Malek Museum's Pen Case Workshop Wrapped up with 3 Crafted Pen Cases

August 2, 2010 2:08 PM - Printable Version

A pen case workshop which was held on the sideline of Sundial Festival at Malek National Museum and Library since July 13 wrapped up yesterday. Three lacquer pen cases were made during the workshop with different designs of painting.
According to the public relations of Malek National Museum and Library, three pen case makers, under the supervision of Ramin Merati, crafted three pen cases with the designs of flowers, miniatures and monochromatic bird and flower. The workshop was organized aiming to give people a better understanding of the process involved in making pen cases, the cardboard cast and the outer surface painting.
At this workshop, which was held at the hall of pen case collection on the ground floor of Malek National Museum, Merati offered some explanations on the material and the process of making a pen case, saying: "At this workshop, trainees learn to make the main base of the pen case in Papier-Mâché, which is made with paper and paste glue, and to make pen case casts in walnut wood."
He continued: "To make a pen case, casts are made out of walnut wood. The sizes of these casts were defined in the Qajar and Zand eras; there are three sizes in all, and we work here with two of them. After the cast is made, the paper and paste glue are applied to its outer surface and form a thick cardboard cover which is the main material of the old pen cases. A layer of soap should also be applied over the cast so that it can be separated from the pen case which will be made on it."
Merati further explained: "The first layer after the soap is paper, which will be placed on the cast using no kind of glue. Then, alternate layers of paper and paste glue are applied on top of each other. Every seven layer, the layers are pounded with a wooden tool to compress the layers of paper and form a solid cardboard layer."
On the materials used in the process, he said: "The dyes that are used for painting on the pen cases are gouaches and watercolors. For illuminations and Khatayi lines, silver or platinum is used. To work with the materials, a plate of platinum is rubbed with honey to turn it into powder. After that the powder will be added to animal paste so that it can be applied over the cardboard layer."
Merati further added: "A jade pen called 'Mohreh' is used for smoothing and polishing those parts of the work where platinum or silver has been used. 'Otter pens' and 'cat pens' in sizes 0 and 00 are used for designing and painting on the pen cases. There is also another instrument called 'Trailing' for outlining and drawing tables on the pen cases. Lacquer and paste glue are two other materials used in this workshop."
This illustrator also explained: "In the Qajar era, each part of the job was done by a specialist. A pen case maker only made the pen case and didn't do the painting. It was all so specialized that the lower layer of the pen case which was covered with Khatayi lines was done by one expert, and the miniature painting on the pen case by another. Several craftsmen worked on a pen case to create a really expert end product. Here at this museum we even see pen cases with paintings and illuminations done by two separate artists. In fact, there were pen case workshops during the Qajar and Zand eras where a group of craftsmen worked together as a team."
He then stressed: "Of course there have been those who were experts in all aspects of the process and did everything themselves, but they were rare artists."
Malek Museum has a fine collection of pen cases and other lacquer artifacts, a significant part of which have been donated to the museum by Haj Agha Malek's daughter.
Lacquer artifacts are in close relation with Iranian pen cases, in which decorations were drawn on paper paste and polished afterwards. These pieces have been kept as personal effects of rulers, ministers, merchants, writers, poets and painters, and were held in great value by their owners as a sign of literacy, which in turn meant social status.
Among the oldest existing lacquer artifacts are the bookbindings made in Herat at the court of Timurid ruler King Hossein Mirza. One of the features of these bookbindings is the use of paper paste as the main material, which was later changed into paper layers pasted on top of each other. To decorate and beatify the bookbindings and other pieces of the same material, they were illuminated and covered with miniature paintings. As the finishing touch, they were rubbed with a protective layer of oil or lacquer. This finishing material, which gave a glowing polish to the piece, was applied to protect the painting and complement the decorations. The same style is used in making pen cases; the only difference between pen cases and lacquer bookbindings are their shapes and purposes.
Malek Museum's pen case workshop was held July 13-18 at the location of Malek Museum, on the occasion of the anniversaries of the birth of Imam Hossein and the appointment of Muhammad as God's Prophet.