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Handicrafts have
attracted worldwide attention since more than
one hundred years ago, while collecting
ancient items began at the Renaissance. These
items were gathered in the courts and wealthy
houses of Europe, United States, Russia and
ultimately in museums.
The earliest studies in this field were
economic nature, because all the owners wanted
to assure themselves of the genuineness of
their properties.
Which field of science deals with handicrafts?
The answer is not clear, because, for example,
ethnology claims them to fall within its
field, whereas handicrafts are indeed
connected to different branches of science;
wool, cotton, wood, metals, dyes, mordant,
techniques and some other topics must be
studied to address all the problems.
That is why the investigator in this field
cannot work only in his office or inside a
museum: he or she has to travel, see, examine,
write, prepare designs, make photographs, and
so on.
There are so many books with good reports and
beautiful photographs about the crafts, but
they are not able to answer all the questions.
The situation makes every little innovation
seem important and a guide to the young
generation. All these problems exist in Iran
as in other parts of the world, and in fact
calls for a scientific approach. The study
deals with:
1- Differentiation between crafts and arts,
preventing every prejudice
2- Deciphering contents
3- A careful method
Of course, for historical reasons, such as the
disappearance of some crafts, their techniques
and terminology, we have to go on with some
information in some fields. That is why, being
unaware of the methods used in ancient times,
we are unable to reconstruct some parts which
need repair.
The distinction between crafts and arts
In Iran, a difficulty facing the study of
handicrafts derives from the unjustified
conviction that every painstaking effort leads
to the creation of a piece of art and that
whatever is beautiful is related to art, while
art requires the freedom of making or changing
the criteria, which constitute styles.
Handicrafts serve useful purposes, and some
are pieces of decorative or applied arts,
which need skill rather than creativity. The
ill manners pursued in the production of new
handicrafts, for example in the manufacture of
carpets, are partly the result of the
inaccurate belief that, being works of art,
they should innovate and create just like
painting and sculpture. This mistake needs to
be corrected. Some abstract designs on "gabbeh"
have appeared, because the nomad weaver has no
other way pf expressing himself. This should
not lead to misunderstanding.
Content
The manufacture of a hand-made item needs one
or more materials. Also some tools and
instruments are necessary, the use of each
being called a technique. In studying the
contents of Handicrafts, the names of all the
materials and techniques utilized, as well as
the terms used by the artisans, must be
faithfully recorded. Most often, the economic
aspects of the work are neglected. The rates,
salaries, market policies, needs, manufacture,
consumption and many other aspects are not
paid enough attention. Traditions in using
special instruments, which are sometimes
restricted to a small area, are not less
important. We find that the immigration of
some traditions from one area to another leads
to changes, integrations and complex cases,
which call for more care and study.
Method
This is the most important problem in studying
Handicrafts. Most experts think the simple
inductive and deductive methods are
functional. They believe that all efforts
should be directed at gathering samples and
comparing them. Worst of all is relying on
structural analysis, for example in the case
of carpets and textiles. It is like putting an
apple under a microscope, in order to know it,
instead of studying its environment, roots,
trunk, leaves, flowers and fruits.
A hand-made item is not just like a car. It
contains in itself methods, techniques, habits
and, most important of all, the tradition
under which the techniques and forms it
embodies were created and developed. Sometimes
studying the history of a hand-made item is
the easiest way to understand it. The study of
traditions and history alongside each other
occasionally leads to a very functional
conclusion. For example, there is a tradition
of weaving in western Iran, which uses the
instruments of the Bronze Age, just now. It is
a leaving history, perhaps a key.
Nowadays, in order to show "the Turkish
origin of carpet weaving" nobody studies
the weaving traditions of the Turk, nobody
pays attention to their terminology, because
such things are not original among the Turk.
In order to find the Turkish origin of it all,
one should go to central Asia, not to Asia
Minor or Anatolia, not even to Turkmenistan,
which is a new land for Turk. One observes
that the environment, roots, stems and even
leaves are neglected and the study is
restricted to the fruit.
On the contrary, there is a special type of
carpet looms in Western Iran, called "darkul"
or "dar-o-kul", which is both
primitive and a little complicated, as it uses
some parts fastened on the roof and connected
to the main instrument through two holes in
the ceiling. Thus, one can easily understand
that this loom belongs to the earliest days of
settling in villages, as opposed to the
horizontal looms of nomadic people. Therefore,
the author calls for a special and distinct
method for studying handicrafts, which
involves much more than the inductive and
deductive approach. No craft should be
considered simple, independent and restricted
to its materials, instruments and techniques.
The geographical distribution, historical
background, traditional aspect and terminology
of a craft are the most important topics,
which should be brought into the scope of the
method.
This kind of study, which the author puts into
practical use, is unfortunately unparalleled
and sponsored by no agency in Iran.
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