He bought with a vengeance, doubtless knowing what he was about. All was fish that came to the net; and to see the little Frenchman gesticulating to a crowd of excited Persians, each anxious to dispose at a fancy price of his own wares, was very amusing. Since that time it has been difficult to get anything really good in the curio way in Persia, each man thinking his own article an unappreciated treasure.
The Abadeh carvings, generally ornamental sherbet spoons and boxes, carved from pear-wood with a common knife, and very beautifully done, are still to be had; but the work is deteriorating, and the attempt to copy European drawings is destroying its originality.
Very beautiful carving, or rather engraving, on metal is still done in Ispahan; and I have some cups of brass, and others of silver, that are probably unique in this kind of metal-work. But that, too, is deteriorating; the good artists find it pays them better to do a quantity of coarse work for the exporting curio-dealers than finer and more delicate engravings, which are paid for at a higher rate, but which tax their sight and skill to the uttermost.
Calligraphy as a high art is dying the death. A single line by a great calligrapher was worth a fabulous amount, and large sums were often paid for a good manuscript of Hafiz or the Koran. Printing has destroyed all this, and the cheap volumes from Bombay presses tend to eradicate calligraphy as an art.
A kind of inlaid work similar to our Tonbridge ware is made in Persia; it is to be seen at both Ispahan and Shiraz; though not so chaste as the Indian work, it is much more varied in pattern, and the effect is good. Metal is freely used with the coloured woods, but brass, and not silver, is employed. It is called “Kahtam.” Glove and handkerchief boxes are made for the European market, and tables, chairs, chess and backgammon boards, and mirror frames for the wealthy Persians. The Shiraz work is the best.
Ispahan is celebrated for its incised work on iron. This “pūlad,” as it is termed, is beautifully veined and cleverly damascened, being inlaid with thin plates of gold. The specimens are, however, very expensive; as the work is the monopoly of a family, prices are almost prohibitive. This, too, is a dying art.
Of painters and paintings I have spoken. The copying of doubtful European works is their bane, and they fail in their rendering of the nude, in which they delight. For pretty faces and good colouring, the Persian artist has a deserved reputation. He is especially great in miniatures, some of these being almost microscopic.
The embroideries of Resht, on the Caspian, are too well known to need description. They are very florid, but cheap and effective. The price is about two pounds a square yard for very elaborate ones, if a large one is ordered, and paid for by instalments as the work proceeds. Aniline colours, used to dye the silks employed, are the curse of the modern work, the showy tints of which soon fade. These, however, can be avoided by specifying that they are not to be used.