One of the traditions of Ancient Persia is handicrafts, which are preserved in the culture of the nation and passed on from generation to generation.
Today handmade products are highly regarded outside Iran as unique art. A popular way of Iranian handicraft are true masterpieces, and each of them has its own history.
Art is a fine industry in Iran and is famous for its unique handicrafts. There are presently nine million Iranians, involved in the production of handicrafts and other rural industries like Persian carpets, Kilim & Jajim, hand–made and hand-painted glassware and ceramics, pottery items and jewellery making. The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts has listed popular souvenirs to buy while visiting Iran as below.
Mamqan Embroidery
Mamqan Embroidery (Mamaqan Doozi) is a branch of embroidery conducted in East Azarbaijan Province of Iran using colourful khameh (a type of silky thread) and needlework on a piece of cloth.
The patterns are mostly abstract and inspired by the artists’ personal perceptions and insights regarding nature, many of which include figurative flowers and plants. An ordinary 4-cm needle and a thimble are the only tools used by embroidering to create the most novel designs on cloth and produce elegant and useful works of art.
Batik Dyeing
Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a tjanting, or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a cap.
Jajim
Jajim is a handwoven rug that is thick and has no lint, made of wool and cotton with long wrapping and stripped and colourful pattern. Jajim is woven by weaving machine, brush and reel and is used for ground cloth, mat, etc.
Kilim
Kilim Weaving is the art of wrapping and weaving different types of Kilim using natural, colourful fibers as well as repairing the weaved Kilims. Kilim is a flat tapestry-woven carpet or rug can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Modern kilims are popular floor coverings in Western households.
