The art of persian firoozeKobi engraving on copper
Turquoise Kobi on copper of Isfahan is one of the most popular products of authentic Iranian handicrafts.
Turquoise stone is one of the most beautiful stones in the world, which has always attracted the attention of people. The attractive and blue color of this stone is due to the presence of copper in it. It is interesting to know that this stone is found in countries such as Egypt, Mexico, America and Iran, but the best and highest quality type of this stone belongs to Iran, which is extracted from the oldest and largest turquoise mine in the world, which is in Neyshabur.
This beautiful stone can be seen in some of the stone facades of old mosques, it is also used in gold and jewelry making, jewelry making, such as rings, bracelets, etc., and it goes without saying that Isfahan artists have not benefited from this stone and its beauty, and the works They have created beauty on copper with this stone, which is known as turquoise.
In this article, we have prepared for you pictures of how to produce turquoise, get to know the tool and buy it. Getting to know the art of turquoise will help you make a better choice when buying turquoise. The price of turquoise in Isfahan is lower than in other cities.
The history of persian firoozeKobi
According to the investigations of the history of turquoise painting, this art was first created about 80 years ago by Yusuf Hakimian in Neishabur and then in Mashhad in the form of turquoise painting on gold and ornaments. In 20 years, the art of turquoise work was able to gain great fame and popularity due to the beauty and use of turquoise stones and the production of various types of turquoise dishes carved by various masters. This success became an excuse for Haj Dadash to transfer this art from Mashhad to Isfahan. According to the review of documents and writings, the first and main inventor of the handicrafts of turquoise engraving on copper was Ruben Yerushalami, who lived in Kilimhai neighborhood of Isfahan. In 1342, due to the lack of income and sufficient financial support, this person gave up his education at the very beginning and learned turquoise goldsmithing from his uncle.
This incident made him enter the vast world of handicrafts, especially turquoise, and he was able to find his inherent talent. At that time, turquoise engraving was done on silver, such as trays and goulash, or on gold and silver ornaments. Due to the talent and progress that Ruben Yeroshalmi found in the field of handicrafts, he was able to establish very good innovations. . The most important one was the turquoise Kobi on copper vessels, which took advantage of the malleability and beauty of copper. Therefore, the turquoise Kobi on copper originally goes back to the city of Isfahan, but in general, the emergence of the art of Turquoise Kobi and its addition to the list of authentic Iran handicrafts It belongs to the city of Neishabur, Mashhad.
History of Turquoise Cobbling in Iran
Firozeh Kobi is one of the few arts and crafts in Iran that does not have a long history. It is interesting to know that the history of this art is less than a century . About seventy years ago, a person named Yousef Hakmian created the first works of turquoise painting in Mashhad in Iran . His work began with making turquoise small pieces such as necklace plaques, bracelets, earrings, rings, brooches, ties, etc. After twenty years, a person named Haj Dadash took the knowledge of this art to the city of Isfahan. Exactly half a century ago, the art of turquoise painting was welcomed in Isfahan , and today we witness the creation of incredible works of this authentic Iranian art and craft in the city of Isfahan.
Although the beginning of this art was in Razavi Khorasan province and Mashhad city; But its manifestation has occurred in Isfahan city, so that nowadays many people interested in this art from all over the world come to Isfahan to buy Koob turquoise dishes.
Factors affecting the price of turquoise in Iran
It doesn’t matter if you want to buy dishes or ornaments of Koob turquoise; The most important factor in determining the price is the size and order and accuracy of the work .
The larger the size of the work, the higher the price because more material has been used in its construction and more time has been spent to create it.
The second factor is accuracy and regularity of work . Usually, turquoise engraving in Iran is done with a very high precision, however, in terms of accuracy, there are very few differences between the types of turquoise engraving. The lower the amount of black powder varnish in the work, the higher the price and value of the work. Because more turquoise stone has been used in its construction and more time has been spent in its construction.
The price range of Kobe turquoise dishes in Iran is between one hundred and fifty thousand tomans to several million tomans, which changes depending on the mentioned factors.
persian firoozeKobi in Isfahan
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Like other handicraft products in Isfahan, the turquoise art products of Isfahan are not very old, but the presence of them, which reaches less than a century, has made them very popular. Certainly, if you have taken a close look at the art of turquoise cutting and how to make its dishes and its final products, the elegance, precision and high art of their making will surprise you, how such beautiful dishes were created from a number of worthless stones. But these cases are not the only reasons for the popularity and spread of the art of turquoise painting in Isfahan and also the acceptance of turquoise painting dishes in Tehran. As you know, in addition to being used as decorative dishes, Kobe turquoise products can also be used. On the other hand, you must have heard that turquoise stones have healing properties and if you use dishes made with these stones, the benefits will be usable.
