Khatam Isfahan’s unique in Shiraz market
Some master calligraphers believe that the art of calligraphy is the miracle of the Prophet Abraham. Historical works and examples of this art include the roof of the main porch of the Atiq Grand Mosque in Shiraz in the eighth century AH, the Khatam doors of Timur Gurkhani’s dream palace called Delgosha in Samarkand and the doors decorated with geometric shapes of flowers and bushes from Bukhara in the Victoria Albert Museum. Is noted.
A Shirazi inlay maker believes: The origin of Khatam was imported to Iran from China and India and it differs from the current inlays in the size of the sides of the triangles. Because the Iranians designed these triangles in the smallest possible size, they named it Khatam, which means the end of This has been an artistic downsizing.
Mehdi Fooladfar said: The art of inlaying came to Iran from China in the modern way before Safavid and during the Mongol conquest of Iran and establishing a direct relationship between Iran and China, but in pre-Islamic Iran it was also common as inlaying.
He continued: The most important termination center in the world today is Iran. Although there is the art of finishing in India, Syria, Iraq and Palestine, but not as old and delicate as Iran. In fact, this art is specific to Iranians.
The Shirazi inlay maker added: The time of the beginning of the inlay making art is not exactly determined. Khatam Shiraz is considered to be about 1000 years old and the pulpit of the Atiq Grand Mosque in Shiraz is from Khatam. This art flourished in the Safavid period and was discredited in the Qajar period due to insufficient attention. In the centuries before, Shirazi inlay artists made very exquisite inlay boxes for the holy shrine of the Imams in Iraq, and in the early Pahlavi period, the marble palace was finished by master Shirazi artists.
He pointed out: The quality and originality of the inlay of Shiraz is well-known, and the original inlay made in Shiraz has a longer life than similar in other cities. These features that have given Khatam Shiraz a rating compared to other cities are the differences in the work process and the cases that are used.
This artist expressed his regret that in most of the handicraft booths in Shiraz, the only thing that is not seen is Shiraz handicrafts and we mostly see the presentation of non-native and Chinese works of art in these places !, said: Fars ranks first in the country in terms of handicraft diversity. However, the lack of timely information for the presence of prominent works in domestic and international exhibitions, the lack of special booths for handicrafts in cultural venues and the lack of support for artists in this field, has caused the decline of this valuable art in the country.
He added: One of the ways to improve the quality of the art of inlaying is to create an inlaying field in the university, but unfortunately we see that graduates of handicrafts in universities do not study just a few more inlaying units and this is not enough to promote this art.
Fudladfar continued: In the handicrafts sector, not enough attention is paid to inlay and inlay makers, and unfortunately, with the loss of these 4 or 5 people who are masters in this field, we no longer have a replacement for them, and this art is forgotten. Although many claim to make Khatam in Shiraz, but only a handful are masters of this art and are able, in addition to designing and building Khatam infrastructure, to master knotting and wrapping Khatam 5 and 6 flowers.
Complaining about the decline of professional ethics among young artists in Shiraz, he said: In the past, Khatam’s masters helped each other to progress and respected each other a lot, but now most of those who have been in this job for some time deny each other and all claim that They are masters!
According to him, Khatami, which is sold in shops, does not have an artistic spirit and is more of a series, and it is often market and mass inlays that are mostly produced in Isfahan.
This handicraft artist believes that the people of Isfahan, due to having enough manpower in this artistic sector and their economic thinking, control most of the Khatam market, and although the original spirit of Khatam is not seen in their works, but unfortunately, most Shiraz inlays also do Khatam Isfahan works. they sell! And in fact, Shirazi inlay makers are far from the competition of the market, while the highest quality inlays are made by Shirazis!
