Persian embroidery is a type of
Persian art
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 ...
and
handicraft
A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...
.
History
It has been speculated that Persian embroidery existed from ancient times and at least from the time of the
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
, based on numerous designs visible on rock sculptures and silverware of that period,
and have been classified by Professor
Ernst Herzfeld. Patterns on the coat of
Chosroes II at
Taq-e Bostan
Taq-e Bostan (, ) is a site with a series of large rock reliefs in Kermanshah, Iran, carved around the 4th century CE during the Sasanian era.
This example of Sasanian art is located 5 km from the city center of Kermanshah. It is locat ...
are in high relief; they may represent embroidery. Roundels, animals, and other familiar motifs of
Sasanian art were also used as patterns for sculptures representing embroidery.
The earliest piece of physical Persian embroidery is from the
Seljuk Empire
The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...
(1037–1194
A.D.);
it featured a strong Chinese-style pattern influencing the design.
The Chinese style of embroidery of this time featured a
satin stitch
In sewing and embroidery, a satin stitch or damask stitch is a series of flat stitches that are used to completely cover a section of the background fabric. Narrow rows of satin stitch can be executed on a standard sewing machine using a zigzag ...
(Persian: ṭirāz) made of silk thread and was applied mainly for ornamentation purposes.
Peculiarities
The
chain stitch
Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft – examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dat ...
(Persian: ''gulab-duzi'') was used in many types of Persian embroidery, most notably in the regional
Rasht embroidery.
The embroidery featuring metal tinsel in
tulle
Tulle (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Corrèze, in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle- ...
(Persian: ''naghdeh-duzi'') is a common technique of the
Jews of Iran.
(Persian: ''sermeh-duzi'') is an Iranian ancient-style of embroidery with origins that date back to the
Achaemenid dynasty
The Achaemenid dynasty ( ; ; ; ) was a royal house that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, which eventually stretched from Egypt and Thrace in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east.
Origins
The history of the Achaemenid dy ...
(705–330
B.C.E.), and features gold and/or silver embroidery.
The gold and silver embroidery (Persian: ''malileh-duzi'') style flourished across Persia and was used for decorating household objects.
is an Iranian traditional
needlework
Needlework refers to decorative sewing and other textile arts, textile handicrafts that involve the use of a Sewing needle, needle. Needlework may also include related textile crafts like crochet (which uses a crochet hook, hook), or tatting, ( ...
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
originated in and is largely associated with
Kerman province
Kerman province () is the largest of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Kerman.
The province is in the southeast of Iran. In 2014 it was placed in Region 5. Mentioned in ancient times as the Achaemenid satrapy of Carma ...
, and traditionally created by women.
Pateh needlework is created using silk thread, common designs include the cypress tree and the sun with flourishes of paisley patterns.
See also
*
Arts of Iran
The Arts of Iran include a variety of traditional disciplines, including architecture, painting, literature, music, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, and Metalworking, metalwork.
Today, there is an active Iranian modern and contemporary art scene ...
*
Shahin Ebrahimzadeh-Pezeshki
Shahin Ebrahimzadeh-Pezeshki (; born c. 1958), is an Iranian textile art historian, needleworker and textile artist, researcher, curator, educator, and author. Her focus is on the study of Persian traditional costumes and Iran’s tribal costume ...
, textile artist, and historian of Persian traditional clothing and Iranian tribal clothing
*
Sichuan embroidery
References
Further reading
*
External links
History of the Persian embroideryExamples of the Persian embroidery
{{Authority control
Embroidery by country
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
Textile arts of Persia
History of Asian clothing
Persian handicrafts
Iranian inventions