Iranian Handicrafts

One of the traditions of Ancient Persia is handicrafts, which are preserved in the culture of the nation and passed on from generation to generation. Today handmade products are highly regarded outside Iran as a unique art. Popular ways of Iranian handicrafts are true masterpieces, and each of them has its own history.Stamping on metal originated in Ancient Persia more than 4000 years ago. For the galyamzani, the masters originally used copper, but now more expensive materials like gold and silver are used. The drawings are so unique and complex that at times the price of the product is formed by the work itself rather than by the expensive material.[iranianholiday]

Masters use traditional patterns, birds, animals, nature, historical events, plots of famous works and other themes for decoration. Both the drawing itself and the motive depend on the master’s imagination and skill.The process of drawing a picture is quite complex and begins with a coating the surface of the metal with a solution of resin and chalk. With a special tool, the master applies the pattern, after which the pre-applied solution is washed off, the surface is rubbed with coal and polished. After polishing, the picture glitters.[iranianholiday]

Iranian handicrafts: Carpet and Rug Weaving:

The Persian carpet or Persian rug is an essential part of Persian art and culture. Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia.[viewiran]

In 2008, Iran’s exports of hand-woven carpets were $420 million or 30% of the world’s market. There is an estimated population of 1.2 million weavers in Iran producing carpets for domestic markets and international export. Iran exports carpets to more than 100 countries, as hand-woven rugs are one of its main non-oil export items.[findery]

The country produces about five million square meters of carpets annually 80 percent of which are sold in international markets. In recent times Iranian carpets have come under fierce competition from other countries producing reproductions of the original Iranian designs as well as cheaper substitutes.They are persian handicrafts, persian carpet, minakari and khatam kari.
The designs of Persian carpets are copied by weavers from other countries as well. Iran is also the world’s largest producer and exporter of handmade carpets, producing three quarters of the world’s total output.Though in recent times, this ancient tradition has come under stiff competition from machine-made products. Iran is also the maker of the largest handmade carpet in history, measuring 60,546 square feet (5,624.9 square meters).
Persian carpets can be divided into three groups; Farsh / Qāli (sized anything greater than 6×4 feet), Qālicheh (meaning “small rug”, sized 6×4 feet and smaller), and nomadic carpets known as Gelim (including Zilu, meaning “rough carpet”). In this use, Gelim includes both pile rugs and flat weaves (such as kilim and soumak).[rugeast]

Iranian handicrafts: Calico (Ghalamkari)

This sort of cloth is prepared of pure cotton. In the spinning and weaving factories, cotton turns into twofold string number 20.This sort of cloth is made in different widths; from 30 to 220 centimeters, in huge global shapes. They are then taken to the calico working places to be cut into various lengths according to their type and quality.The cloth, having been cut into suitable pieces, are delivered to ladies in order that their margin strings are spun into thicker ones. Then they are taken back to the working place.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Engraving (Ghalamzani)

The artistic works of this course made by the artist are the glorious and undeniable Indications of previous metal work of Iran and Isfahan, in particular .The historical discoveries belonging to the ancient times as the Sassanid (700 AD),the Seljuk (1000 AD) and the Safavid (1600 AD) dynasties Indicate a few of the outstanding metal Work periods.Resuming this art is due to the diligent at tempts of the Late Ostad Mohammad Oreizi and he Late Ostad Mohammad Taghi Zufann during the past eighty years, which has been led to creating tens of outstanding and distinguished metal engravings on the one hand and training the new generation on the other.And Producing golden and silver-like goblets and materials of some metals as nickel Silver and copper in particular Meanwhile engraving with various plans and methods have been led to the highest amount of engraving production.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Gerehchini

Gerehchini is an art to create beauty with wood and glass. It is making and beautifying surfaces with a complex of geometrical figures with colored glasses, wooden pieces of Mo-arragh art, inlaid mirrors shaped with glasscutters which in the end will create a similar, symmetrical and balanced job.The purpose of this art is 10 stimulate feeling and enjoyment; therefore it is a figured enjoyment while art is defined as observing and realizing beauties and expressing them in a pleasant way as Gerehchini is the art to create beauties with fragile and cut pieces of wood and glasses in various figures geometrical and unification seeking which are settled repeatedly beside each other in a frame.The most important materials applied 10 this art are: Different sorts of wood as beech Walnut and sycamore. However, sycamore is the best wood used by the Gerehchini masters. This art is derived from the unitary belief of man. Since ancient times up to now wood has been playing an important role in Iranian architecture.[incredibleiran]

