Reference

Encyclopedia

دانشنامه

Every craft, technique, material, motif and region has a structured entry. Each carries its editorial status, its sources, and links to the objects, artisans and places it belongs to.

CalligraphyCeramicsMetalworkPaintingTextilesWoodwork

WoodworkEndangered

Khatamkariخاتم‌کاری

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.

Expert reviewedUpdated 2026-08-143 sources

TextilesLiving tradition

Persian carpetفرش ایرانی

A hand-knotted pile textile woven across Iran in city workshops, village looms and pastoral camps, distinguished by regional structure, palette and design vocabulary.

Expert reviewedUpdated 2026-09-023 sources

TextilesLiving tradition

Tabriz carpetقالی تبریز

The workshop carpet tradition of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan, characterised by drawn cartoons, a distinctive hook-knife weaving method and a wide range of fineness grades.

PublishedUpdated 2026-07-212 sources

TextilesAt risk

Termehترمه

A patterned Iranian brocade woven with supplementary wefts, historically in silk and wool, associated above all with Yazd and Kerman.

PublishedUpdated 2026-06-302 sources

MetalworkAt risk

Qalam-zaniقلم‌زنی

The Iranian tradition of decorating copper, brass and silver vessels with small chisels struck by hammer, working the metal into line, ground and relief.

Expert reviewedUpdated 2026-08-022 sources

PaintingLiving tradition

Persian miniatureنگارگری ایرانی

The Iranian tradition of small-scale painting made for manuscripts and albums, built from fine line, flat luminous colour and layered spatial convention rather than single-point perspective.

Expert reviewedUpdated 2026-09-102 sources

CalligraphyLiving tradition

Nasta'liq calligraphyنستعلیق

A hanging cursive script developed in Iran for Persian poetry, distinguished by its sloping baseline, sharply contrasted thick and thin strokes, and sweeping final letters.

PublishedUpdated 2026-05-182 sources

CeramicsLiving tradition

Haft-rang tileworkکاشی هفت‌رنگ

Square polychrome tiles painted with several overglaze colours and fired together, allowing large architectural schemes to be produced faster than cut tile mosaic.

PublishedUpdated 2026-04-222 sources

TextilesLiving tradition

Gabbehگبه

A thick, coarsely knotted pile rug woven mainly by pastoral and village weavers of the Zagros, with open fields, few motifs and a directly personal design language.

PublishedUpdated 2026-03-112 sources