WORLD CRAFTS COUNCIL
(WCC AISBL) INTERNATIONAL

Kashan (Iran)

They speak Persia and kashi accent named Rayji that has phonetic properties such as other Persian accents. In last, Kashan Jewers were speaking same as villagers around Kashan and was titled Kashan Jewess accent.

Some of the Solar ceremonies are Yalda night evening party in long summer night with local nuts and dry fruits, gifting brides, last Wednesday before Nowuz (new-years), panje, Nowruz ceremonies such as visiting, New nuts and cookies, new- year gift, sizdabedar (the thirteenth day of the new year festival on which people go out. For pleasure), religious- national custom to carpet- washing in second Friday of the autumn and latuge or water festival among Kashan coopers.

The religious groups will carry some mourning symbols such as flag, standard, joust, tough, Nakhl (symbolic tomb of Imam Hosein), Forat river, Alqame river, shirfeze (symbolic lion) that each of them will carry by mourning groups in special days in Bazar, most of these symbols are devoted to special boards, for example sarfareh quarter Nakl of Hoseini board, kalhor quartor of Ali- Asghar board, Fin gate Nakhl of Heidari board and sheikh- Reza Tough of Saresang quarter Hoseini board , copper paper (garchte) of Pamanar quarter Sheshgoushe (Six-angles) of Ali- Akbari- board of Habin- end Mussa shrine and other customs and ceremonies such as entering chavoshi group (mourning singers) in |Bazar before Moharram to inform shop-keepers and people or saghae (water carrier) group are mourning for Abbass all of them are lunar ceremonies in Kashan.

2- Kashan historical- geographical situation:

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There are different ideas about Kashan name and nomenclature such as qasane Kasrud, Chelhesaran, Kahfeshan and Key-Asian  that means celebration and the greet men seat whereas none of them is surly accepted.

It was really named Kashan in Pre-Islam and changed to Qasan or qashan as an area between Qom and Isfahan.

According to the division of the country, Kashan is 4408 km2 in the north – east of Isfahan province. Kashan has borders to Qom, desert of Aran-Bidgol , Ardestan, Natanz, Golpaygan, Mahallat and it is in 244 km of Tehran south , whereas Kashan in Isfahan province , has four parts: Central, Qamsar, Niasar and Barzok with six cities of Kashan, Qamsar, Niasar, Jousheghan- ghali, kamoo, chovgan and Barzok ,

and nine rural districts and 81 villages. Kashan climate is dry, hot and seasonal (winter and summer) with chilly winter and hot summer over than 40degrees.

Kashan historic architecture is affected by its weather factors such as dry and hot weather, sun direction, local winds, steep, water way Qantas systems and sand beside old roads and Bazar as a city basement.

In addition to catch water, Kashan architectural (garden- pit) decreases its undesirable effects of climate that sail is used as un conducting heat and its high wall are against sever sunlight, but in deeper levels, its moisture is increased as the most important factor to cool beside wind-towers as a air- circulation, so the

houses will be seasonal.

According to the cultural- religious principals, Kashan architecture is used of sand, water, wind and architecture factor for living Kashan, the cradle of civilization and Iranian traditional culture, named Muslims house (Dar –ol- Momenin) with its antiquity of 7000 years is one the most beautiful Iranian city that has main role in Iran tourism. Kashan climate and tourism in the mountain and desert is really devoted.

Many visitors come for rose- water and carpet –washing ceremonies. sialk is the first urban civilization of central Iran on 3 km3 south-west of Kashan as a archeological site, over than 7500 years age.

3. Handicrafts and traditional arts.

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Kashan's 7000 years civilization is as one of the oldest settlement of Iranian in sialk ceramic, cooper vessels and admiralty works of sialk are in famous Iranian or international museums and other sialk's works are discovered for fabric existence such as clay, or stone-made spindle and a haft of human body, caps and bathing cloth with shows they have used wood led bathing –cloth in 4200 before B.C. Kashan name is following with rose-water or filigree and carpet.

According to the itinerary of the most travelers who visited Kashan in Iran from north to south. They praised beauty and vary of Kashan textiles such as carpets rugs brocade, velvet, and silk.

According to valid documents , Kashan textile was top in seljuq era the same as other industries that fame of Kashan velvet and brocade attracted Marcopolo from veniz in 6 A.H. French sharden said: silk and textile was base of wealth Kashan. Andre Godar, famous architect and archeologist, said: wonderful progress of Kashan in 6 and 7 A.H. industries was refreshed the same as Isfahan in 11 A.H (Kashan social history, page 218).

Tomas Herbert, a British travelers: Silk usage is a lot for velvet and brocade weaving. French Tavernier: There are many industrial and silk workers who make the best Iranian brocades of gold and silver. Sir sharden in the book of Iran histories methanol same other elegant brocades and old velvet of Kashan, but Iranian ladies prefer euro pain fabrics the existence of many mulberry garden in Kashan was sign of its progress in silk world and silk production. Kashan weaver were independent of raw materials production

because all centers to rais silk worm, cocoon and dyeing process were is Kashan.

