The list of National Craft Cities has grown with the addition of 11 new cities and villages inscribed during an annual session recently held by Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization. The selected cities include Zanjan for filigree (a delicate kind of jewelry metalwork), Kashan for traditional textile, Iranshahr for needlework, Bojnourd for kilim (a flat tapestry-woven carpet or rug), Abadeh for wood carving, Ilam for embossed kilim and Shahr-e Kord for felt, according to Pouya Mahmoudian, handicrafts deputy at ICHHTO.
"In addition, villages of Fash in Kermanshah Province, Besk in Khorasan Razavi Province, Qasem Abad in Gilan Province and Bidkordouye in Kerman Province have been respectively selected for crafting indigenous musical instruments, silk work, Chadorshab and Chehel Mashouleh [different sorts of kilim]," the official said. Mahmoudian added that there are five more dossiers pending inscription, after addressing their slight shortcomings.
"The sponsors of the dossiers have been given time to fix the flaws, in order not to lose the opportunity to gain the national status."
Global Level
Mahmoudian noted that among the selected national craft cities, two cities and one village will ultimately be shortlisted by the ICHHTO-affiliated committee of experts for inscription by UNESCO's World Crafts Council.
Over the past few years, authorities have grabbed every possible opportunity to introduce Iranian handmade artworks to the world, among which were global recognition for six cities and a village as world craft centers.
The cities that achieved international recognition from UNESCO's World Crafts Council include Tabriz in East Azarbaijan for its hand-woven carpets, Isfahan for its decorative handicrafts, Mashhad in Khorasan Razavi Province for its gemstones and Lalejin in Hamedan Province for its pottery.
Marivan in Kurdestan Province and Sirjan in Kerman Province have also received UNESCO's recognition respectively for Kalash (traditional handmade shoes) and kilim. Kalpourgan Village in Sistan-Baluchestan Province became the World Crafts Village for pottery made by women.
WCC's Inspiration
UNESCO's evaluation of cities rich in hand-made artworks and their registration in a separate entry as World Craft Cities has been the source of inspiration for the Iranian heritage authorities to do the same at national level.
According to Mahmoudian, the work started a couple of years ago, when a council tasked with selecting handicraft-rich cities and villages was established. "The criteria for evaluation include handicrafts export development, production capacity and the scope of activities by heritage authorities and NGOs," she added.
There are a total of 297 types of handicrafts in Iran, among which, the most well known are felts, tribal rugs, glasswork, pottery, ceramics and tiles, traditional furniture, copper and brass ornaments, woodwork (including mosaic, wood carving and inlaid), enamel work and engravings.
