Tehran - Wood carving is one of the oldest arts of humankind. Wooden spears from the Middle Paleolithic, as an example, reveal how humans have engaged in utilitarian woodwork for millennia.

Iran’s Malayer may be top on the list for those who are interested to visit a woodcarving hob. The west-central Iranian town is named a global hub for woodcarving and carved-wood furniture by the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR).

Located in Hamedan province, the ancient city is home to over 4,000 furniture workshops in which more than 8,000 wood masters and some 25,000 crafters are engaged.

Although the art had been practiced in Malayer for a long time ago, it is about a half-century that it has gained prosperity in the region. 

In some cases, the whole family is occupied with traditional furniture making and although they didn't make much money this way, their love for handicrafts and the increasing perseverance of woodcarving artists of Malayer shows today a new face of this art-craft to the world.

Artists and crafter of this region use the wood of beech, walnut, and plane trees to make different products such as traditional, classic, steel, and sofa furniture. Their other products are dining table, desk, all kinds of chair, bed and decorative pieces.

Currently, more than 60 percent of the furniture and woodcarving products in Iran are reportedly produced in Malayer and they are sent to various Iranian cities or being exported to Central Asian countries, Persian Gulf littoral states, Turkey, and Iraq amongst some others. Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Pitifully little remains from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are given over to excavations, and there’s a scattering of historical curiosities.

AFM/