Wood carving
The Monabbat-kāri technique consists in the creation of hollow and relief artifacts on wooden surfaces, with the use of different types of tools, taking as a reference precise and detailed schemes. Monabat is a word of Arabic origin that refers to the growth of plants.
Some believe that this type of processing with floral motifs or that recalls the plant world, represents the growth of plants and for this reason is called Monabat. Unfortunately, due to the low resistance of the wood, no works dating back to antiquity have been found. The most ancient sculpture has been found in Egypt and dates back to 2500 years BC Also on the Iranian Plateau some small cylindrical wooden spheres with various decorations were found, demonstrating that even the Arians knew this art. Arthur Pope, an American Iranologist, wrote: “The art of engraving on precious stones and wood dates back a few thousand years, before the Achaemenid dynasty, and subsequently inspired the Greeks as well. Among the bas-reliefs from the cities of Susa and Persepolis, located in the south and south-west of Iran, there are also some wooden handicrafts. After the advent of Islam in Iran (XNUMXth century AD) there was a very flourishing period for Monabat art, and in this style furnishings for sacred buildings were made, such as doors, windows, tables and minbar (pulpits for mosques). In the Safavid period, doors, windows, columns, tables, dishes and sword handles were made of wood using the carving technique. Today we can notice it on objects such as sticks, candlesticks and on different types of traditional musical instruments, such as tar, setar etc .; or on portraits of famous people, where other materials such as buffalo or deer horn are used instead of wood. The oldest workmanship in Monabat is visible on a door of the Atigh Mosque in the city of Shiraz dating back to the early Christian ninth century, built in poplar wood and decorated with the carving technique. The following ones, dating back to the tenth century, are made of walnut and bear inscriptions in calligraphic cuficas. After the Safavid dynasty due to conflicts and political instability, this art was almost forgotten and returned to the fore later with the advent of the Qajarid dynasty. Today the Monabat-kāri technique is used only for the production of ornamental objects and is part of a very important sector within the wood craftsmanship. Most of these objects are exported overseas. The most famous cities for this type of handicraft are: Abadeh, located in the Fars region, Golpayegān located in the Esfahan region and the city of Buschehr in the Hormozgan region. There are two types of Monabat-kāri: one with very small intaglio designs and the other with fairly large designs. For the realization of sculptures, paintings or art objects decorated with floral, geometric motifs and portraits and figures of animals, you can use wood, bone or ivory. The wood most suitable for this type of art must be quite soft, durable and smooth. It must also have a beautiful color, without veins. Those used are usually: walnut, maple, beech, eucalyptus, gioggiolo, pear, pomegranate etc. The tools used are the knife, the saw, the rasp, the file, the chisel and different types of blades. The technique is performed in two ways: one is the hollow carving with geometric decorations and triangular or linear designs, the other is a relief carving with floral motifs, human or animal figures.