‘Cutting’ each precisely curved element to make up faience is painstaking work. These two men are ‘sanding’ individual pieces to make sure they are an exact fit. The building they are working on, in Taybad, in NE Iran, has soaring expanses of faience work that is slowly being restored. [C.T.5]
The small pieces making up the faience can be seen here: with the carefully drawn out paper guides stuck on tiles to left; the face-down pieces at bottom, waiting to be attached together; and the perfectly interlocking pieces at left (with some of the paper still to be removed). [C.T.4]
This ustad is part of the team restoring the faience tiles inset into this wall. He has to first remove the glazed tiles – without damaging any of the surrounding graffiti, since some of this is historically important in its own right. [C.T.3]
This ustad (master craftsman) is using a squared and scaled plan for the banna-i, very similar to those seen in some Mughal book paintings. [C.T.2]
Many methods of ornamental tiling are traditionally used in Iran: includingbanna-i, faience, lustre, cuerda seca, as well as various monochrome and blue and white tiles. This image shows banna-i tiling, which uses alternating small glazed and plain tiles to make patterns or, top left, words. Banna-i tiling is constructed by laying the pieces of tile face down, as shown here. …
The madrese (religious school) at Khargird, in Khorasan (built 1438-45), is a showpiece of Timurid decorative art. Click here to see a short walk-through film I made (just learning!) about the six different sorts of tiles, some elegantly geometrical wallpaintings and some amazing plaster effects in the muqarnas (stalactite vaultings). Professor Grube and I discussed …
I’m a multimedia artist and theatre/movement maker. 2023 : curator for Theatre Deli Social Model .. and more Festival in Sheffield and London. For my art, I overlay digital drawing, X-rays and collage on my photography; create installations using recycled packaging; and weave with salvaged fabric. And Im producing performance and video including all of …
As I started to visit Iran, I started to meet Iranian craftsmen – often high up on rudimentary scaffolding. I also started to realise how little is understood about their impressive skills and knowledge. With many master craftmen (ustads) relatively old, and relatively few young men now wanting to undergo the lengthy, often dirty, and …
As I started to visit buildings in Iran, I started to meet Iranian craftsmen – often high up on rudimentary scaffolding. I also started to realise how little is understood about their impressive skills and knowledge. With many master craftmen (ustads) relatively old, and relatively few young men now wanting to undergo the lengthy, often …
I’ve always wanted to know exactly when (and how) the famous star tiles were taken off the Khargird madreseh. You can see some of the tiles in London (in the V&A and also in the British Museum); in the Met in New York; and in the David Museum in Copenhagen. If you have (lots of) …