A museum-grade reference to Iranian handicrafts — from Khatamkari in Shiraz to Tabriz carpets — with regional traditions, techniques and illustrative object records.
51 documented traditions across 10 regions.
A Persian inlay art in which fine rods of wood, bone and metal are bundled into star units, sliced into thin sheets and applied to a wooden surface to form dense geometric tessellation.
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Hand-knotted wool on a cotton foundation with a classical Shah Abbasi medallion, corner spandrels and an all-over vine field. Woven from a cartoon drawn in the workshop, at approximately 50 raj.
Traditions where the number of practitioners at the finest grades is declining.
A Persian inlay art in which fine rods of wood, bone and metal are bundled into star units, sliced into thin sheets and applied to a wooden surface to form dense geometric tessellation.
Read entry →A patterned Iranian brocade woven with supplementary wefts, historically in silk and wool, associated above all with Yazd and Kerman.
Read entry →The Iranian tradition of decorating copper, brass and silver vessels with small chisels struck by hammer, working the metal into line, ground and relief.
Read entry →A narrow-strip flatwoven textile, usually made in warp-faced bands on a portable loom and then sewn together into a wider cloth, traditionally used as bedding cover, floor spread or door hanging by village and pastoral households.
Read entry →A resist-dyed and block-printed cotton textile, historically associated with Isfahan, in which carved wooden blocks stamp repeating floral and figural patterns onto cloth in successive colour stages.
Read entry →A hand-embroidered wool textile from Kerman in which coloured silk or wool threads are worked in dense chain and satin stitching over a woollen ground, typically in a limited palette against a natural or dyed field.
Read entry →A metal-thread embroidery technique in which fine gold or silver wire, or wire-wrapped thread, is couched onto velvet or other heavy cloth to create raised, reflective patterns, historically used on ceremonial garments and furnishings.
Read entry →A non-woven wool textile made by matting and pressing raw wool fibres with moisture, heat and friction rather than by weaving, traditionally produced across Iran for floor coverings, cloaks and protective mats.
Read entry →A pileless, reversible cotton floor covering associated especially with Meybod near Yazd, woven on a vertical loom with ground heddles and pattern harnesses that control its geometric, often two-colour design.
Read entry →A metalworking technique in which fine drawn wires of silver or gold, often twisted or beaded, are soldered into openwork lattices and coiled floral forms to build jewellery, vessels and decorative panels.
Read entry →A historic overglaze-enamelled stonepaste ware produced mainly in Iran during the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, decorated with figural and courtly scenes painted in multiple colours applied after glazing and fixed by a low second firing.
Read entry →A joinery technique for building geometric lattice screens and panels from small, precisely cut wooden pieces assembled without glue or nails, using interlocking notched joints to form windows, doors and room dividers with openwork star and polygon patterns.
Read entry →A relief wood-carving technique in which solid panels, furniture and architectural elements are carved directly with chisels to produce raised or recessed floral, arabesque and geometric ornament, distinct from inlay techniques that build a surface from separate pieces.
Read entry →A decorative technique in which papier-mâché or wooden objects, such as boxes, mirror cases and pen boxes, are painted with fine miniature-style scenes or floral ornament and then sealed under multiple coats of clear lacquer varnish.
Read entry →A decorative technique, associated particularly with Mashhad, in which small chips of turquoise are set edge to edge with adhesive onto a metal object's surface to create a dense mosaic-like covering, most often seen on vessels, jewellery and decorative plates.
Read entry →A silk weaving technique producing a cut or voided pile on a foundation weave, used in Iran for garments, cushion covers and furnishing panels, with figured Safavid velvets among the most studied survivals.
Read entry →A figured silk weaving technique in which supplementary wefts, often including gold- or silver-wrapped thread, create pictorial or floral designs on a silk ground.
Read entry →A northern Iranian needlework tradition associated with Rasht in Gilan, combining wool felt or broadcloth appliqué with chain-stitch embroidery for covers, hangings and saddle cloths.
Read entry →A broad term for Iranian needle embroidery on cotton, silk or wool grounds, including counted, darned and satin-stitch work used on covers, garments and prayer cloths.
Read entry →Decoration of brass, bronze or steel vessels by setting silver, copper or gold into cut recesses, producing figurative scenes, inscriptions and ornament in contrasting colour.
Read entry →The chiselling and piercing of steel into plaques, standards (alam), locks and fittings, often with inscriptions or arabesque openwork.
Read entry →Iranian glass includes Sasanian cut glass, early Islamic mould-blown and cut vessels, and later blown bottles and rosewater sprinklers, with a small studio glassblowing tradition today.
Read entry →A ceramic decoration in which metallic oxides are painted onto a glazed surface and fired in a reducing kiln to produce a metallic sheen, associated especially with Kashan.
Read entry →The carving of bone and, historically, ivory into figurines, plaques, combs and inlay elements, also used as a component in khatam.
Read entry →The weaving of mats, baskets, fans and containers from date-palm leaves, reeds and rushes, practised especially in southern and northern Iran.
Read entry →The hand binding of manuscripts and books with leather or lacquer covers, often with a flap (lisan) and stamped, cut or gilded decoration.
Read entry →Traditional Iranian string-puppet theatre, and the craft of making its carved and costumed puppets, including the well-known character Mobarak.
Read entry →From fleece to finished pile: the sequence of preparation, dyeing, knotting and finishing that produces a hand-knotted carpet.
The complete buyer's path: planning, where to buy, inspection, KPSI and labels, appraisal, negotiation, paperwork and safe shipping.
Three checks that separate constructed inlay from a surface film printed to resemble it.
