100 Handicrafts Eye UNESCO Seals
Iran will open its First National Handicrafts Museum in the near future.
Ruhollah Ahmadzadeh Kermani, the head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization who is also the vice president, told reporters that a location has been identified for the museum.
“The First National Handicrafts Museum of Iran will be inaugurated in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the near future,” he said.
Ahmadzadeh said that for the first time in Iran’s history, all fine works created by handicraft artists from across the country will be displayed at the museum.
“More than 100 Persian handicrafts have received UNESCO’s Seal of Excellency so far, all of which will be displayed at the museum,” he said.
Ahmadzadeh said the establishment of the museum is aimed at supporting craftsmen, especially those who are facing financial hardship and earn money only through handicraft production.
Intangible Heritages Endangered
Eight traditional items, from boat-building skills in Iran to Malian rites of wisdom to circular breathing techniques in Mongolia, were on Saturday placed on the United Nations List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
The intergovernmental committee managing the list, meeting this week in Bali, Indonesia, said all eight items were in danger of dying out or fading away, UN reported.
Today’s additions, announced by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a press release, include two from Iran: Naqqali dramatic storytelling and the skills of building and sailing Iranian Lenj boats.
Naqqali dramatic performance has a long history in Iranian society, from the courts to the villages, UNESCO said, with the performers often improvising as they recount stories in verse or prose accompanied gestures and movements, and sometimes also by music and painted scrolls.
Lenj vessels are usually hand-built from wood and used by inhabitants of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf for sea journeys, trading, fishing and pearl diving, UNESCO reported.
But they are increasingly replaced by cheaper fiberglass substitutes and the culture and traditional knowledge of the Lenjes are fading.
Also inscribed on the endangered list is Yaokwa, the ritual of the Enawene Nawe people--who live in the southern Amazon rainforest of Brazil--for the maintenance of social and cosmic order.
Different clans assume responsibility for different parts of the ritual, which is performed each day during the protracted dry season to honor the spirits.
The 24-member committee, created under a convention adopted by UNESCO in 2003, continues its work until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a handicraft official said about 100 handicrafts of the country will be introduced to UNESCO for receiving its seal of authenticity and excellence in the current Iranian year (started March 21).
Addressing the first session for judging handicrafts of northern parts of the country in Qazvin, Vida Tavahhodi added that the seal of authenticity is important for further promoting handicrafts on the international scene.
“Iran has set a record in introducing handicrafts (to UNESCO), as in 2007, 2008 and 2010 it received 160 seals of authenticity,” she said.
In 2007, six handicrafts from the provinces of East Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Fars and Zanjan provinces have received the seal of authenticity. In 2008, 45 handicrafts from Ardebil, Semnan, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Tehran, Hamedan, East Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, Kurdestan, Zanjan, Markazi, Lorestan and Golestan provinces were awarded this seal.
In 2010, 65 handicrafts from Isfahan, Kermanshah, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Fars, Lorestan, Markazi, Hamedan, Tehran, Zanjan, Semnan, Kerman, Mazandaran, East Azarbaijan, Khuzestan, Gilan and Yazd provinces received the seal of authenticity,” she said.
The official noted that Iranian artists are very talented in producing handicrafts and their works are of international standards.
“We are duty-bound to undertake marketing schemes for these valuable works in addition to upgrading their quality. We have a comprehensive plan for enhancing the quality of handicrafts and we should all join hands to help handicraft industry flourish by promoting handicrafts in various international forums. We must set a record in this regard,” she said.
In order to use the opportunities for the first time in the country, experts will select works that have the potential to receive the seal of authenticity. This will help introduce distinguished works to UNESCO and increase the possibility of receiving the seal of authenticity.
Tavahhodi emphasized that the best works, which would appeal at the international level, must be selected. “Amid this, many points must be taken into account, including diversity and innovativeness,” she said.
The official noted that in judging the works, provincial issues are not a yardstick and judges will take national perspectives into considerations.
“This is because each work reveals the talents of the country’s artists and not just the characteristics of a specific region. Therefore, this year, the assessment of works will take place in Qazvin, which can also serve as a role model for other provinces,” she said.
Tavahhodi emphasized that the shape of handicrafts is very important and decisive for end-users, and the judges must definitely pay attention to the form of the work as well as its volume, size and weight.
She added that the use of natural raw materials and quality of work are crucial for both national and international judges, and these must be seriously considered.
Tavahhodi noted that selected works will remain at the place where they are assessed till they are sent to the venue of international judgment, which could be Iran or another country, next year.