Minakari or Meenakari (Persian : میناکاری) is the process of painting and colouring the surfaces of metals and ceramic tiles through enameling, originating in Safavid Iran. It is practiced as an art form, and commercially produced mainly in Iran, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Minakari art usually involves intricate designs (mainly using geometric shapes and designs), and is applied as a decorative feature to serving dishes, containers, vases, frames, display ornaments, and jewelry. [1]
The word Mīnākārī is a compound word, composed of the words mīnā and kārī. Mīnā is a feminine variation of the word mīnū, which means paradise or heaven. Kārī means to do or place something onto something else. Together, the word Mīnākārī means to place paradise onto an object.
The art of enameling metal for ornamental reasons has been traced back to the Parthian and Sasanian eras of Iranian history. [2] However, the meticulous ornamental work seen today can be traced back to Safavid Iran around the 15th century. The Mughals introduced it to India and perfected the technique, making the design applied on objects more intricate. The craft reached its peak in Iran during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. [3] In the twentieth century, Iranian artisans specialising in meenakari were invited to other regions to assist with training local craftsmen. [4] In India, Rajasthan and Gujarat are most famous for their Mīnākārī artifacts and jewelry.
The process usually includes the fusing of coloured powder glass onto a substrate (metal, glass or ceramics) through intense heat (usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius or 1382 and 1562 degrees Fahrenheit). The powder melts and cures to a smooth, durable, glassy coating on metal, glass or ceramics. [5] [6]
Jewellery consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal such as gold often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as glass, shells and other plant materials may be used.
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide range of lands, periods, and genres, Islamic art is a concept used first by Western art historians in the late 19th century. Public Islamic art is traditionally non-representational, except for the widespread use of plant forms, usually in varieties of the spiralling arabesque. These are often combined with Islamic calligraphy, geometric patterns in styles that are typically found in a wide variety of media, from small objects in ceramic or metalwork to large decorative schemes in tiling on the outside and inside of large buildings, including mosques. Other forms of Islamic art include Islamic miniature painting, artefacts like Islamic glass or pottery, and textile arts, such as carpets and embroidery.
Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C. The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word vitreous comes from the Latin vitreus, meaning "glassy".
Guilloché, or guilloche, is a decorative technique in which a very precise, intricate and repetitive pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material via engine turning, which uses a machine of the same name. Engine turning machines may include the rose engine lathe and also the straight-line engine. This mechanical technique improved on more time-consuming designs achieved by hand and allowed for greater delicacy, precision, and closeness of line, as well as greater speed.
Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, glass and other materials were also used during older periods; indeed cloisonné enamel very probably began as an easier imitation of cloisonné work using gems. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments to the metal object by soldering or affixing silver or gold as wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln. If gemstones or colored glass are used, the pieces need to be cut or ground into the shape of each cloison.
Bangles are traditionally rigid bracelets which are usually made of metal, wood, glass or plastic. These ornaments are worn mostly by women in the Indian subcontinent, Southeastern Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. It is common to see a bride wearing glass bangles at weddings in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and in other Asian countries. Bangles may also be worn by young girls, and bangles made of gold or silver are preferred for toddlers. Some men and women wear a single bangle on the arm or wrist called kada or kara.
Lustreware or lusterware is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an overglaze finish, which is given a second firing at a lower temperature in a "muffle kiln", or a reduction kiln, excluding oxygen.
Sgraffito is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, and on pottery by applying two successive layers of contrasting slip or glaze to an unfired ceramic body. The Italian past participle sgraffiato is also used for this technique, especially in reference to pottery.
Metal clay is a crafting medium consisting of very small particles of metal such as silver, gold, bronze, or copper mixed with an organic binder and water for use in making jewelry, beads and small sculptures. Originating in Japan in 1990, metal clay can be shaped just like any soft clay, by hand or using molds. After drying, the clay can be fired in a variety of ways such as in a kiln, with a handheld gas torch, or on a gas stove, depending on the type of clay and the metal in it. The binder burns away, leaving the pure sintered metal. Shrinkage of between 8% and 30% occurs. Alloys such as bronze, sterling silver, and steel also are available.
