The Depository · Browse · Middle East
The Depository documents 13 techniques in Iran; by risk level: 3 endangered, 6 vulnerable, 4 stable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
The hand-knotting of wool and silk carpets on vertical looms, a Persian craft tradition regarded as an object of high artistic and utilitarian value since it was first mentioned by ancient Greek writers, continuing largely unchanged for…
A luxurious handwoven fabric made from fine wool and, at times, silk, featuring intricate paisley (boteh) and arabesque patterns arranged with precision on traditional looms, a delicate and time-consuming handicraft popular since the…
The hand-weaving of khorjin, among the most iconic woven objects of Persian nomadic life, consisting of two woven pouches connected by a central panel, a simple yet ingenious design allowing the finished bag to be draped over a horse or…
The setting of small, precisely cut pieces of turquoise gemstone in mosaic fashion onto copper, brass, silver, nickel, or bronze vessels and jewelry, a relatively young Iranian art form with a documented history of roughly fifty to seventy…
A refined, meticulous work of inlay in which small triangular pieces of wood, bone (typically camel bone), metal, and ivory are stacked and arranged side by side to create continuous, regular geometric mosaic-like patterns.
The hammering and chiseling of intricate, beautiful Persian motifs into copper, brass, silver, and gold, directly considered the best-documented Iranian artistic form surviving from the Islamic era.
The transformation of metal into a canvas of vivid color and intricate detail through minakari, or Persian enameling, a centuries-old craft that fuses powdered glass onto copper or silver through intense heat, creating delicate floral…
The creation of small-scale, richly detailed Persian paintings, an art form first established in ancient Persia before spreading to China, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern countries, and directly modernized in the twentieth century most…
The hand-printing of patterned cotton textiles using carved wooden stamps and natural dyes, an art whose exact origins remain uncertain but which art historian Arthur Pope has traced in Iran back to the Ghaznavid era, reaching its golden…
The construction of giveh, a soft, light, and durable handmade shoe common across rural and mountainous Iran, particularly in Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and Yazd Provinces, made up of two distinct parts: a sole, historically made of leather…
The wheel-throwing and hand-painting of ceramic vases, bowls, jars, and sculptures in Lalejin, a small town near Hamedan directly and repeatedly documented across sources as the pottery capital of Iran and the source of the country's…
The hand-harvesting and processing of saffron, the world's most valuable spice by weight, produced overwhelmingly in Iran, which accounts for approximately 85 to 90 percent of global saffron production.
The making of costumes, symbolic props, calligraphic elements, and musical instruments supporting Ta'zieh, Iran's ritual dramatic art form reenacting the events of the Battle of Karbala (680 CE), centering on the tragic death of Husayn ibn…