Beginner guide · 10 min
Introduction to Persian handicrafts
Editorial team · updated 2026-09-12
The craft families
Iranian handicrafts are usually grouped by material: textiles, ceramics, metal, wood, paper and the arts of the book, glass, leather and natural fibre. Each family has its own regional map, technical vocabulary and conservation problems.
Workshop, village and camp
The same technique produces very different objects depending on where it is practised. A designed city workshop, a village loom and a pastoral household differ in how a design is arrived at — and that difference, not quality alone, explains much of what a collector sees.
Reading the language
Craft names are usually Persian descriptions of the process: qalam-zani is pen-striking, khatamkari is the making of khatam, negargari is picture-making. Learning the term usually means learning the technique.