Damascus, Sept. 8 (SANA) Through skilled craftsmanship, Syrian artisans convert wartime shell and ammunition casings into intricate Oriental art pieces, preserving collective Syrian memory while preventing these historical artifacts from being melted into scrap metal.
In his Damascus workshop specializing in antiques and traditional metalwork, artisan Basel Baqbouq leverages generations of family expertise in copper carving and engraving to repurpose military remnants without erasing their history.
An ancient craft and indelible memory
The practice of transforming war remnants into art within the Baqbouq family dates back decades, rooted in a World War II era projectile shell case passed down from his grandfather.
Speaking to SANA, Baqbouq noted that the original WWII casing was artisticly engraved, inlaid with silver, and converted into a decorative lantern—combining its historic war identity with functional aesthetic value. The initiative gained renewed purpose following the Syrian conflict to prevent copper casings from going to foundries.
“If we had melted down these pieces, their stories would have been lost forever,” Baqbouq stated. “We chose to keep them as enduring witnesses, reminding future generations of what Syria endured.”
Oriental motifs over wartime traces
Artisans incorporate varied decorative elements onto the casings, ranging from geometric and floral patterns to depictions of Damascene jasmine, Arabic calligraphy, and Islamic motifs.
Baqbouq emphasized that while craftsmen intentionally steer designs toward beauty and heritage, they carefully retain the core structure of the casings to maintain the historical memory bound to them.
A crutch forged from spent rounds
Among the workshop’s most poignant holdings is a walking cane built not by artisans, but by an injured Ghouta fighter during the siege imposed by the deposed regime.
The fighter assembled the mobility device using spent heavy machine gun casings amid a severe lack of medical supplies. Baqbouq received the crutch as a gift following liberation, noting that it remains strictly off for sale due to its symbolic representation of human resilience.
From scrap metal to generational legacy
These materials reach the workshop via scrap dealers or individuals preserving family brassware. Rather than sending the metals to furnaces, Damascene craftsmen reshape them into physical archives, demonstrating that art and hope can emerge even from the harshest chapters of destruction.
Mohammad Qassim al-Rawi
