Artists from the Isfahan region of Iran leave their mark on soft metal. The Isfahani artists are noted for engraving beautiful patterns on copper. They are the current heirs of a skilled profession that has a long history. Artisans not only work on creative patterns but also on engraving verses from the Quran into the copper.
Metalwork, Isfahan’s prominence in decorative work on metal objects continues today, achieving the highest standards within the country in the past century. The revival of the art in Isfahan partly owes to an exodus of artisans from Kerman and Yazd. The metalwork in Isfahan is mainly embossing and engraving (qalamzani) on various metals such as iron, copper, brass, and nickel alloys as well as gold and silver.
One of the prominent figures in the field of engraving is Master Rajabali Raei who was born in 1947 in Dahagh city near Isfahan and started the art of engraving as a teenager. He has even invented some special techniques in engraving and has attended various art international art galleries which have brought him numerous certificates of appreciation and prizes.
This elderly artist, who has spent more than half a century of his lifetime in a small workshop, has engraved some masterpieces including the minarets of Imam Hasan Al-Askari’s shrine in Iraq and a symbolic pot of the world’s influential figures which are being kept in the Louvre Museum in France.
Rajabali Raei who has trained more than 207 master engravers across the world, during his 50-year engraving career has created more than a thousand engraved artworks in the fields of epics, mysticism, and religion.
He considers the creation of the minarets of Imam Hasan Al-Askari’s shrine as one of his masterpieces and says to have etched various Quranic images on copper plates including Pharaoh's rebellion against Moses (AS) which have been submitted to the Leader’s office.
His other outstanding artwork is a 5-meter high book about the Imposed War in the form of an octagonal and currently he is working on engraving the world’s map ordered by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance which will be unveiled this week.
Rajabali Raei considers lack of 1-meter copper plates as the major problem faced by engraving industry. Apparently, available copper sheets are 66-cm long and larger plates can be bought only at exorbitant costs. Currently, this great artist is living in his hometown making artworks and also training a new generation of engravers.
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