Know what was the most precious dowry of a Moldovan bride in the old days? It's a hand-woven carpet! According to ancient custom, the bride had to hand-weave the carpet herself as part of the dowry.
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Carpets passed down from generation to generation are a sign of prosperity, a family's most valuable asset, and they measure women's diligence, agility and artistic ability.
Moldovan carpet weaving is deeply rooted in antiquity over the centuries, with the oldest surviving Moldovan carpet dating back to the end of the 18th century.
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The Catalogue of Moldovan Carpet Patterns, published in 1912, contains 25 color drawings, images of carpets stored at the beginning of the 20th century in the Bessarabian Museum, which also houses rare samples from the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Traditional handmade carpets were not originally used on the floor, but hung on the walls to protect against the cold, and were also used in funerals to symbolize the passage of the soul into the afterlife.
Carpets are usually made of natural wool and cotton, and the colors are taken from plants and minerals, and through composition, abstract plants and geometric figures are infused with deep imagery, using tones and shapes to convey profound meaning, emphasizing unity, order and harmony, creating an atmosphere of exuberance.
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Like wine, hand-woven carpets are an important part of Moldovan culture, which somehow represents the good old days.
The intricate design, each telling its own story, is full of love and wisdom, full of the power of tradition.
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On 1 December 2016, the traditional carpet-making techniques of Romania and Moldova were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The tradition of hand-weaving carpets was once very popular in the villages, and as more and more Moldovan women went to higher education and left the villages, few of the younger generation could weave, a skill that gradually became forgotten.
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As a rare art treasure, Moldovan hand-woven carpets need to be kept not only in museums, but also active in people's real lives.
With one pattern after another, the grandmothers weave cultural heritage into every knot of the traditional carpet, through which the traditional spirit can be saved and the national soul can be united.
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Moldova holds an annual carpet festival that celebrates and protects the art of hand-woven as a symbol of the country's traditions, attracting more and more people to participate in the collective effort to protect and promote Moldova's cultural heritage.
In rural areas, girls learn this art form from their mothers or grandmothers, while in urban areas, weaving courses are offered in craft centres, associations, universities and museums.
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If you are interested in traditional hand-weaving in Moldova, Rustic Art in the Clişova Nouă region is a carpet weaving center that still follows those ancient making traditions and offers professional weaving courses for tourists.
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After visiting the Carpet Museum, you can enter a master class and try your hand at weaving your own Moldovan-style carpet. After that, you'll have the chance to enjoy homemade wine, delicious walnuts, and other delicacies.