The turquoise stones that are used in the art of turquoise painting increase the positive energy of the interior of the house and by dispelling negative energy, they will change your mood. Using Firouze Kobi products strengthens the heart and treats depression and mental illnesses. Even women who are interested in this very beautiful and authentic Iranian art, can use the properties of its stones much better by buying Kubi turquoise jewelry. Even according to the findings of traditional medicine, it is clear that looking at Kubi turquoise dishes It strengthens the eyes.
Types of turquoise stones in persian firoozeKobi cutting
Turquoise stones are generally placed in two groups, chalk-white and blue-green stone, which in terms of quality are in two categories, medium and high-quality. The second group of turquoise stones are used most of all, because they have a higher ability to withstand heat and high pressure in stone restoration, processing and polishing operations. The type of mineral from which the turquoise stone was extracted is very important, and Neyshabur turquoise is the best example. The type of turquoise stone and the operations that are performed on it in the right heat and pressure are also influential.
Necessary tools for teaching persian firoozeKobi painting and how to prepare them
The artisans who are engaged in crushing turquoise prepare turquoise stones as well as special containers made of metals such as brass, copper or silver using presses and then separate these stones according to their size and use tools. Various people start hitting the stones on the dishes with precision and skill. Below we will mention some of the most important tools that are used in the training of turquoise painting.
- Copper dishes for turquoise painting: Note that the dishes used for teaching turquoise painting are special dishes, so you cannot do turquoise painting on ordinary copper dishes at home. The special dishes for Kubi turquoise have lines, which are called the necker line, which is required for Kubi turquoise.
- Hammer: In many workshops of turquoise crushing, special hammers are used to pound stones on the turquoise container.
- Gasoline lamp or gas lamp: Some artisans heat the surface of the metal with these lamps to stick walnut varnish on the dishes, and when the varnish becomes liquid, they stick turquoise stones to it.
- Hand pliers: This device is also mostly used to shape the turquoise dishes of Kub into the desired shape.
- Pliers: The use of tweezers in the training of turqoise cutting is to remove turquoise stones and help to place them on containers.
- Sanding: The amount of sanding you need depends on the size of the pan as well as the spacing of the notch lines on the copper pan.
- Turquoise Kobi glue : The special glues for learning Turquoise Kobi are usually available in the market in the form of two separate cans, one of which contains black glue and the other one contains white glue, which are mixed with each other in a ratio of two to one, and from black glue It is used twice as much as white glue. Special glues for turquoise painting are called walnut varnish and are prepared from a mixture of calfin walnut wood and turpentine. The quality of turquoise kobi adhesives plays the most important role in the effect of the work, so it is better to pay attention to its quality when buying turquoise kobi glue and buy them from reputable markets such as Naqsh Jahan Square, Isfahan.
- Turquoise Kobi Stones: As mentioned earlier, these stones are obtained from Neyshabur mines, and depending on the size of the container and the desired design for Kobi Turquoise, different amounts of them are used in Kobi Turquoise.
The steps of making persian firoozeKobi
● The steps of making and producing Firuze Koob
A Kub turquoise product, whether it is a tableware or a dish, is an object made of brass, silver, bronze, or bronze, in which the particles and small pieces of turquoise stone are placed on parts of its surfaces in the form of a mosaic. Special is given to it.
Making and paying for such a product includes two general steps:
A) Goldsmithing: Goldsmithing means making and preparing the desired object with one of the metals mentioned above. This work is done by goldsmiths or metal fabricators by hand, press or with the help of both.
After making the general form of the object, whether it is a dish or ornaments, they determine the part that needs to be stamped with turquoise, and around it, a narrow metal string (of the metal of the object itself) called “kandan” is placed and soldered to the part that is Around the desired form, find a wall with a height of two to three millimeters from the surface of the container. This is usually done by the goldsmith and sometimes by the turquoise craftsman himself.
If the part prepared for the turquoise coating occupies a large area and its background looks empty, with strings of the same metal, smaller decorative patterns (flowers, bushes, etc.) are placed inside it and soldered again. .
