Abadeh, global city of wood-carving

Fars province has been the cradle of training skilled artists and industrialists for centuries and the city of Abadeh and wood-carving have been registered in the list of Iran’s impalpable cultural legacy. This small city has 150 active workshops of wood-carving and there are 5000 artists working in them.

On November 26, it was announced that, according to the vote of the “World Handicrafts Council”, Abadeh is registered as the city of wood-carving, Meybod in Yazd province as the city of Ziloo (a kind of rug) and the village of Khorashaad in South Khorasan province as the village of Tubafi (towel-weaving) in the world. Ghadeh Heijawi, head of the Asia-Oceania region of WHC, said, “I saw the architecture, the history of handicrafts and wood-carving in Abadeh and this caused me to know the area clearly. By seeing the people I understood that they find themselves in the works that they create and they have satisfaction and calm with it.”

The registration of global cities was initiated at the World Handicrafts Council in 2014 and every year this is done in the 5 regions of handicrafts by the international referees. Iran is in the Asia-Oceania region and, since registration of Tabriz in 2015 as the global city of hand-woven carpet and Isfahan as the global city of handicrafts, the Islamic Republic has joined this great event.

Currently, there are 20 cities in the world which have been registered as the cities of handicrafts. Iran, with 8 cities and 2 villages ranks first in terms of global registration for handicrafts.

Abadeh city is located 274 kilometers north of Shiraz. It is a beautiful city with hospitable people. Due to being on Shiraz-Isfahan road, existence of ample gardens and farms, numerous mines and cultural, historical works, this city enjoys a high status in the culture, art and economy of Fars province.

Woodcarving is one of the handicrafts of Iranians with a past record of over 1500 years. Historical accounts reveal that this handicraft was born in Fars and the city of Abadeh. It has always attracted domestic travelers and foreign tourists.

The 1500-year record of woodcarving in Abadeh caused the artists and authorities send the rich record of this art to the bureau of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. WIPO is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the UN which was founded in 1967 with the aim of encouraging creative works and supporting intellectual ownership of these works. Presently, 185 countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, are members of WIPO.

After examinations carried out by the organization, the first international license of geographical symbol was registered for Iranian handicrafts under the title of “Abadeh Woodcarving”.

Woodcarving is one of the finest handicrafts which are replete with the motifs and designs inspired by nature and Islamic mysticism. This handicraft is a mixture of art and perseverance of artists who create very precious works with simple materials. The main material for woodcarving is wood of different trees. The harder the substance of the wood the better, more beautiful and more lasting the work will be. The master chooses the specific wood according to the work he/she is going to create. Meanwhile, the woods of some trees are used more frequently in woodcarving. Walnut, pear, sycamore, poplar and boxwood are the best trees used for woodcarving. Each of these trees has a unique colour and fabric which makes it suitable for creation of artistic works.

Woodcarving is now common in many Iranian cities; but the cities of Tuyserkan and Malayer in Hamedan province, Golpayegan in Isfahan province and Abadeh in Fars province have been active in the field since old times. However, in the cities of Bushehr and Orumiyeh, too, some people are engaged in woodcarving. The oldest woodcarving work that has remained to date, is a wooden door in Atiq Jame’ Mosque of Shiraz which belongs to the first half of the 9^th century. This valuable work has been made in the era of Amr ibn Leis Saffaari. The base of this work is from poplar wood while it is coated with walnut wood in very fine polygonal shapes and designs.

German Egyptologist of the 19^th century, Heinrich Karl Brugsch, wrote in his second travelogue, the Land of Sun, “Abadeh, due to making of wooden objects is very famous. The incredibly skillful artisans of this city make various kinds of beautiful woodcarving works from pear tree."

Ancient Iranians had not only been pioneers in painting and stone carving, but had also become familiar with artistic finesses and techniques of woodcarving. Cylindrical seals with very beautiful shapes on them were the precious artistic works of Arians some of which were pillaged and are kept in different museums of Europe.

During the Sassanid era, the arts of woodcarving and stone carving were developed both in quantity and quality. The artistic works of this era were so rich and advanced that for several centuries they impacted handicrafts and the wood works and metal works.

After the advent of Islam, owing to the spread of building mosques, Iranian artists and artisans were among the first people to use their talents and abilities in ornamenting mosques. Along with architects, tile workers, and plasterers, woodcarvers, too, created works such as minbar, door and window at mosques to show their taste and art. The works remaining from that era show that the Iranian art, inspired by Islamic teachings, ushered in a bright and splendid period which had hardly been seen in earlier times.

Woodcarving is done in three kinds: Engraving, relief work and sculpture. Engraving means carving the wood so that the surface of the design is lower than the wood piece. Relief means carving the wood in a way that the design stands out of the wood piece. Sculpture means there is no smooth surface and the design is worked on the whole wood piece.

Woodcarving has inspired artists to carve other materials such as ivory and bone. However, the variety of wood form and colour has made it a unique branch of art.

RM/SS