BAGHDAD: Hassan, who has been a coppersmith for 30 years, exercises a profession that dates to the Abbasid period of the 10th century, when many everyday goods, from lanterns to water bottles and from cups to knives and daggers, were made of copper. But those days are long gone.
Coppersmith Haider Khafaji told Al-Monitor that the famous Safafeer market in the southern province of Babil has now faded behind the modern shops, but in the past it was packed with tourists who would head there after visiting the nearby historic city of Babylon about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.
Khafaji added, “I started working in this profession 40 years ago, back when there was significant demand for copperware, when copper was an important commercial commodity and copper goods were a sign of status.” He added that there are just a few coppersmith shops left and most double now as blacksmiths.
“Our work today is limited to making gifts and souvenirs that hardly ever get sold,” Khafaji said, “We seriously fear that this craft will disappear, as the new generation is not keen to learn the craft.”
Member of parliament Maysoon al-Damluji, a member of the legislature’s committee on culture, told Al-Monitor that the days when people used copper in most of their daily goods are gone, but that the craft of the coppersmiths, part of the Iraqi intangible heritage, should be maintained.
“[The coppersmith shops and markets are part of the] the identity of Iraqi cities,” he said, expressing concern that Iraq’s cities, which have been badly damaged in the wars and battles that have taken place in Iraq and have been subject to poor urban planning, have lost their historical heritage.
