History through glass

History through glass

When we think of ourselves, of what makes us who we are, somewhere down the line we think of the past. But how do look into something that is already gone? The only way to do this is to look into the bits of pieces that survived the element of time. Curious about my heritage, I visited the only place that could give me any insight into my history, museums. The National Museum of Kosovo and the Ethnographic Museum, both of which are located in Prishtina were my destinations of choice.

When I entered the National Museum of Kosovo I felt as if I entered another world. The ancient artefacts stood almost in every corner of the building. I was star struck and didn’t know where to begin looking first. In front of me stood a podium and inside this glass isolated box stood a familiar little statue, the Prizren’s runner (pic, no.1). As I looked at it I wondered if the girl that inspired the creator of the statue ever thought that the little duplicate of her would amaze many people including a simple student like myself. I moved on to some old jewelry and thought of the woman who wore them a long time ago, and even though she is unknown and forgotten, a piece of her remained to be seen by thousands.

In every piece of artefact that I looked at, I thought of the hand that crafted them. I saw the ancient spears and thought of the brave warriors and felt proud of my ancestors, I saw the “Goddess on the Throne” (pic, no.2) and wondered about the inspiration. In this museum, I saw the past almost like a mystical fairytale. Something so bizarre, yet part of who I am.

After the visit to the National Museum, I moved on to the Ethnographic Museum. When I went there it was surprising to see a very old house turned into a museum. The man working there told me that the house was about 300 years old and it belonged to a rich family at the time. The house was unassuming from the outside because it looked like any typical old house but very fascinating from the inside because of the interior and all that it contained. I went from room to room looking at the old furniture and accessories, they sure aren’t part of this modern world. The house had a very interesting structure, it didn’t have any hallways, instead, every room lead to another.

In the men’s room (oda e burrave) (pic, no.3), inside a glass box, there was a traditional women’s costume, a costume from the region of Hasi (pic, no.4).  As I stood in front of the glass I saw my reflection and imagined myself wearing the costume and living in that time when the house was full. I knew that if I was born 70 years ago, I would have been living in a house similar to this living a completely different life, the life that my grandmother and her mother lived. This gave me a bittersweet feeling because I knew that they didn’t have the chances that I have in life, like going to school and making my own decisions about life.

To be honest, when I thought of visiting these museums, I didn’t expect the impact they would have on me. It made me feel part of something important, something as old as time. To look into the past is to understand your present better. The Albanian legacy is absolutely beautiful and worth knowing.

The National Museum of Kosovo

Ethnographic Museum