The Independent Research Group of Iranian Traditional Arts (IRGITA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts (MCTH) has succeeded in reviving the art of weaving seven-colored velvet after one-year-long study and research.
The reviving of the ancient art was unveiled in the presence of Behrouz Omrani, head of the IRGITA at one of the production units of the ministry on Saturday (January 9, 2021).
Abdolmajid Sharifzadeh, director of the research unit of the IRGITA, said on the sidelines of the unveiling ceremony that the velvet weaving art has a long background in Iran, which dates back to the Safavid era.
According to Sharifzadeh, the historical art of weaving seven-colored velvet is one of the highest techniques of Safavid masters and artists, and there are merely a few samples of this kind of velvet in museums overseas.
Sharifzadeh went on to say, “One of the most strange arts of our ancestors in the field of textiles is the velvet weaving, because the idea of weaving a fabric that is not just a texture and comprises a third part named pile direction happened for the first time in Iran’s history during Ilkhanate era.”
Kamkha had been a very delicate fabric of silk and later became well known as velvet, the expert explained.
He further noted that the peak of velvet weaving art dates back to the Safavid dynasty, so that the art has never reached such a skill and beauty in any post-Safavid era.
The artists of that era succeeded in doing such an extraordinary job when they created complex patterns of textiles with seven to eight colors, the Iranian researcher added.
Sharifzadeh also asserted that the weaving of seven-colored velvet had been history, but Iranian artists and researchers managed to revive it after nearly 300 years through reverse engineering and numerous efforts.
1424
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