In addition to making the work form more beautiful, this action also adds more strength to the surface of the crushed turquoise.
B) Turquoise Kobi: First of all, the artisan of Kob Turquoise buys unusable turquoise stones from turquoise workshops or turquoise mines in Mashhad, Neishabor and Damghan.
Since these pebbles are accompanied by some soil and ordinary pebbles, first they are separated and cleaned from other wastes. Then, the pieces of turquoise stones are separated according to size and so-called granulation, so that in the manufacture of each turquoise product, a piece of turquoise more appropriate to the work surface of the turquoise is used.
In the next step, the desired object is heated (about 30 degrees C) and while heating, “walnut lacquer” is sprayed on the parts that need to be painted turquoise, in such a way that the lacquer powder is almost melted and covers the surface of the corresponding part.
While the varnish is still soft and molten on the surface of the object and has a sticky state, some small pieces of turquoise stones are placed on the work according to the required size. The stones should be placed next to each other so that there is no gap between them.
In order to fill the possible gaps between the turquoise stones, they increase the heat a little (around 40 degrees C) and sprinkle another amount of lacquer powder on the stones until the lacquer layer is melted, and then they try to add smaller stones. So that the stones are completely placed in the work and so called sit on it, this operation is usually done with the help of hands. In this way, they press the surface of the turquoises with their hands so that they stick well to the work surface. After the object cools down, the parts of the varnish become hard. After this stage, the parts covered with varnish and turquoise stone are “absorbed” by sanding stone, so that the extra parts of the varnish and the slight protrusions of the stones are ground and polished. It is here that turquoise colored stones and almost black (dark brown) varnish appear between the stones.
After finishing this step, if there is a mess in some parts of the work surface, the object is heated again and the spilled parts are repaired with small stones and lacquer powder, and then the work surface is sanded and polished. . Sometimes the restoration process is done with a kind of turquoise colored putty prepared with “Mel” flower oil and azure color.
The last stage of the turquoise work is the payment, which is done in two stages.
The first stage is the finishing of the metal parts, which is done in the goldsmith’s or millwork workshop, and the dull and dark color layer that is created on the metal parts during the turquoise stamping process is removed by hand tools or a mill blade. Then these metal parts are polished until it becomes clear and polished.
The second stage of finishing the polished turquoise product is that after polishing the metal parts of the object, it is returned to the artisan of turquoise polishing, where they polish the polished turquoise surfaces with olive oil or sesame oil so that these parts are also transparent and shiny. be made
In the work stages, the craftsman who produces turquoise Koob also uses tools and equipment, which mainly include molds, hammers, drills, gas lamps, gasoline lamps, gas, pliers, pliers, pliers, sharpeners for different metal pipes, files and emery stones. is.
The most important thing in hammering turquoise is, first of all, the correct installation of turquoise on the metal, such that it has enough strength and does not come off when polishing the turquoise pieces, and the more the turquoise is hammered, the more productive it is, and the more orderly the pieces of stone are. If it is installed next to each other and there is no big distance between the turquoise pieces, the work has more artistic value.
Uses of turquoise in copper
There are many types of Isfahan Koubi turquoise dishes, each of which can be used in addition to the decorative aspect. At present, Aghajani and Hamed Karimi turquoise dishes are very famous because they have a unique quality compared to other products. Here are some examples of turquoise dishes by Aghajani and Hamed Karimi:
• Pastries: Pastries are widely used dishes in parties and gatherings. These containers, which are used to serve various sweets, have a special appearance due to the special color and design of the turquoise stones. The combination of these dishes with traditional sweets pleases the heart more than anything else.
• Ajil Khouri: One of the decorative and functional turquoise Kobi dishes is Ajil Khouri, which is used in Yalda and Nowruz celebrations in addition to various occasions. You can buy the right size of these containers according to the consumption of nuts.
• Tea set: For us Iranians, tea set is one of the requirements for serving guests. We all use tea at least once a day to relieve our fatigue. In parties and gatherings, tea is one of the constant basis of entertaining guests. Multiply the delicious taste of the tea drink by buying tea accessories such as turquoise Kobe sugar or turquoise Kobe tea set. Of course, nowadays, the people of Novaros use decorative turquoise tools in dowry.
• Bowls and plates: Kobe turquoise bowls and plates are more decorative and decorative at home. By buying turquoise copper bowls and plates, your home decor will have a special beauty that is unique among handicraft decorative dishes. Be careful that if you buy decorative crafts, it should be a complete set with other dishes to maintain its beauty.
