Copper Hammering Craft- Davatgari (Zanjan)

Copper Hammering Craft- Davatgari (Zanjan)

Copper Hammering Craft- Davatgari (Zanjan)

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Coppersmith is one of the oldest handicrafts of Iran backing to at least five thousand years ago. Copper was almost surely the first metal discovered by the human and the first coppersmiths seem to be Iranians. The discovery of two metal melting kiln in the 3000-year-old Spidezh site, Sistan and Baluchestan province, shows that the people of this area had been excel at metalworking and coppersmith. 

Making different practical tools and containers like tray, pot, skillet and pot lid in different shapes and sizes, bowel, plate, glass and pitcher and other copper containers through the hammering copper sheets is defined as Davatgari. In fact, copper hammering is the art of making copper objects using a hammer. Copper hammering has been a well-known handicraft in cities such as Kerman, Isfahan, Kashan and many other cities in Iran from the early Islamic period to the contemporary era. So that, we can see in most of these centers a main traditional bazaar dedicated to the artisans of this art-craft. 

After preparing copper sheets (in desired thickness, sometimes as thin as 0.9 millimeters), they are rolled out and cut into certain sizes. In order to find the central point of the container, coppersmith uses a compass and draw a little circle. Then they start to hammer for making the walls of the container. Hammering helps the artist to form the sheets in any desired shape. Firing and whitening are the following phases. The main tools in copper hammering are copper sheets in different thicknesses, a variety of hammers, pliers, different kinds of anvil in various shapes, powder coating, tin-cutting scissor, the pure tin for whitening and open kiln. Whitening is often a totally different expertise, however, in most small cities and villages the coppersmith does it himself. Nowadays, the process of making copper containers is carried out on a large scale using the electrical devices and it is because of an increase in the market demand and in order to decrease the overall price of the products. However, the artistic taste of the maker has a great influence on the beauty and fineness of the final product. Among the main centers of copper hammering craft, we can refer to Kashan, Isfahan, Kerman, Zanjan and Shiraz. 


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