Kashan great bazaar was a trade center between traders and customers, there are same lines such as dyers, coopers and salers of silk carpet and raw material.

One of the Kashan important inn is zarkesh- saray or inn that were produce gold and silver thread as the only producer in Iran. Nowadays Kashan has many traditional centers of sharbafi (weaving), velvet, gold –weaving and zilu (pileless carpet) as the most important center of Iranian traditional textile.

Sharbafi (weaving):

Sharbafi is weaving. All local and traditional hand modes are weaving and weaver is named sharbaf. Sharbafi history is the same as fabric-weaving when human feel to have clothes against heat and coldness.

Sin they start by pipe, animal's bones and fish spine as needle and vegetable fabrics as thread, tree's leaves and animal's wool as their first clothes. All of them were first bases in textile and weaving.

The first loom history isn't clear, but it was surly invented when some threads partly passed. Vertically an a wooden frame (wraps) and first machine to pass horizontal threads (woofs). According to sialk civilization and its works, Kashan was one of the first center to produce fabric and as the only unique silk weaving. All weaving centers were undergrounds to be seasonal.

Traditional looms are generally wooden –mantle specially of plane and wolnut wood. Nowadays, there are 60 weaving machines in old workshops of surijan, sultan. Amir-Ahmad, Sange polovi, Koshke-safi, Toghkhay , Goleheganeh, Pa-nakhl whereas most of their productionsoare used in Iraq, Syria. Turkey and Kurdish area of Iran the most qualified fabric is change to coat, dress, cravat and party or traditional clothes with more users of Kashan silk fabrics.

Brocade (gold-weaving):

Brocade is pure silk fabric with very various and elegant designs and same gold-weaving or Zarbaf because of Golabetun usage (fabrics of gold, silver and silk). Gold weaving machine is wooden-made the same as sharbafi machine bet by two persons. Gold-weaving machine was used as regal clothes and then as palace curtains or lords gifts in sasanian era. It was as the best suvenior as Iran. Some of the Iranian zarbafi are in international museums such as lover in France, London and U.S museums. Gold-weaving was at top in safavird era and Kashan was a main center of gold-weaving and artists some masters of Kashan gold weaving have a main role to develop this industries such as master Mohammad Taghi Naghsh band master. Habib –ullah Tarighi, master Mohammad Tarighi. In 1950, master Habib-ullah Tarighi started a gold- weaving machine in Iran carpet institute of Tehran and were expanded 18 looms of gold-weaving and velvet in old industry office.

Nowadays the elegant and unique zarbaft of Kashan is used more in valuable tableaus velvet-weaving .

Velvet , a soft, hard fabric with piler is weaven by wooden machines in a very complicated techniques and its most important production center was Kashan.

It enjoys universal fame. At first, velvet was used as cover of holy book. Qoran, but then was used for rich persons in safavird era. In safavird, Iranian kings gifted very valuable velvets to European kings. Velvet-weaving machine is the same as gold- weaving with pile by shaft, razor and wood. The main difference is design system. Various velvets are simpler wavy, seven- coleus, checkered and prominent velvet. In 1992 traditional velvet –weaving machine was relived in Borujerdi historical house by kashan heritage office and master Seyed Khalil ya-allah in training persons in 5 machines to produce simple, wary velvet for clothes and prominent velvet for tableaus.

Zilu (pile less carpet):

Cotton zilu is a carpet similar to Gelim (short-napped coarse carpet) with old antiquity whereas Muslims cover mosques by zilus, so it was improved in kashan by various colours and designs. Zilu are two typs: In mosques and home, with colours of blue and black blue that mentioned time of weaving and name of weaver on its border. Zilu has special designs and plans, the same as other traditional weavings. Creative mind of zilu- weaver make its designs mentally of geometrical completion as its different to carpets. According to the talent and creative mind of zilu weaver, some threads knot horizontally an system warp that shalit. Nowadays, there are 7 zilu systems with unique designs in Kashan.

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4. Situation of traditional textile coarse for degree of national city:

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Mack-Davel, in the book of Iran old history said: there were 8000 weaving centers in Kashan about 11 A.H but it was decreased to 088 centers in 13 A.H and 250 velvet –weaving centers in 1212 A.H was decreased to 12 centers in 1270 A.H (page 169). Until the middle of Qajar, 40 fabrics were produced in Kashan, but they have unfortunately for gotten because of various reasons such as entrance of machinery fabrics in Bazar of unprotect ion of government.butt. There are many last-names regarded to these weavings in kashan such as: Abrishambaf, Sharbaf, Zaribaf, Makhmalbaf, Daraebaf, Singibaf, ghattanibaf, ghanavizi, Ababaf, Zilu-baf, Ziluchian, Chelledavan, Chellekesh, Dandene band, Navardy. Dafting, Sabbagh, Sabbaghian, Zarkeshian, Tarrah, Abrishamkesh, Abrishami, Abrishamchi, Pilevar, vartab and Charkhtab, ….

