Pottery

Pottery 

Pottery is the ceramic material which makes up pottery wares, of which major types include Earthenware , stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery (plural "potteries"). Pottery also refers to the art or craft of a potter or the manufacture of pottery.

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Pottery as one of the ancient arts of human being has been practiced since begging of their life.it was practiced to meet their daily needs and Potters have been forming vessels from clay bodies for millions of years.they may whatever they needed out of clay. Since containers and dishes made out of clay were not made using potter’s wheel and they were not fired in kiln they were very fragile.

Pottery is made by forming a clay body into objects of a desired  shape and heating them to high temperatures in a kiln which removes all the water from the clay, which induces reactions that lead to permanent changes including increasing their strength and hardening and setting their shape. A clay body can be decorated before or after firing. Prior to some shaping processes, clay must be prepared.

Pottery must be fired to a temperature high enough to mature the clay, meaning that the high temperature hardens the piece to enable it to hold water. An integral part of this firing is the addition of liquid glaze (it may be painted on or dipped in the glaze) to the surface of the unfired pot, which changes chemical composition and fuses to the surface of the fired pot. Then, the pottery is called vitreous, meaning it can hold water.

Nowadays artists use clay as a tool of expressing their emotions and reflect their creativity in their works.

Backgammon

BACKGAMMON is one of the oldest board games  for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice , and a player wins by removing all of their pieces from the board before their opponent. Backgammon is a member of the tables  family, one of the oldest classes of board games in the world.

In Persian, the game of backgammon is known as takht-e-nard. Its exact origin is unclear, but it is thought to have first been played in Mesopotamia and Sumer about 5,000 years ago. The modern game seems to have developed directly from the Persians. According to H.G. Raverty, in an article entitled "The Invention of Chess and Backgammon": "Ard-Shir Babakan, son of Babak of the Sassanian dynasty of Iran-Zamin or the ancient Persian empire, invented it. The game was also sometimes called Nard-i-Shir after him." (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, ca. 1886)

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The game remains popular today, and backgammon sets are more than just playing boards: the fine craftsmanship that goes into their construction makes them as enjoyable to look at as they are to play on.

Backgammon involves a combination of strategy and luck (from rolling dice). While the dice may determine the outcome of a single game, over a series of many games, the better player will accumulate the better record. Thus, records of matches between players are good indicators of relative skill. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their checkers and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. In variants  that originate from early 20th century New York, players may raise the stakes during the game. There is an established repertoire of common tactics and occurrences.

Enamel (Minakari)

Enamel is a brilliant art of fire and soil, whose history goes back to 1500 B.C.

Enamel working and decorating metals with colorful and baked coats is one of the distinguished courses of art in Isfahan . Mina, is defined as some sort of glass like colored coat which can be stabilized by heat on different metals particularly copper. Although this course is of abundant use industrially for producing metal and hygienic dishes, it has been paid high attention by painters, goldsmiths and metal engravers since long times ago. In the world, it is categorized into three kinds as below:

1. painting enamel
2. Charkhaneh or chess like enamel
3. Cavity enamel.

The art of "Mina kari" or Enameling is an special coloring method with mina glaze to paint decorative dishes, pots and vases.

It is called miniature of fire, the art of painting, coloring and ornamenting the surface of metals by fusing over it with brilliant colors that are decorated in an intricate design. Mina is the feminine form of Minoo in Persian culture, meaning heaven. Mina refers to the Azure color of heaven.

What of more availability in Isfahan is the painting enamel of which a few have remained in the museums of Iran and abroad indicting that Iranian artists have been interested in this art and used it in their metal works since the Achaemenian Aand the sasanid  dynasties. The enamels being so delicate, we do not have many of them left from the ancient times. Some documents indicate that throughout the Islamic civilization of and during the Seljuk & Safavid and Zand dynasties there have been outstanding enameled dishes and materials. Most of the enameled dishes related to the past belong to the Qajar Dynasty  between the years 1810–1890 AD. There have also remained some earrings. Bangles, boxes, water pipe heads, vases, and golden dishes with beautiful paintings in blue and green colors from that time, Afterwards, fifty years of stagnation caused by the World War I and the social revolution followed. However, again the enamel red color, having been prepared, this art was fostered from the quantity and quality points of view through the attempts bestowed by Ostad Shokrollah Sani'e zadeh, the outstanding painter of Isfahan in 1935 and up to then for forty years.