Its special position as one of the constructional materials and its variety in sort has caused it to be used differently: from covering and isolating roofs to decorative frames.The tasteful and creative artists, to beautify buildings, have been able to create works each separately taken into consideration Inlaying work relief work Mo-arragh, latticework and Gerehchini are considered as some of these arts.Unfortunately we don’t have a clear history of Gerehchini and lattice-work however some of the researchers daresay this art whether in Gerehchini or lattice form have started since the Abbasid caliphs while it has become widespread in Egypt and Syria during the 12th to 14th centuries and got to Iran in the same periods.This kind of art is usually used for making the doors of holy places and pulpits while latticework has been used in making windows of houses. palaces and fences, Since Safavid period colored glasses got so popular as 10be used in latticework, and therefore got famous as Orosi Gerehchini in wood is performed in two ways:[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Inlaid work(Khatam)

Inlaid work (or Khatam as it is called in Persian) means wood decorating with multiple regular sides. Khatam is made in different sides five, six, eight, and ten sides. At present, the six sided Khatam is the most prevalent whose materials are cut and wrapped or pasted in equilateral triangle form with string or glue.There are a few skillful masters 10 make multiple sided Khatams, like those made by them previously. At present, they make and repair such works. Inlaid work (or Khatam) is formed with a few materials as:[incredibleiran]

1-Woods from various trees as: sour orange, ebony, prick, walnut, jujube wood and etc.
2-Bones from various animals as:
Camel, caw, horse, elephant ivory and oyster shell
3-Metal rods from brass and gold
4·Glue
5-String[incredibleiran]

The first step to make Khatam has been based on equilateral triangle with six sides. Such triangles are prepared by cutting colored woods, white bone and triangle formed brass for yellow color which makes various six sided figures.[incredibleiran]

Meanwhile, walnut and ebony woods are applied for the black color. Of course, other woods could have been used 100, but such woods are rather expensive. For instance Jujube wood being too expensive, sour orange wood is used instead to make natural brown color. By dying such woods with artificial paints, yellow, red and black colors can be obtained.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Making National Musical Instruments of Iran (Tar , Setar and …)

National music of Iran is a live and valuable document of the Aryan race. It is the infiltration of popular hearts of punctilious people who are ever flying with the wings of imagination caressing the nature’s beauties. Making national and traditional musical instruments of Iran has exclusive specificities. And during its history it has experienced many outstanding masters of the exclusive specificities of making musical instruments.Due to the sensitiveness and the sort of their sounds, the classes of masters are run by their own tastes; even the composition of them is so variable that, thanks to the reflection of feelings and the variety of techniques in playing Iranian music, making a musical instruments usually does not follow a standard method and defined code.[incredibleiran]

If such a musical instrument as Setar is handed over to different masters to play, the variety of feelings and techniques will make the audience hear quite different and variable music, therefore it has made the job more difficult for the producers of musical instruments.The music quality of any made musical instrument is directly dependent on the quality of the wood of which it is made, therefore the wood with different qualities will bring about very minute differences in the sort of their sounds.[incredibleiran]

As it was pointed before, musical instruments have experimented different master producers of whom the contemporary master in Iran is Ostad Yahya. He burned his hand made musical instruments if they were not con-firmed by musicians, because he did not like any inferior musical instrument to be sealed in his name.Of other contemporary masters in making Setar, we can name Ostad Eshghi of whom there are many musical instruments with high quality remaining.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Miniature (Negargari; the Iranian drowning) and illuminating-tazhib)  

Iranian painting, being a blended word indicates some sort of painting which has appeared during centuries in the land of Iran. This kind of painting, called miniature by the western researchers and scholars, has a deep and fruitful history.The high values attained by the artists of this course are the result of their prolonged effort which has passed through the depth of the history. Such great artists as Manichaeus, the painter, Kamaleddine Behzad, Soltan Mohammad, Agha Mirak, Reza Abbasi etc. have all been the attempting men of this course considered as the eternal honors of Iran Art History.[incredibleiran]

Iranian painting being considered as a practical art among the pen works includes an exclusive extent. Sub-divisions as various schools in this sort of painting like Illuminating, Tashiir or adorning (animal and I ‘ flower paintings around a calligraphy for more beautification) and different performing methods which are each, taking the pictorial traditions into consideration, in relation with Iranian art on the one hand, and that they have followed their own conditions on the other hand, are all from the same category.By a total glance considering its own pictorial possibilities we can say that Iranian painting has followed a particular concept which has taken painting inspirations to a world beyond nature floating it in an abstract and spiritual manner through which one can follow the inward meaning and concepts getting to its fact via nature realities.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Persian painting

