Turquoise
Mountain peak of Ali-mersai near Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Province, Iran. A weathered and broken trachyte is host to the turquoise, which is found both in situ between layers of limonite and sandstone and amongst the scree at the mountain's base. These workings are the oldest known; together with those of the Sinai Peninsula. Iran also has turquoise mines in Semnan and Kerman provinces.
This deposit is blue naturally and turns green when heated due to dehydration. It is restricted to a mine-riddled region in Nishapur, the 2,012 m
Persian turquoise from Iran. Iran has been an important source of turquoise for at least 2,000 years. It was initially named by Iranians "pērōzah" meaning "victory", and later the Arabs called it "fayrūzah", which is pronounced in Modern Persian as "fīrūzeh". In Iranian architecture, the blue turquoise was used to cover the domes of palaces because its intense blue colour was also a symbol of heaven on earth. The word turquoise dates to the 17th century and is derived from the French turquois for "Turkish" because the mineral was first brought to Europe through Turkey, from mines in the historical Khorasan Province of Persia. Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum, with the chemical formula. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times, turquoise has been devalued, like most other opaque gems, by the introduction onto the market of treatments, imitations and synthetics.
Engraving
In antiquity, the only engraving on metal that could be carried out is the shallow grooves found in some jewelry after the beginning of the 1st Millennium B.C. The majority of so-called engraved designs on ancient gold rings or other items were produced by chasing or sometimes a combination of lost-wax casting and chasing. Engraved gem is a term for any carved or engraved semi-precious stone; this was an important small-scale art form in the ancient world, and remained popular until the 19th century.
The first evidence for humans engraving patterns is a chiseled shell, dating back between 540,000 and 430,000 years, from Trine, in Java, Indonesia, where the first Homo erectus was discovered. Hatched banding upon ostrich eggshells used as water containers found in South Africa in the Diepkloof Rock Shelter and dated to the Middle Stone Age around 60,000 BC are the next documented case of human engraving. Engraving on bone and ivory is an important technique for the Art of the Upper Paleolithic, and larger engraved petroglyphs on rocks are found from many prehistoric periods and cultures around the world.
Engraving is one of the oldest and most important techniques in printmaking.
Kilim
As kilims are much less durable than rugs that have a pile to protect the warp and weft, it is not surprising that few of great age remain.... The weave is almost identical with that of modern kilims, and has about fourteen threads of warp and sixteen threads of weft to the inch. The pattern consists of narrow stripes of blue, green, brownish yellow, and red, containing very small geometric designs. With this one exception, so peculiarly preserved, there are probably very few over a century old "where it means 'to spread roughly’, perhaps of Mongolian origin Like pile carpets, kilim have been produced since ancient times. The explorer Mark Aurel Stein found kilims dating to at least the fourth or fifth century CE in Hotan, China: The term 'kilim' originates from the Persian gelīm is a flat tapestry-woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Ottoman Empire, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkic countries of Central Asia. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Modern kilims are popular floor-coverings in Western households Kilim
Inlaid-Work
)Khātam (Persian: ) is an ancient Persian technique of inlaying. It is a version of marquetry where art forms are made by decorating the surface of wooden articles with delicate pieces of wood, bone and metal precisely-cut intricate geometric patterns. Khatam-kari (Persian: ) or khatam-bandi (Persian: ) refers to the art of crafting a khatam. Common materials used in the construction of inlaid articles are gold, silver, brass, aluminum and twisted wire.The ornamentation of the doors of holy places predominantly consists of inlaid motifs. Samples of these can be observed in the cities of Mashhad, Qom, Shiraz and Rey. In the Safavid era, the art of marquetry flourished in the southern cities of Iran, especially in Isfahan, Shiraz and Kerman. The inlaid-ornamented rooms at the Saadabad Palace and the Marble Palace in Tehran are among masterpieces of this art.
Khatam is practiced in Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran. The art of inlaid and sudorific woodwork is undertaken in the workshops of the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, as well as in private workshops.Master Mohammad Bagher Hakim-Elahi was a master of this art, and learned the techniques from Master Sanee Khatam in Shiraz. Later in life, in early 1950's, he moved to Tehran, where he lived until the end of his life in March 2012. He continued making Khatam master pieces, ranging from small frames, and jewelry boxes, to large items such as coffee tables, bed frames, dinner tables, and large chandeliers, some of which are currently in Museums in Iran, but most are in private collection all around the world, including southern California. He also taught the art to his younger brother Asadolah Hakim-Elahi . Asadolah died from lymphoma in the late 1970s when he was in his mid-40s.
Enamel-Work
An Art with the background about 5000 years that has been used to decorate ornaments and dishes. This art is a combination of fire and soil that blends into the art of painting and creates beautiful roles. According to some experts, and in the pursuit of adapting Byzantine pearls to Iranian works, this art has been formed in Iran and then has gone to other countries. Of course, in Europe there are ancient works that have a very long history. For example, six gold ringes dating back to thirteen centuries of BC have been found in Cyprus, a sample of pearls. The famous statue of Zeus, found in Greece, dates back to 500 BC.Also, in the glass enamel on the metal enamel, and in the excavations in Nahavand, a pair of gold earrings was obtained that had a zebra style from the seventh to eighth centuries BC.One of these old examples is the golden engagement with pearls adorned with the Achaemenid era. Currently, this ancient work is kept at the Victorian and Albert Museum of London.The artistic peak of this art was during the Seljuk period, which had been custom-made for brass and pins, and these works were also sent to neighboring countries. One of the most prominent examples of this period is the "Als Arslan Tray", a pug of silver, held in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. This work was made by a professor named "Hassan Al-Kassai" and his name was carved with a Kofi line.Sassanid plates were discovered in Armenia that are kept at the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin and at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, an example of ancient Persian pearls. There are also other Iranian pearls in the Armitage Museum of St. Petersburg and the British and French museums.
Pottery
The history of Iran Pottery goes back into ancient time. When agriculture came into existence and cultivation started on Iran’s plateau by me primitive races of this land, people made utensils of killed clay in order to meet their needs.Fingerprints of primitive natives of Iran can be seen on these earthenware. The first earthenware were two kinds, black utensils and red ones, both of these had very simple construction.Gradually, simple earthenware, were being decorated by geometric designs. Studying these designs shows us that Iranians were very skillful in making designed earthenware and represented these designs in a very lively and beautiful manner. Iran could be called the main birth place of designed earthenware utensils. Designing earthenware in Iran started about 4 thousand years BC. The earthenware belonging to four thousand year BC had been killed more carefully in newly made kilns.
Glassblowing
Iran’s modern leather industry began at the start of the 20th century. Despite the industry's long history and the livestock hide's genetic proficiency, Iranian products have not achieved a significant place in international leather markets.During the reign of Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Qajar king, evidence has shown attempts to import leather processing machinery from the West, proving Iran's quest to build leather factories extended beyond the early 1900s.After the bombardment and closure of the First Parliament, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ordered the establishment of a new assembly within Iran. The members of this newfound assembly discussed an agreement to build up a modern leather factory. Prior to this agreement, Iran only enacted traditional tanneries (dabbaghi) for leather production.During the 1970s, the leather industry was one of the most lucrative businesses in Iran. Before the revolution, Iranians were able to build some of the machinery, such as gear boxes for the wooden drums used for washing the leather. After the 1979 Islamic revolution, sanctions against Iran affected the leather industry. As a result of these sanctions, some Iranian chemical companies began to produce chemical products for the industry and the manufacturers of leather processing machinery developed as well.
