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Romania, Transylvania, spindles
Wooden spindles from Transylvania, Romania. Length: 11,4" (right) and 12,6" (left).

 

 

Romania,Bucovina, spindles
Spindles turned from one piece of wood from the Bukovina. Lengths: 15.74" to 14.2".

 

Romania, Bukovina, spindles
Wooden supported spindles from the Bukovina, Romania. Lengths ranging from 11,9" to 13".

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romania, Sandominic women spinning


Two women spinning with hand spindles and very long distaffs.

Although the woman on the left seems to wet the fibers, as is usual when spinning flax, the fluffy appearance of the fibers on the distaff suggest wool. Postcard from 1936, original photo taken by Josef Fischer (1898 – 1958), Sibiu.
Inscription on the back: Torcatoare in Sân Dominic / spinners in Sân Dominic. Sandominic is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. The community lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and consists of a single village, Sândominic.


 

Romania, woman spinning 1

Romania, woman spinning 2

  Romanian women spinning with drop-spindles.

 

Romania, woman spinning 3







Woman and child in Romanian national costume. The woman is spinning with a spindle with spindle whorl. 1930´s.

Romania, Apuseni Mountains, distaffs
Distaffs from the Apuseni Mountains (Romanian: Munții Apuseni), a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians.



Romania, Hunedoara, spindle and distaff
Distaff and spindle from the county Hunedoara in Transylvania (postcard and stamp).

 

Romania, Transylvania, distaffs
Distaffs from Transylvania, Romania. Lengths: 63.58" (left), 62.59" (middle) and 59.25" (right). Traces of wear at the lower ends show that these beautifully carved distaffs (details right) were stuck into the ground.




Romania, turning a spindle











Spindle production with a bow lathe. A = whittling to an over-sized approximation using a knife. B = turning the spindle. C = decorating the spindle. 1998.

Images from a YouTube-video:
Romanian bow lathe, Stuart King.


For more information:
Stuart King, Spinning a Yarn: Eastern European bow lathe turners   (17.06.2016)


Additional information on spinning with a hand spindle and various Romanian spindle types can be found in a book first published in 1910 (2nd edition 1930). This publication was written at a time in which many activities, hardly carried out in modern Europe, were still part of everyday life. The book was written in German. An English translation is provided by the ABT.

Mauritius von Kimakowicz-Winnicki, Spinn- und Webewerkzeuge: Entwicklung und Anwendung in vorgeschichtlicher Zeit Europas. Mannus-Bibliothek 2, Verlag Curt Kabitzsch (Leipzig 1. ed. 1910 / 2. unpubl. ed. 1930).

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