjyryk that breathed the fire. Next placed and kudhra .The iron was warmed in the fireplace, blushed so that the master with the frequent beats give the shape that is required.  The sharpening of the tools was made by the trockil stone. It was a craft that was practiced after the twentieth century by the Egyptian community.

Olive oil mill (Area)

The spring is widely used in Berat, as the tradition of olive cultivation is old. Usually olive oil mills were placed on the ground floor of the building, in the gardens behind the house, but there were also no public ones. This was the first pressure of the olives with the stone fixed on the shaft. The constituent parts are: 1.Basin, where the olives were planted 2.Upper stone 3.Axis, rotated by the arm of two men or by the beast ( horses or gnomes). Wooden Mill The oatmeal that was formed was thrown into canisters of eardrums or stubble goats hair, and settled between the torus and the maggot. Turning to the “budallat” there was the presence of the cannons and the emergence of olive oil. Parts of wooden mill 1.Magja (bottom base) 2.Torgu (upper base) 3.Budallat 4.Dishes of olive oil

Olive oil mill (Point)

The spring is widely used in Berat, as the tradition of olive cultivation is old. Usually olive oil mills were placed on the ground floor of the building, in the gardens behind the house, but there were also no public ones. This was the first pressure of the olives with the stone fixed on the shaft. The constituent parts are: 1.Basin, where the olives were planted 2.Upper stone 3.Axis, rotated by the arm of two men or by the beast ( horses or gnomes). Wooden Mill The oatmeal that was formed was thrown into canisters of eardrums or stubble goats hair, and settled between the torus and the maggot. Turning to the “budallat” there was the presence of the cannons and the emergence of olive oil. Parts of wooden mill 1.Magja (bottom base) 2.Torgu (upper base) 3.Budallat 4.Dishes of olive oil

The stone tub (Point)

It was placed in the two-storey dwelling cellars, used for storing cereals, oil, and olives, and keeping dairy products fresh.

Women’s clothing fie... ... (Area)

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Long shirts-Cotton material. Manufacture of domestic crafts Cotton apron – Manufacture of domestic crafts Head-Kerchief – Cotton material

Clothing of the aris... ... (Area)

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Sako-Imported material, embroidered with gold, silk, purl thread’s. Shirt-Silk and cotton material. Manufacture of domestic crafts. Waistcoat-Silk material, embroidered with silver thread in part of jacket and sleeves. Manufacture of domestic crafts. Cerve-Silk material. Manufacture of domestic crafts.

Tewelrer (Point)

Are the workers of gold, silver and bronze. The technique used was beating, stamping and filigrant. Dating in the middle of the second century XIX. Parallel to the beautiful accessories such as belts, handbags, etc are also exposed the tools used in making them.

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Brass charger, worked with spill technique. Silver aureola, worked with beating technique. Silver plate, worked with beating technique. Brass charger, worked with engraving technique. Brass pouch, worked with casting and beating technique. Bridal bag, waven with silver wire. Women silver belt, worked with filigree technique. Silver charger, worked with filigree technique. Brass plate, worked with beating technique. Jam cup and silver envelopes, worked with filigree and spill technique. Bowl and envelopes brass, worked with spill and beating technique. Brass charger, worked with printing technique. Plate, bracelet, pipe, worked with spill, filigree and beating technique. Various tools of goldsmith

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