In 1998 , Kashan traditional arts center started in industrial day of cultural heritage and museum as a place to train, protect and relive the traditional outs of kashan specially in textile. It had two goldweaving systems one velvet- weaving system, one Zilu-weaving system and one share system. But their numbers was double during 17 years and trainees can use arts of great masters such as : Mr. Mashallah Enqyatis, Mr.

Mahmud Mahmudis, Mr. Ahmad Ashraf Kashi, Mr. Seyed Khalil Ya-allah, Mr. Mahmud Jalalati and Mr. Ghaffar Sardabi. Now this center is a textile complex involves of 4 gold-weaving systems, 2 simple and prominent velvet systems, 2 Zilu systems, 2 shar systems, and a chador shab (wrapper for bed cloth) system and a pottery workshop. This center save to forget same courses such as gold and velvetweaving

and nowadays Kashan is the only city that has private workshops of then.

Now, there are 8 gold-weaving systems and 5 velvet-weaving systems in Kashan. Recently , one of the Kashan old houses, Bakuchir house is renovated as private museum of textile most of tourists and especial tours of textile and weaving will be satisfied in Kashan because, there are Kashan traditional art center to produce various fabrics of share, gold, velvet, Zilu and bed-cloth weavings with more than 20 active workshops in Kashan.

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5. Quantity and quality scores of traditional textile course:

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There were various fabric workshops in different quarters of Kashan , for example: gold fabric in Mohtasham street, velvet in Darbe Esfahan streets shar in Fazel Naraghi street. Kashan has received 51 international brands and 44 national brands of good quality in gold velvet. Shar, zilu and bed-clothes weavings as there activity in Kashan because of same factors.

Its history in traditional weaving, various traditional textile workshops and very skinned artists. Nowadays, different textile works in various colours and designs are produced in Kashan and they are unique in weaving techniques and pure materials.

Simple and prominent velvet is just produced in Kashan. Silk share (weaving) is only in Kashan and Kashan gold-weaving fabrics has very unique colours.

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6. Training:

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According to the bud jet, training part of Kashan handicrafts was training about 300 artists in primary and advanced periods of various arts such as:rg, leather, diaphorate, inlayer, miniature gilding, gelim-weaving (short- napped coarse carpet), carving and pottery. So scholars in arts can work beside skilled masters in textile coarsens such as share, gold-weaving zilu and velvet- weaving. Kashan has many great universities as the most valuable centers in Iran, such as architecture and at college of kashan university that has improved knowledge and academic techniques of students in M.A and B.A of handicrafts.

7. Economic situation:

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Nowadays, ineral and private museums are decorated by products of Kashan traditional weaving centers such as: specialty weaving museum. Internal and external markets are requesting them by fashion in clothes and improvement of Kashan textile artists.

In Kashan a scarf is produced for Kurds that they are yearly exported to turkey and Iraq Kashan is also, one of the most famous tourism center with a lot of internal and external tourists each year. So, the textile artists can deliver their products in hotels, tourism centers too.

There is a fixed handicraft market in Kashan but there are contemporary markets and seasonal exhibitions in historical Female art school of shahid Avini Handicrafts Female art school of zeinab kobro Handicrafts

Ketabchi female art school - Kashan health university - Payam noor university - Feiz university - mahde Elmi university - Rajae university - monuments especially in Fin garden for high seasons of new year and rose-festival as a tourism season.

There are various activities of artists for live production, sale and improvement of Kashan traditional textile courses to participate in different handicrafts exhibitions such as: International day of handicrafts, Yazd specialty textile exhibitions, Esfahan handicrafts exhibitions and also some external exhibitions in Malysia, Germany Manik and …..

Average incomes of Kashan traditional weaving center is 1.500.000.000 Rails and 20.000 dollar each year.

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8. Perspective, designs, projects:

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Regarding to the valuable activities in fashion and clothes, private investors had used it as a cultural factor in tourism even as a business and income in economy.

Short-time, middle-time and long-time perfective:

- Short-time classes in traditional textile

- to train educated of fabric design in university to use of more their products in life as clothes and decorative instruments.

- To support the educated of traditional weavings

- To attract private part to invest and make big workshop and suitable advertisements.

- To create especial exhibitions of traditional weavings.

- To motivate the investors and hotel-owners to use these products in design of their hotels and traditional hostels .

- To participate in Arabic and European especial exhibitions of textile to introduce Kashan handmade- weavings.

- To attract tourists and make a new market to deliver products.

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