Retired engineer opens unique treasure of antiques

Narendra Dandagawal

LOKMAT NEWS NETWORK

Nashik, Oct 23

Everyone likes to see charkhas, gramophones, British gold and silver coins, betel nut boxes, and attractive nutcrackers, especially when they are antique pieces. Peering back into history, and then getting information about such things, piques everyone's curiosity. Such a unique museum has been set up at Kamal Wada in Kamtwade, Cidco. Anant Dhamne, who retired from the Town Planning Department of the Nashik Municipal Corporation, has painstakingly compiled this collection and made this historical treasure, open to all.

Anant Dhamane, who lives in Kamtawade, Cidco has preserved and collected antiques from the past 150 to 200 years, in his own building, so that the legacy of his ancestors will be remembered by the next generation.

Dhamne used to live in Ahmednagar in 1988. There was a museum close to his workplace there which he used to visit all the time, fascinated by the antiques on display there.

He was soon inspired to collect such antiques himself. He began with a collection of coins, slowly moving to other different items. He also came across a silver coin stored by his grandfather Barku Vedu Dhamne.

He collected more than 150 coins of gold, silver, copper, and brass, mainly in the museum from 600 BC to 2022. Coins of Panchmark Kshatrap, Kushan, Gupta, Yadav of Devgiri, Vijaynagar Delhi Sultanate, Mughal, coins during the period of Shivaji Maharaj, Peshwa period, British period and independent area were collected from Pune, Nashik as well as Chandwad. Along with this, he has collected more than 150 nutcrackers, and betel boxes of iron, copper, brass as well as silver metals of different sizes in the collection.

Along with this, he has collected 80 locks of different sizes and chariots, bullock carts, ploughs, and agricultural implements.

Anant Dhamne has appealed to everyone to take advantage of this exhibition, which is open to all free of cost.

Info-

Manuscript copy of Dnyaneshwari

The collection also includes various sizes of weighing scales, flasks, and pots of various sizes; a charkha, gramophone, radio, telephone, and other things. Apart from this, the museum also has a collection of old weapons and all types of currency notes from the British era to the present day. A manuscript copy of Dnyaneshwari is also kept in the museum.

Photo 20 Sangrah