History of Zanjan filigree
There is no comprehensive information about the history of Zanjan filigree, but there are two ways to understand the antiquity of this valuable art. 1) Writings and travelogues of tourists who have traveled to this region and have learned about the beautiful art of filigree in this region. 2) The remnants of the filigree are very small and mostly belong to the last two centuries. In the history books that have references about Zanjan, among the industries of Zanjan city, the metalworking industry has been mentioned more than anything else. Due to the prosperity of Zanjan during the Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanid periods, metalworking, which is one of the advanced industries of each of these civilizations, has existed in this region.
The history of filigree in Zanjan from the tenth century AH onwards is clear (Frederick Richard), the European Orientalist, writes in his travelogue: The city of Zanjan, which is a small city of silver, and the filigree of this magnificent city And electricity)).
Prior to the Pahlavi period, filigree was common as a native handicraft of Zanjan only in this city, but during the reign of Reza Khan, with the migration of a number of artists from this city to Tehran and Isfahan, it became popular in other parts of the country. Tea and syrup services, jewelry boxes and knife handles have been the main products of this era. Zanjan artists in the following years, gradually added to these beautiful handicrafts. Perhaps the prosperity of this art in Zanjan can be considered the Seljuk period and also based on the surviving works of the Safavid period, this period can be considered the peak of this art flourishing.
Current situation of filigree art in Zanjan:
This art is indebted to artists who have tried to create valuable works with very basic tools and sometimes have lost their sight in this way. Among the artists of Zanjan filigree: the late Karbalaei Hossein Ali, the late Mashhadi Rahman, the late Musa Kazemian Moghadam, the late Haj Samad Hammami, and artists such as Rahim Borjkhani, Haj Abolfazl Sabouti and Haj Ghorban Ali Pardakhti and ….
The old traces of filigree in Zanjan have been completely destroyed or melted for reuse of silver. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a museum in Zanjan, the silver-filigree works have not been preserved.
Today, there are about 30 active filigree workshops in Zanjan, and the filigree teachers of these workshops are all students of the master (Mansour Kazemian Moghaddam).
In 1976, in order to preserve and preserve this art, this esteemed master, in cooperation with the Zanjan Handicrafts Organization, began to teach filigree work in the province’s training center. In the end, it is worth mentioning that two of his students named Master (Abdolhamid Moharrar) in 1986 Mohsen Yazdanshenas in 1987 succeeded in obtaining the seal of authenticity in this field from UNESCO.
Differences between Zanjan and Isfahan:
In terms of structure, miniatures and grade of silver used are different from each other (silver grade used in Isfahan is 95-90 and maybe less, but in Zanjan, silver used with a purity of 99.9 known as 100 grade) is used) Quality of construction, Isfahan filigree has larger designs than Zanjan filigree and the richness of small designs, beauty and elegance of its work is not equal to Zanjan filigree. Zanjan filigree has a high quality in general due to its original designs and patterns and especially its great elegance.
Common miniatures of Zanjan filigree:
Common motifs in Zanjan filigree, like other handicraft patterns, are mostly mental and inspired by nature and traditional designs. The most important and common patterns of Zanjan filigree are: tears, buckthorn, ivy, cashmere and bud, leaf, wow filigree, two eyes , Farang leaf, three-eyed, cormorant and radiant, each of which has its own characteristics.