Painting in Iran dates back to those prehistoric times when the first inhabitants of the plateau recorded their observations of the world around them on the walls of their cave dwelling, or on pottery, some specimens of which survive to this day. A study of these early drawings reveals similarities with specimens 01 primitive art found elsewhere, but one also finds a number of characteristics that are unique.Persian painting, with its freedom of action, its boundless imaginativeness, its softly moving lines and its brilliant color” allows the artist to create works of great beauty by expressing his true feelings with a skill, which his hands and his fingers ha\’!” acquired over many years of apprenticeship and hard work.[incredibleiran]

Beauty, which is a manifestation of God Almighty’s primeval and eternal qualities of perfection, is present in <III elements of Persian painting, from the overall composition down to the last details. By drawing up on beauty, the Persian artist has been able to convey his intellectual precepts and his ideas to the viewer in a pleasing manner, so that the latter feels at home in the atmosphere which is created by the artist with his findings.His love of natural beauty, encouraged the Persian painter to depict the world from an ever-blooming, evergreen point of view; the flowers and the greenery that are to be seen throughout many a painting, not only impart a decorative touch to the composition, but also tie the various elements together and give a sense of balance to the work.[incredibleiran]

The artist must be knowledgeable about the psychological philosophy of human behavior and the true nature of objects, animals and plants, so that he can combine in his mind his ideas with the visual observations he makes, and so that eventually -aided by a hand which is guided by reason, and a reason which is controlled by emotions and ideas-his concepts are rendered on paper, effortlessly and vet precisely in accordance with the rules of the art.The form and content in Persian painting are so intertwined that a work of art devoid of cont enl will have no intellectual challenge for the viewer, remaining simply and plainly a piece of decoration. Whereas a work bereft of an attractive form will also lack the power and attraction with which to convey to the viewer the message embedded in the content.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Silverwork

The silverworks discovered in Sialk mounds belonging to the fourth millennium BC indicates that the people of this area of Iran had been familiar with silver and making handicrafts with. The engraved designs on silver left by the artists of the past are indicative of national morale and the phenomena of their time.It is believed that silver dishes and trinkets would be exported to pc other countries in Sassanid and Seljuk periods. Undoubtedly, the silver workers of the Sassanid time have applied the three methods below in their works:[incredibleiran]

1·Makingsilverworks with hammer on silver sheets
2· Using die casting for silver objects
3-Making underlain dishes with silver sheets[incredibleiran]

The outstanding works of masters from Khorasan province indicates the highlight of silverwork art during the Seljuk period. I as an example, in the Alb Arsalan’s silver worked dish belonging to 9th century AC bearing an inscription in Kufic calligraphy.[incredibleiran]

While being so simple, there are the flowers arid leaves. Two geese and M IO back to back winged deer. During the Safavid period silver work along with other arts, has been of high consideration whose results IS the silver door of the Chahar Bagh theological school.Through the recent decade’s Iranian masters and in some cases Armenians of Iran have been busy with making silver handicrafts creating distinguished works.[incredibleiran]

Handicrafts in Iran: Firuze kub

Firuze kub is a relatively new type of handicraft, but it is connected with another story. The word “firuz” means a stone of happiness and is translated as “turquoise”. Iran is considered the birthplace of the best turquoise.According to legend, turquoise is the bone of those who died of love. The stone itself is revered as a symbol of love and passion. The stone in Iran is more expensive than in other countries, but Iranian turquoise is of the best quality.Firuze kub for hundred years managed to become the most popular handicraft and country’s business card. The best masters create unique items with firuze kub in Isfahan. At Isfahan bazaar, you can find the most beautiful items like vases, plates, trays and jewelry encrusted with turquoise. As a material copper, silver, bronze, nickel, and cupronickel is used.[iranianholiday]

Iranian handicrafts: Tile working (kashi kari)

Although the art of enameled brick making dates back to 3500 years before, the works remaining since the Achaemenid time made 500 Be and the enameled bricks with particular designs narrate the Iranian science on this art.Long after, in particular, during the Islamic periods, this art was used through new applications along with new designs and various methods as golden colored and seven colored inlaid works (Mo-arragh as it is called in Persian).The stability and maintaining this art is due to the attempts of some masters and artists as the Late Mohammad Maasumzadeh, the Late Hossein Kashitarash, their families and offspring during the past eighty years. At present, Isfahan is a city where the most beautiful of seven colored, enameled and Mo-arragh glazing tiles are made being the decorative of architectural part of the Islamic countries There are two methods for making Mo-arragh and seven colored tiles explained as simply as possible below:[incredibleiran]

