TEHRAN –Some 115 pieces of qalamkari fabrics, which are being kept in the treasure troves of the UNESCO-registered Golestan Palace in downtown Tehran, have recently been restored, the director of the World Heritage site has said.

Documentation, preparation of information certificates, dust removal, acidity measurement, and labeling were all part of the project, Afarin Emami explained on Sunday.

Furthermore, some tears were sewed, a protective cover was created, and the fabrics were placed in stainless tubes that cannot be affected by humidity and temperature, she added.

Qalamkari or kalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile produced in Isfahan using wooden or metallic clocks.

The word qalamkari is derived from a Persian word where ‘qalam’ means pen and ‘kari’ refers to craftsmanship.

This art involves 23 tedious steps of dyeing, bleaching, hand painting, block printing, starching, cleaning, and more. Motifs drawn in qalamkari include flowers, peacocks and paisleys.

The 3000-year-old art uses earthy colors like indigo, mustard, rust, black, and green. Natural dyes used to paint colors in qalamkari art are extracted from natural sources with no use of chemicals or artificial matter.

For instance, craftsmen extract black color by blending jaggery, water, and iron fillings which they essentially use for outlining the sketches. While mustard or yellow is derived by boiling pomegranate peels, red hues are created from the bark of madder or algirin. Likewise, blue is obtained from indigo, and green is derived by mixing yellow and blue together.

UNESCO says that Golestan Palace exemplifies the architectural and artistic achievements of the Qajar era, including the introduction of European motifs and styles into Persian art.

The royal complex was once the official residence of the Qajar monarchs who ruled the country between 1789 and 1925. It displays a remarkable mixture of ancient Persian and contemporary European architectural styles, which characterized much of Iranian art in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Visitors can simply spend half a day admiring several key structures that make up the palace, including lots of spectacular halls, chambers, museums, and gardens. All of them were built during the rule of the Qajar kings.

The stunning Karim Khani nook, which was the former residence of the founder of the Zand dynasty (1751 to 1779), and the brilliant Mirror Hall, which was used for royal weddings and coronations, are amongst the must-see premises of the complex.

Also, the highlights include Shams-ol Emareh (“the Edifice of the Sun”), a palace that offered a panoramic view of the city for the monarchs, and Brilliant Hall, which is known for its incredible display of mirror work.

Visitors may likely take two or three hours to thoroughly explore the palace complex. One can relax by the gorgeous pond in the main garden after all the walking around. Next to the palace lies the bustling Grand Bazaar of Tehran, which is a top place to get a glimpse of local life.

Some visitors to the bazaar refer to it as “a city within a city” because it also includes several mosques, guesthouses, banks, and once-thriving caravansaries. While most of its covered structures and marketplaces are associated with the 19th century onwards, the history of trade in the bazaar is rooted much deeper in time.

ABU/AM