The heritage of Mastane and a house of art

The innate interest of Iranians in art, in addition to preserving the customs and traditions of different regions, shows the taste and creativity of a nation and has a great impact on the economy, job creation and domestic and foreign tourism. Handicrafts artists by combining thousands of designs and patterns in their works and coloring them are the foundations of It evokes love, spirituality, altruism, customs and cultural and moral values ​​in the viewer’s mind and transmits it to the next generations. In an ancient nomadic society that has various fields of religion, culture and art. Abundance can be found in it signs of environmental influences.

Mehdishahr has long been the birthplace of the art of “needle embroidery” and “number embroidery” and the women artists of the Sangsir nomads, when they are finished with their daily work, engrave their creative mental images on the fabrics according to the requirements of the nomadic life, and this art has been passed down from generation to generation. have passed on to another generation; Arts that used to be printed on fabrics such as chappar (a 500-year-old fabric used to prepare clothes of the Sangsar nomads), sargira (head veil), pesh desmal (table cloth), maskeneh (3-meter headscarf), and now with time and changing needs It stands out on girls’ dowries, curtains, tablecloths, pillowcases, dress decorations, etc.

After passing through the ups and downs of Mahdishahr city, 16 kilometers north of Semnan city, we reach a house with a sign on the front of it with the title “Masteneh Heritage” that attracts attention. A collection of about 50 meters, the other parts of which are separated by hanging tents from the traditional weaves of this city.

The existence of various tools from old copper dishes, old copper decorations, rug weaving and carpet weaving tools, traditional spinning wheel and jajim weaving tools, old camel wool fabrics, colorful carpets and rugs, colorful embroidered numbered fabrics, prayer books and prayer tents. Along with some modern life tools, it shows the multi-functionality of this residential complex.

After a short conversation with Fatemeh Pakdaman, the owner of this collection, we find out that this is a “house of art”, a house that does not belong only to its residents, and the frequent visits of visitors deprives its residents of peace. . However, the struggle of Mrs. Mahdishahri for the numbered souls of “number embroidery” and the revival of the 500-year-old art continues in this city.

“Mirat Mastane” is a collection with different uses

After talking with the owner for a few minutes, we find out that this museum was first in the Mahdishahr reservoir, and after some traditional items disappeared, he had to move it to his place of residence. Those traditional tools hanging on the wall are the heritage left by the past, rug and carpet workshops, teaching tools for students and prayer tents and prayer books for holding prayer in the months of Muharram and Safar and performing the prayer of Imam Zaman (AS) in this place. .

I want my art to last

Mahdishahri artist lady who according to herself has mastered 80 types of arts such as number embroidery, rug weaving, crocheting, patchwork, Jajim weaving, Sargira weaving, Papich weaving, kelvar tobra, fur and weaving, etc., says: I started my career with carpet weaving at the age of 12, and despite my family’s displeasure to learn multiple arts, I learned the rest of the arts secretly.

Although this lady artist has never met her grandmothers, she wants to keep their legacy alive, and for this reason, she named her museum house “Mirat Mastaneh (grandmother)”. It seems that his hands and eyes are no longer capable of such fine embroidery, and on the other hand, his only wish is for his art to last. He teaches 30 students for free at the same time as doing daily work in this place, so that both his art will last and he will leave a part of the orders to them.

“Filtering” took my clients

The most orders are the number of embroidery and embroidery of this handicraft artist, patterns and designs on the dowries of girls who want to go to the lucky house, although these days, due to the filtering of the virtual space, he has lost many of his customers and spends most of his time weaving carpets. He has more customers.

This lady artist has among her handwoven fabrics called “Left Feather” (a type of fabric that is woven from left to right) and another type called “Karti” which is 500 years old and is made of pure camel or sheep wool. : This fabric was woven with wood in ancient times and was used in the preparation of clothes of Sangsar nomads.

Tired but hopeful

Fatemeh Pakdaman, who hopes that one day she will be able to buy an empty land next to her house and set up a museum of art works and tourism collection, has not yet been able to fulfill her wish, and the promises made by frequent visits of city and provincial officials, such as providing tickets for visitors to The museum house has not gone anywhere and the aid committee’s loan is also suspended in the maze of administrative bureaucracy and bank guarantees.

He has many ideas to transfer his artistic experiences to future generations and is waiting for a helping hand to help him.

There is no database of Mehdishahr artists

Hoda Talebian, head of Mahdishahr city affairs in the field of cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism, said in an interview with ISNA: Although number embroidery is a traditional art, its combination with modern uses in decorative, practical and even jewelry aspects has been used by many enthusiasts. Is.

He stated that last year, after years of concern of researchers and artisans of handicrafts in the field of needlework and number embroidery, the city of Mahdishahr was registered as one of the two national cities in the field of handicrafts of the province, he said: the secretariat of this national city in It is a municipality where, of course, not having a handicraft expert in the municipality is one of the weak points of dealing with this field.

He listed the holding of a national skill competition by a professional technician under the title of “needlework skills” with the participation of different provinces as one of the ways to gain credibility in this field and clarified: one of the main problems and concerns regarding this field is how to collect information about these artists and place them They are in the home business collection.

Talibian stated that there is no accurate statistics of this target community and needlework subcategory, and said: We hope that in the future, with the help of these artists, we can put them under the heritage category so that we can discuss the problems of super marketing and the sale of their products. to plan