In Mo-arragh work first the designs being as arabesque, flowerlike or geometrical are made and prepared in a few copies for the next processes following which the painted designs with selected colors for each part are prepared.[incredibleiran]

After that, the designs are cut skillfully for each part getting pasted on the enameled tiles. At this stage, each part is numbered as carefully as possible; now the tile working master begins to pick the parts which may be hundreds of small pieces, which is followed by smoothing the picked and cut pieces with particular fines.At the last stage, the second copy of the main design is spread on a smoothed and flat surface for the small pieces to be put together, according to their numbers, on the surface .Now behind the total work should be covered with plaster, cement and sand mortar.In the seven colored method, tiles covered with white enamel and by a fifteen by fifteen centimeters width are put together, then the designs are made on them. After this process the tiles previously numbered are put into the furnace so that their designs are baked enough.[incredibleiran]

Now they are ready to be mounted on walls, domes and etc.

Iranian handicrafts:Woodcarving

As it is clear, by this art people would make ladder. carriage and house ware before the Achaemonide dynasty; researchers have found a relief design in which a girl is shown sitting and weaving in front of whom there is a small table on which there are some fruits and a fish.Concerning the table it should be mentioned that the legs and the gap between them have been carved artistically, which indicates how familiar the artists were with this sort of art. This art has also been positioned highly during the Achaemonide and Sassanid periods.In the northeast of Persepolis, some clay inscriptions have been found the translation some of which indicate wage paying to the masters of inlaying art.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Writing and calligraphy

In Iran, calligraphy is considered and admired as one of the fine arts, therefore in this course many famous artists have come into existence. In the end of the third century and at the beginning of the fourth century AH (about1000 years ago) a brilliant man as Mohammad Ibne Ali Alfarsi (lbne Moghalah), the serious minister, marufeted in calligraphy, therefore calligraphy got into a new period by having this famous Artist.This process is considered as the first and the most important step in evolving calligraphy and appearing new sorts of it. And this was the beginning of a great movement in appearing art calligraphy which got to its pick during the next centuries.[incredibleiran]

Gradually the researching Iranians with their virtuosity continued with evolution of calligraphy in order that by the middle of the 8th century AH three kinds of calligraphy was invented; they were called Taligh, Nastaligh, and the reformed of Nastaligh And through the centuries many calligraphists evolved them to their picks.[incredibleiran]

Nowadays in Iran there are four kinds of calligraphies prevailing upon the artists of this course; they include Nastaligh, the reformed Nastaligh, Naskh and Tholth of which Nastaligh and its reformed form are the pure Iranian calligraphies while the other two have been derived from Arabic calligraphy Nastaligh, indicating the Iranian artful taste, is undoubtedly the finest and the most beautiful calligraphy in the world. To get to the current position this calligraphy has passed an evolutionary trace during the past seven centuries.[incredibleiran]

Iranian handicrafts: Termeh

Termeh is a precious type of handwoven cloth of Iran, primarily produced in the Yazd province. Weaving Termeh requires good wool with tall fibers. Termeh is woven by an expert with the assistance of a worker called “Goushvareh-kesh”. Weaving Termeh is a sensitive, careful, and time-consuming process; a good weaver can produce only 25 to 30 centimeters in a day.The background colors which are used in Termeh are jujube red, light red, green, orange and black. Termeh has been admired throughout history: Greek historians commented on the beauty of Persian weavings in the Achaemenian (532 B.C.), Ashkani (222 B.C.) and Sasanidae (226-641 A.D.) periods and the famous Chinese tourist Hoang Tesang admired Termeh.[revolvy]

After Islam’s arrival in Iran, the Persian weaving arts were greatly developed, especially during the Safavid period (1502-1736 A.D.), during which time Zarbaf and Termeh weaving techniques were both significantly refined. Due to the difficulty of producing Termeh and the advent of mechanized weaving, few factories remain in Iran that produces traditionally woven Termeh. Rezaei Termeh is the most famous of the remaining factories.[revolvy]

Iranian handicrafts: Kilims

Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to Pakistan. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Modern kilims are popular floor-coverings in Western households.[wikipedia]