e-xhibition of old objects

SWIFT. One of the essentials of traditional weaving. It was a wooden tool used to stretch the yarn so that it could then be winded into a ball or reel. The swift would spin and unwind the yarn.

OIL LAMP. One of the oldest inventions of mankind. It served as an everyday source of light for the people of Vamvakou, before the invention of electricity. All it took for it to work was oil and a bit of cotton for the wick. It was made of clay or stone and during the pre-war period, of copper, iron or glass.

KLEFTOFANARO [Lantern]. In the old times, right before Easter time, children would make improvised lanterns that they would hold on the evenings of Easter Hymns and of the Holy Week, until the night of the Resurrection. In the past they were also used by thieves, as the Greek word suggests (kleftis stands for thief in Greek and fanari for lantern).

From left to right: PICKAXE, AXE, SPAYER, JACKKNIFE The pickaxe was a hand tool for digging and prying, that was used extensively on the hard soils of Vamvakou. It consisted of a long handle made of a wood and a metal head with a pointed end on one side and a broad flat blade opposite. The axe was used by the people of Vamvakou for the pruning of olive trees, who would go to Kladas for 5-6 months in wintertime. It consists of metallic wedge with a broad sharpened blade on one side, fastened to a wooden handle. The sprayer, apparatus used in farming for the sprinkling of liquid or gas products over cultivations and mainly vineyards. The jackknife was a small foldable knife with a blade that folds and fits inside its wooden handle. It was considered an indispensable tool in viticulture and other agricultural activities.

From left to right: Wineskin, Churn, Food safe and Tentzeris [Pot] The wineskin was a container made of specially treated goatskin. It was used to carry liquids, such as grape must or wine. The milkman would fill the churn with milk that he would then beat using a special whisker until it foamed. Using a slotted spoon, he would remove the foam and heat it in a vessel to get pure butter. In 1950s, Vamvakites used to use a food safe. The first thing that comes in mind is a cage. That’s how locals called a food safe. In it, they would store food to protect it from flies, insects and other animals. Deriving from the Turkish word tencere. Tentzeris was a copper pot, widely used in Vamvakou and the wider area of Parnonas mainly throughout the 19th century.