Studies on enameling shows that Bizans enameling is based on Iranian enameling. The oldest existing examples confirm the claim that the enamel as well as many other arts were first found in Iran, then has made its way to other countries. In the Mongolian era a new method in metalworking and enameling came to existence. Arabic patterns and images were replaced by images and patterns showing portrait and costume of Iranian royals. During the Timurid era inlaying on metal reached its most eastern style. In the Safavid era the patterns used in enameling and metalworking went under change .During the era silver dishes were ornamented with miniature patterns showing banquets of palaces, hunting ceremonies and horse riding. Enameling also enjoyed spiral (Eslimi) and floral patterns and red color became more common. Isfahan was one of main centers of practicing enameling and still it is.

Enamel is naturally transparent, this transparency is the result of tin oxide and its composition has remained unchanged from ancient times until today. Enamel has different steps. The first step is taken by copper-smith, who make targeted dishes in different shapes and measures ,then white glaze is applied to the dish by enamel specialists. process involves applying glaze 3-4 times to the dish and then firing it under the furnace at a temperature of 700.c to make the glaze stable. At this stage painting is done on the dish, then it is fired under the furnace at a temperature of 400-500 B.C.

In the past time, which enameling was not very common herbal a mineral color was used in enameling, but nowadays chemical colors are used in painting enamel works. Three kinds of colors are used in enameling:

Herbal dyes used in calico printing.

Mineral dyes used in painting and enameling.

Metalic dyes used in enameling .

Colors used in enamel is obtained from different sources, red from gold, green from copper ,blue. turquoise and white was obtained from a special color.

Persian miniature

Persian miniature

Persian miniature is a small painting on paper,Bone,Shell ,  stone etc.

A Persian miniature is a richly detailed miniature painting which depicts religious or mythological themes from the region of the Middle East now known as Iran. The art of miniature painting in Persia flourished from the 13th through the 16th centuries, and continues to this day, with several contemporary artists producing notable Persian miniatures. These delicate, lush paintings are typically visually stunning, with a level of detail which can only be achieved with a very fine hand and an extremely small brush.

The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. Miniature painting became a significant Persian genre in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents.

The bright and pure coloring of the Persian miniature is one of its most striking features. Normally all the pigments used are mineral-based ones which keep their bright colors very well if kept in proper conditions, the main exception being silver, mostly used to depict water, which will oxidize to a rough-edged black over time.The conventions of Persian miniatures changed slowly; faces are normally youthful and seen in three-quarters view, with a plump rounded lower face better suited to portraying typical Central Asian or Chinese features than those of most Persians. Lighting is even, without shadows or chiaroscuro. Walls and other surfaces are shown either frontally, or as at (to modern eyes) an angle of about 45 degrees, often giving the modern viewer the unintended impression that a building is (say) hexagonal in plan. Buildings are often shown in complex views, mixing interior views through windows or "cutaways" with exterior views of other parts of a facade. Costumes and architecture are always those of the time.

Handmade Tapestry Table cloth and Bed Covers (ghalamkari)

Handmade Tapestry Table cloth and Bed Covers 

Taught and made for over thousand years in Iranian generations, Calico is the art of block printing on Fabric.

With organic colors and printing blocks made from walnut, pear and hawthorn trees,the professional craftsmen create repeated designs on high quality cotton to design a gorgeous, colorful tablecloth, table cover, bed coverlet, or pillowcase.

Calico is not just pushing some stamps on some cloth. It is a continuous process in which each design is hand-carved on a separate piece of wood. The next step is to prepare the colors; rose, white alum, turmeric and grape juice are some of the base ingredients used in calico colors. the background color which is usually milky or white, has another special process. Finally, the printing process can begin!

Cotton fabric, is the key to extend life of calico tablecloths. Other than that, the fabric is boiled with pomegranate skin is after the designs are made; this ensures the colors will not fade after wash. A Variety of colors and shapes along with amazing designs has made Calico a fabulous choice for tablecloths and pillowcases.

Authentic Ghalamkari block printed tapestry are among the world's most coveted household items. Famous for their rich color, warm tones and beautiful ethnic motifs, these flat-woven textiles embody a splendid mix of cultures. Because each textile is hand block printed, each one is unique.