• Mirrors and candlesticks: Mirrors and candlesticks are among the decorative items and of course the bride’s dowry before marriage. Mirrors and candlesticks are among the fixed basic items that must be purchased so that the house of Novaros can have a special effect along with other decorative items. Mirrors are made in various circular, rectangular and curved shapes so that you have a lot of choice according to your taste. The price of the turquoise candelabra and the mirrors are different according to the size and brand.
• Vase: Turquoise vases are produced in various shapes and sizes. For flowers and plants with long stems, it is better to choose larger pots, but for keeping plants that are smaller, a smaller pot is also suitable. Buying patterned turquoise is a better choice for vases that give a lot of positive energy with flowers and plants to our home. It is not bad to know that an Isfahan artist named Javad Khairi has produced the world’s largest turquoise vase with a height of 170 cm, which has about 17 kg of turquoise gems. This work of art was displayed in the exhibition from “Carpet to Throne” in 2014 to promote the art of Firouze Kobi handicrafts.
• Kashkul: Kashkul containers have a very long history among Iranians and in ancient times Sufis used them to store water and food. These dishes were made from the skin of the Kashkul fruit, which was believed to have high detoxification properties. Nowadays, buying kashkul is also useful in addition to its decorative aspect. You can buy Kashkul containers and use them as a means to serve fruit, nuts, chocolate, and snacks. The price of the turquoise kashkul varies according to the size, model, design and manufacturer’s brand.
• Tray and gouache: Turquoise Kobe tray and gouache is one of the most luxurious decorative and of course functional products that are used for reception. To buy a tea set, you can use the Turquoise Kobe tea set and the complete set of trays and bowls. Galash is a container for placing a glass or a cup, which is very suitable for luxury homes and gives it a special effect.
• Chocolate dishes: Turquoise Kobi chocolate dishes are suitable for women who like their chocolate dishes to be separate from other dishes. Although very beautiful designs and patterns are used in making these dishes and their decorative aspect is more important, they can also be used for reception. The price of Firouze Kobi chocolates varies depending on the quality of construction, the type of brand, and the design and model.
• Sanbeldan: Sanbeldan has long been used as a fire pit, which looks like a vase. Fragrant and beautiful flowers such as hyacinths are poured inside these containers so that by burning them, a good smell fills the space. For this reason, these dishes are also known as Sanbeldan. Today, they use the turquoise marbles to decorate wooden and marble consoles. These containers are made in two shapes, simple opening and grid, and are produced in three sizes, small, medium and large.
• Samavar: The set of 5-piece turquoise samovar is one of the most stylish products of turquoise, which is mostly decorative. This very beautiful decorative set made with the best copper and turquoise stones consists of a samovar, a teapot, a tray, a pitcher and a bowl. This product is in the category of luxury goods and is suitable for homes that use expensive decorative items.
You can use a combination of all the mentioned dishes for the year of delivery and arrangement of Haft Sin Firouze Kobe set and start a completely different new year. The beauty and properties of turquoise stones will bring peace to your environment, and if you are a fan of luxury dishes, you will not find a better option than Kobe turquoise decorative dishes.
Tips for maintaining turquoise copper dishes and objects
During polishing and especially at the last stage of making turquoise dishes, protective layers of polyester are placed on them to prevent turquoise stones from various damages. However, you should always follow the important points in the maintenance of Kobe turquoise dishes so that you can enjoy the beauty of these exquisite dishes for years.
Kobe turquoise jewelry is more vulnerable to damage than other works of this art. When you want to use your turquoise jewelry to attend parties, remove the cream, perfume, cologne and other cosmetics from the place before wearing the ring or other turquoise jewelry. Cosmetics and chemicals will cause the most damage to turquoise stone.
Conclusion:
The important points in maintaining the turquoise dishes are as follows:
- To prevent color change, turquoise dishes should not be placed near oily and chemical substances such as cosmetics.
- The sun itself can change the color of these dishes. Therefore, when placing these containers in the decor, avoid direct sunlight.
- Since these dishes are mostly decorative, they should not be washed with detergents and hot water. Use mild detergents and lukewarm water to clean them.
- Prevent turquoise containers from impact and any damage to their body.
- When using jewelry that has turquoise stones in its structure, carefully clean the area from perfume, cream, cologne, and cosmetics.