The arts of Iran are one of the richest art heritages in world history and encompasses many traditional disciplines including architecture, painting, literature, music, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and stonemasonry. There is also a very vibrant Iranian modern and contemporary art scene, as well as cinema and photography. For a history of Persian visual art up to the early 20th century, see Persian art, and also Iranian architecture.
Khātam is an ancient Persian technique of inlaying. It is a version of marquetry where art forms are made by decorating the surface of wooden articles with delicate pieces of wood, bone and metal precisely-cut intricate geometric patterns. Khatam-kari (خاتمکاری) or khatam-bandi (خاتمبندی) refers to the art of crafting a khatam. Common materials used in the construction of inlaid articles are gold, silver, brass, aluminum and twisted wire.
Safavid art is the art of the Iranian Safavid dynasty from 1501 to 1722, encompassing Iran and parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was a high point for Persian miniatures, architecture and also included ceramics, metal, glass, and gardens. The arts of the Safavid period show a far more unitary development than in any other period of Iranian art. The Safavid Empire was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia, and with this, the empire produced numerous artistic accomplishments.
Thewa is a special art of jewelry making which involves fusing of intricately worked-out sheet gold on molten glass. It evolved in Pratapgarh district, Rajasthan India. Its origin dates back to the rajput era.
Edmund Robert Anthony de Unger was a Hungarian-born property developer and art collector. In London he built up the Keir Collection, one of the greatest post-war collections of Islamic art, bequeathed in 2008 to the Pergamon Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin. The arrangement for the museum to curate the collection came to an end in July 2012. The collection is now hosted by the Dallas Museum of Art as of May 2014 for a 15-year renewable loan.
The sarpech, also known as an aigrette, is a turban ornament that was worn by significant Hindu, Sikh and Muslim princes. Sar means "head" or "front" and pech means "screw", giving the word "sarpech" the literal meaning "that which is screwed onto the front ". The sarpech was also worn in Persia, where it was known as jikka or jiqa, meaning "crest" or "tuft", and in Turkey, where it was known as the sorguch, a name considered a corrupt form of the Persian word sarpush.
Persian pottery or Iranian pottery is the pottery made by the artists of Persia (Iran) and its history goes back to early Neolithic Age. Agriculture gave rise to the baking of clay, and the making of utensils by the people of Iran. Through the centuries, Persian potters have responded to the demands and changes brought by political turmoil by adopting and refining newly introduced forms and blending them into their own culture. This innovative attitude has survived through time and influenced many other cultures around the world.
Persian art or Iranian art has one of the richest art heritages in world history and has been strong in many media including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and sculpture. At different times, influences from the art of neighbouring civilizations have been very important, and latterly Persian art gave and received major influences as part of the wider styles of Islamic art. This article covers the art of Persia up to 1925, and the end of the Qajar dynasty; for later art see Iranian modern and contemporary art, and for traditional crafts see arts of Iran. Rock art in Iran is its most ancient surviving art. Iranian architecture is covered at that article.
The craft of cloisonné enameling is a metal and glass-working tradition practiced in the Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 12th century AD. The Byzantines perfected an intricate form of vitreous enameling, allowing the illustration of small, detailed, iconographic portraits.
Āina-kāri is a kind of Iranian interior decoration where artists assemble finely cut mirrors together in geometric, calligraphic or foliage forms. This creates a beautiful shining surface covered with complex facets, reflecting light as intricate abstract patterns or glittering reflections. Beside their decorative use, this art an used as a strong durable cover for an interior space of a building. This type of mosaic work is commonly done in Iran, Pakistan and is also found is Mughal era buildings of India.
The crafts of Sindh and its craftsmen are held in high esteem and their works are notable not only in Sindh but also in many other places.