Baniei House, Craiova, Dolj

1. Making bread

We go down into the "cellar". Two large brick rooms, with vaulted ceilings, walls up to 2 meters thick, with a constant and cool temperature, were once wine cellars. Exhibition "Making bread" presents a theme related to agriculture, with wheat as a central element.

The first room deals with agricultural operations from ploughing to sowing. On display are plows, hand tools such as harrows and pitchforks. The second room is called: from reaping to ritual kolaks. We learn about harvesting, threshing, milling, storage. We notice a grinding stone, a hand mill and one that simulates a water mill but with a real millstone. On the other side there is a hearth with its accessories: pots, jugs, pots, spoons, spoons, and a canthar. Next to it we have the oven and an exhibition of many loaves of bread with hollowed and hardened core and covered with a protective coating. Bread has a role in major life events: baptism, wedding, funeral and alms.

2. Rhythms of life

From here we climb up to the first floor admiring on the staircase popular costumes, including one of a gag.

That's the name of the exhibition that stretches in the rooms upstairs. They couldn't miss the navel of Oltenia ceramic pots. The craftsmanship of pottery and the potter's wheel are shown together with finished ceramic products from all areas of Oltenia, highlighting the differences between them. We will continue to learn about cojocarit. Another ancient craft brought to the visitor's attention. The sheepskins were sacked and then skillfully saddled by sheepskinners, and the softer materials were sewn with a treadle sewing machine.

The most generous and spectacular hall presents olteneasca wedding. The one that lasted 3 days and 3 nights and that like other customs is slowly getting lost in the contemporary world. I liked the idea of presenting the bride and groom, the brides, the family, the relatives and their folk costumes, the obieciurile that accompany the wedding, a cart with a full dowry chest.

Since there is no such thing as a wedding without going to church, the large hall before the wedding is continued with a smaller one, symbolizing a church, where wooden icons and other church objects are on display, as well as uncooked eggs. The Jianu family donated a collection of icons on glass, I'm only now finding out that in Oltenia they also painted on glass.

3. Barks and chilimiruri oltenești

We loop through another exhibition hall called Oltenesti barbecues and chilimuri. Here we see more on today's language and more simply said carpets. Who hasn't heard of Oltenes carpets? Obviously, there are different kinds of carpets: barks, cergile, chilimurile.... Oltenesti Treasures are the subject of the last room visited where besides these are exhibited a war of weaving and other accessories used in this craft of the master women who knew how to spin wool, cotton, linen and other threads, fibers.