The 8 day cultural trip to Iran - "Iranian Treasures" - (day 5 late morning cont.) - Isfahan, Gheisariyeh Bazaar entrance door; visiting some renown artists- The 20th of September 2014

On our way to lunch at a typical restaurant we walked through the 17th century door of the Bazaar with the Sagitarius figure on both sides and paintings depicting Shah Abbas victorious over the Uzbek enemies, as well as some Europeans playing chess high up on the right.  

 

 

 

If after lunch we would be visiting some artisans, lunch itself was a different form of "art", another typical stewed meat plate. It was getting harder to say which we had liked the most, so I settled for them all, which was the actual truth. Never had I felt so "at home" and yet so  

Soon after lunch  we headed back into the somber alleys of the bazzar to visit a miniature painter considered among the best. I had been looking forward to it because already last year I had been made aware that Iranians were masters of this art. The artist had been meticulously painting on  a piece of camel bone when we walked into his studio, but interrupted the one painting he was doing to show us on another piece of bone what to master the strokes with brushes made out of cat whiskers meant. 

 

We soon found ourselves walking around his two storey-high shop looking for framed and unframed miniature paintings to buy. I couldn't resist buying two framed ones and a box with Sherazade painted on it. They were not cheap, but in view of the fine details (one of them particularly - a hunting scene, should be thoroughly looked at with magnifying glass) were well worth the money I payed for them.

From there we walked a little further along the alley to visit a small well known block printed cotton factory.  We were given some "live" explanations and watched a particular sequence of various printing blocks and dye colour application as well as understood the difference between a good and bad quality printed table cloth. By the time we left the small family shop we were all carrying some printed cotton "something".  

The framed miniature painting depicting a hunting scene.

 

 

 

The miniature painted box with Sherazade I bought for my mother (left); the framed miniature painting depicting a scene from  a traditional Iranian poem I bought for myself (right), a printed cotton table cloth I bought can be seen under the minature paintings.