Persian crafts, explained properly

Comparing craft techniques

Qalamzani shapes decoration by working the metal surface; mina-kari adds vitreous enamel; khatam assembles small elements into mosaic marquetry. A single object may combine techniques, so identify the support and each decorative layer separately.

Khatam: Persian Marquetry, Explained

Khatam (khatam-kari) is a Persian marquetry technique in which thin rods of wood, brass and bone are bundled into a bar with a star or polygon in cross-section, glued, sliced into wafer-thin sheets, and laid over a wooden object. Every visible star in a khatam surface is the end grain of a rod, not a painted or carved motif.

Mina Kari: Persian Enamel on Metal

Mina kari is Persian vitreous enamelling on metal, often copper. Glass-based enamel is fused to a prepared metal surface by firing; painted decoration may then receive further firings. Isfahan is closely associated with the craft and its blue-and-white designs. Firing schedules, pigments and construction vary between workshops, so a colour or photograph alone cannot establish how an individual object was made.

Qalamzani: Persian Metal Engraving and Chasing

Qalamzani is the Persian technique of decorating metal by striking shaped punches (qalam) with a hammer to raise, sink and texture the surface. It is chasing and repoussé rather than cutting: the metal is displaced, not removed, so the design reads in relief on the front and in negative on the back.

Persian Handicrafts: A Field Guide

Persian handicrafts are the traditional Iranian crafts still made by hand in workshop and household settings — among them engraved and enamelled metalwork, knotted carpets and kilims, khatam marquetry, tilework, turquoise inlay, termeh weaving, block-printed ghalamkar, lacquer painting and pottery. Most of these traditions are still transmitted by apprenticeship rather than through formal schooling.