Minakari: a 5,000,000 years old work of art

 According to the Heritage and Tourism Department of the Cultural Group of the Young Journalists Club, enameling is an art of several thousand years, during which extraordinary and eye-catching works are created. Works as if they are not earthly! But what exactly is the history behind this magical art?

Gold is the only metal that does not oxidize when the enamel melts, so it is possible to make a design with as much detail and resemblance as possible on the Minakari, while copper and silver enamels do not have this quality.

History of Minakari

Art pottery with a history of about five thousand years has been used to beautify various ornaments and utensils.

This art is a combination of fire and earth that blends with the art of painting to create beautiful designs.

According to some experts, following the adaptation of Byzantine pottery with Iranian works, this art was formed in Iran and then went to other countries.

Of course, in Europe, antiquities have been found that have a very long history.

For example, six gold unique rings from the thirteenth century BC have been found in Cyprus, which is an example of inlaid pottery. Also, the famous statue of Zeus found in Greece dates back to five hundred years BC.

Also in the case of enamel glass on metal; And in the excavations carried out in Nahavand, a pair of gold earrings has been found, the style of which is related to the seventh to eighth centuries BC. One of these old examples is a gold bracelet with enamels decorated on it, which belongs to the Achaemenid period. The artifact is now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The artistic peak of this art was in the Seljuk period, when the production of brass and pottery was common, and these works were also sent to neighboring countries. One of the most valuable examples of this period is the "Alb Arsalan Tray", which is a silver enamel and is kept in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The wires are cut to the desired shape and glued to the workpiece and covered with a glass glaze.

It is then placed in a furnace at about 1000 ° C and the wires are welded to the workpiece.

In the next step, special enamel paints in the form of powder are filled on the work surface.

After the work surface is smooth, it is placed in an oven at a temperature of about 1000 degrees for 3 minutes.

Wires with brass turn black after being placed in the oven and must be returned to their original state by acidification.

House enamel was common in Isfahan and Tehran, but currently the only house enamel workshop at the Cultural Heritage Research Institute that teaches this art.