Turquoise art 70 years old
Turquoise art is one of the handicrafts that is especially used in Isfahan and in a limited way in Tehran. This art was first worked on jewelry in the holy city of Mashhad.
The industry dates back to about seventy years ago. At that time, Yousef Hakiman, known as Mohammad Reza in Mashhad, started working on turquoise on ornaments, and about twenty years later, this industry was taken from Isfahan to Isfahan by another craftsman named Haj Dadash, and today it continues to operate in Isfahan. .
Body construction
At this stage, the construction of the object is done with the metal selected by the master craftsman in the bending workshop. Metals that can be used for turquoise include copper, brass, bronze and silver, which are preferred over copper and brass. The container (infrastructure) desired by Master Firoozeh Koob is produced by the master of bending work with copper or brass by special tools of this technique. It is noteworthy that during the bending process, the thickness of the container is the same in all parts, especially in the angled parts. Otherwise, the damaged metal may rupture during turquoise and final polishing. The thickness of the metal used in turquoise depends on the size of the container and varies from 0.3 cm to 1.5 cm, and depending on the size of the container, its thickness varies. Thicker copper sheets are used for smaller containers and thicker copper sheets are used for larger containers.
In addition to the steps used to make other dishes, there is a step called “Nekkari” to make the body for turquoise. At this stage, the parts of the container that are going to be turquoise will be lowered, with an angle of 90 degrees, about 2 to 3 mm. This operation in the construction of the body of a turquoise work was one of the personal innovations called Bahrami. Prior to that, “strings” were used instead of “nekkari”. In this way, strands of their own kind, 2 to 3 mm thick, were soldered to silver on the top and bottom of the part where the turquoise was to be made. “Unemployment” further strengthens the container in the face of possible shocks. There were problems with the string, including the fact that the solder could melt during heating and cause the string to separate, causing trouble for the turquoise master. On the other hand, the string, which was soldered to the smooth surface of the dish and accommodated the turquoises, gave it a special beauty and effect due to the prominence it creates in the dish. Today, stringing is still used in turquoise in parts of the container to create space and create creativity. After the infrastructure is ready in the bending workshop, it is time to work in the turquoise workshop.
Put the varnish on the dish
At this stage, they first beat the lacquer, which is similar to the bark of the tree, layer by layer, and mix the obtained brown or golden powder with the caliphen. High quality turquoise lacquer is a lacquer that is obtained from the distillation of walnut wood and cauliflower is obtained from turpentine. Turpentine is obtained from resinous materials in some pines and is a good ratio for lacquer and cauliflower mixture 6 to 4. Changes in the ratio of lacquer and cauliflower can cause problems, including excessive use of cauliflower, causing small bubbles in the work. These bubbles are caused by the dissolution of califen in polyester. In this way, the grains of cauliflower do not melt during the correct work and then in the polyester stage, these grains are dissolved in the polyester and cause bubbles on the surface of the work. Yellow spots that may appear on parts of the lacquer are also caused by impurities in the cauliflower and the lacquer or not melting the cauliflower. It is worth noting that in smaller bodies, cauliflower can be used relatively more, but in large bodies, more use of cauliflower reduces the strength of the varnish and ultimately turquoise. At this stage, first heat the dish a little. Then, the prepared powder, lacquer and cauliflower powder are poured on the desired part and heated by a torch to melt, this process is repeated several times until the thickness of the created layer reaches the height of the hollow part for turquoise. Care should be taken when heating the varnish, as high heat will cause the varnish to burn, in which case the varnish will lose its adhesiveness.
Sitting turquoise on the body
At this stage, the turquoise stones that are washed and nested are selected according to the size of the container. Larger stones are usually used for large containers and smaller stones for small containers. The most convenient way to place turquoise stones is to place them on both sides of the neckerchief. That is, it is better to first stack the stones at the top and bottom of the turquoise section (at the bottom of the container) and then the other parts. First, the varnish is heated slightly to soften it, then the turquoise stones, which are also heated, are placed on the varnish. This is done by pliers and by pressing the pliers, the stones are inserted into the varnish. To speed up the work, some turquoise stones are poured on the lacquer and then the place and location are adjusted with pliers.
Sitting turquoise requires the patience and precision of a turquoise artist, because the less stones are placed together and the less blurred the varnish is, the more beautiful and eye-catching the work will be. It should be noted that the stones should be placed on the lacquer from the widest side so that the gaps created between the stones are minimized after eating. Here, too, precision in heating the varnish is important. As mentioned, too much heat to the varnish will cause it to burn. In some infrastructures, in order to be able to easily hold the body of the container, a strong metal rod is temporarily welded to the work, so that it is easy to move and carry the infrastructure during turquoise. After all the parts of the body are filled with turquoise, all parts of the turquoise are examined so that if in some parts the lacquer between the stones is emptied or reduced due to heat or rock pressure, the lacquer powder is re-applied. Pour the prepared powder of lacquer and caliphen in the desired part and heat it a little so that the lacquer melts and fills the desired place. Stone putty is also used in some parts of the work. Stone putty includes: mol powder, flaxseed oil and paint powder. Where turquoise putty is needed, the latter powder, black and brown powder is used.
Turquoise turquoise stones
Turquoise is polished by the Saab plate. Sub sand or sandpaper used for this purpose: For harder stones, the plate number 40 is rougher and has a larger grain size, and then in the next step, the sand plate No. 80, which has a smaller grain size and is of the type Carbide is aluminum. Experience has shown that turquoise stones, which are darker in color and bluish in color, are harder than lighter turquoise stones. When grinding turquoises, be sure to place a stream of water on the sub-plate to prevent the crumbs from splashing, while preventing the sub-plate and the turquoises from getting hot. Turbidity of turquoise stones should be such that their surface is in line with the surface of the container and is perfectly smooth and uniform. This step also requires the accuracy and skill of the turquoise artist, because excessive rubbing of the turquoise will cause the part of the work to become hollow and indented, and ultimately cause a defect in the work.
After the sanding work has been completed by the sub-plate and the turquoises have become smooth and even, in some parts of the work, a stone may have been separated from the lacquer or part of the lacquer may not be repaired at this stage. They do it with a stone putty. The use of stone putty allows the master to grind and smooth that part. The turquoise surface is then polished with a soft sandpaper to make it completely polished. This is done by sanding No. 60 to achieve the softest ice sanding No. 1400. Of course, this operation may be performed after the wheel of the metal surface of the container. At this stage, all the turquoise-stamped works are sent to the wheel workshop. To make the metal surface of the body of the container smooth and polished by the wheel machine, because scratching and dirt on the metal surface is inevitable during the work.