Isfahan Khatam Kari: Iranian art with elegance and beauty

“khatam” and “khatam art”, are two Persian words using as “Inlaid” in western word. Sometimes we use each word instead of the other. It means that we use each other in the verbal form. “Khatam” is not just a craft but it is actually an art, a heavenly art, it is a form of handicrafts than you cannot repeat it in a simple way. It is a mind blowing job that challenge your abilities in a way that no one says it is not a craft but art.

Khatam Kari is an amazing art

Imagine just by using some ordinary materials you can make a masterpiece that on occasions nobody can make a price on it. You can find thousands of masterpieces from small to very large objects that even thinking of making a replica of it is not possible and if there is a chance, it would be a very time consuming and expensive job in a way that nobody accepts to try it. You can find “Khatam” and “khatam art”, on small jewelry boxes to huge doors or even monstrous furniture used in special events, from very old fashion houses to giant atmospheres of palaces and holly places, from small doors to magnificent niches of very old fashion and historic mosques, and even in corners of poor houses you can in a very convenient form that it can remind you this art is a part of Iranian life. “Khatam” and “khatam art”, is rooted to our culture.

You can find “Khatam” and “khatam art”, traces in any aspects of Iranian life. From wedding to funerals you can find “Khatam” and “khatam art”, in a way you cannot divide it from our normal life. In our very historic ceremonies of Iranian culture like New year ceremonies that is not detachable from our life and culture you can trace “Khatam” and “khatam art”, and you cannot make any change to this culture. In our very sad traditions of our culture like “Ashoora” religious festival which inseparable from our life and culture and each year it repeats and respected every year for 14 centuries, you can find a trace of “Khatam” and “khatam art”.

If you research in old fashion comic books or even in our special poems and story books, most of them handmade and ornamented by painting you can find a trace of “Khatam” and “khatam art”, you can find many motifs of this art in our genuine paintings and ornaments, architecture, potteries, fine porcelains, wood workings and other reach eastern arts in a way that you cannot find any differentiation between those fine arts in a regular and logical manner. Although “Khatam” and “khatam art”, is a Persian name instead of “inlaid” in western world, if you compare these to branches of art you can find out there are big differences between them that does not let you compare them in a very wise manner. These arts are too far away to match and find a very common root among all different aspects in both cultural and technical points and occasions.

Inlaid: an ancient art from the land of Isfahan

“Khatam” and “khatam art”, or Inlaid, is an ancient art that originated in Isfahan. If you want to find out the origins and roots of “khatam kari” and “khatam art”, You should return hundreds of years through the rich and old history of Iran exclusively to Isfahan. Although you can find roots of this art and industry in every corner of the Persian empire in old times, the real roots of this art diverged from Isfahan in the last 400 years during the Safavid dynasty. In the 16th century you can find a summit in the fine arts of the Iranian empire which you can find the trace of those glorifying years in our contemporary art and history today. Isfahan craftsmen raised the position of this art in a way that changing that position is not possible today in any aspect from technical points to very detailed motifs of cultural and human aspects of ordinary Iranians life. 

Materials and tools for Khatam kari

Material and tools of “Khatam” and “khatam art” are very simple, different in any aspect, mostly chip and abundant, achievable in very simple ways, common in use, sometimes common in other handicraft and vast in numbers. Very interesting to know these raw materials are so diverse and colorful that even roots of this art goes back hundreds of years, but today you can find many different new and artificial materials like plastics, polymers, colored woods and even colored combined materials that even experts are cheated to understand original materials and qualities. Raw materials consist of different kinds of woods, ranging from color to texture, bones and other hard parts of camel body, plastics and polymers, different kinds of hard and soft metals and alloys, brass, copper, aluminum, gold, silver …etc.

The artists can use any material which can be found suitable to his or her job. There is no limit or constraint to choose raw material to use. Sometimes the artist uses colors to color wood and other raw material. But the quality of the complete product should not differ from original old materials after years and decades. Some wood qualities and defects like twisting in different climate conditions and high level of moisture should be considered to choose the raw materials. Imagine how hard it is to choose a vast variety of raw materials and how problematic it would be to innovate new products to make a masterpiece which should last for years and decades or even hundred years considering minimum defects.

All of this raw materials should be prepared , polished , formed in prism bar shaped, glued , added together, made like a block , add blocks to each other in a way make bigger blocks according to the design, cross sectioned and cuts, add these cross section forms and designs in a way that complete each other to form the last motif and design, Adding each complete layer and cross section to the last form and cutting, glue this layer to a wooden sheet , cutting , sawing , forming and scrubbing by a piece of sandpaper , polishing in many stages and at last coting with a thin layer of vegetable oil or lacquer ,linseed oil, or today , using polymers like polyester coatings, final polishing and final finishing.

Patterns and design of khatam kari

Patterns of “Khatam” and “khatam art”, is different, vast , original , returns and based on  hundred years of experience and understanding geometric designs established and originated of talented mathematicians‌,geometrics and engineers, all motifs are based on triangles , like molecules of materials the basic component of each design shaped of first triangle components, imagine you start by first triangle of black wood made by simple tools like small saws, files, sandpaper and cutters, by adding and arranging of these triangles you can make a motif like a flower.

By adding different materials like brass or copper, silver or gold , different colors of different woods or even polymers and plastics and glue them together you can make a block of different design , after that by cross sectioning of this block to thin layers and adding together you can make a very colorful, sophisticated, completing design which can be glued and attached to the surface of a plate,  a box , a jewelry box , or even on the surface of an ornamental object or even a ball  to make it more ornament or making a geometric design in a very colorful manner. The process is time-consuming and requires a high level of skill, making khatam kari box and other objects quite valuable.

Khatam jewelry box is particularly popular, as it is both beautiful and functional. khatam kari prices vary depending on the size, complexity of the design, and the materials used. A small box may cost a few hundred dollars, while a large, intricate piece can cost several thousand dollars. In “Khatam” and “khatam art”, you can have millions of millions of designs, colors, motives, forms, colors and bring them together in a form that even in a small workshop finding a twin jewelry box is too hard or even impossible. Fortunately, in this competitive market you can find a vast variety of inlaid products considering quality and variety of materials in use, quality of product, size and texture, finishing and considering who is the master of production, to fulfil desires of consumer and users as last component of production line.

Authentic Iranian carvings in wood carving

The origins of “Khatam” and “khatam art”, should be franchised to Isfahan province without any doubts. Even if today other neighbors of Isfahan province like Shiraz city craftsmen are act as rivals of Isfahan and produce many masterpieces of “Khatam” and “khatam art”, but they use Isfahan credit and introduce those fake products as original masterpieces of Isfahan art to resemble Isfahan “Khatam” and “khatam art”, and cell their product as original and genuine product o Isfahan.

So anytime a customer understands and finds out the product is not a production of Isfahan, He or she refuses to buy and intends to bargain for a very big discount and ask for a very low and reasonable price many times lower than original price even if the quality of that product is the same as the original one. So next time you intend to buy a piece of art of “Khatam” and “khatam art”, try to find out if it is original and genuine of Isfahan or it is similar to the original but sold as a fake one. Think about it. But if you like to buy any piece at a lower price just bargain and find goods produced in any place but Isfahan.
Next time you intend to buy a handicraft, for your dear wife, your daughter or other relatives, you have the chance to buy khatam handicraft like a jewelry khatam box as a present or souvenir in high quality but very reasonable fee. I Hope to visit you in the near future.

( sana Persian tour and travel service provider group)