Persian Wood Inlay Art

What is Moaragh?

Colored Wood

Persian wood inlaying Moaragh is one of the main Persian handicrafts in which small colored pieces of wood are carefully placed next to one another and create beautiful images resembling a painting masterpiece. To create a mosaic-work, however, beside naturally colored wood, it is possible to use other materials such as bone, shell, zinc, ivory, inlaid, which is the art of using geometrical forms carved on wood. In Iran’s bazaars like Naqshe Jahan Square in Isfahan, various types of mosaic tableaus are on sale with a variety of themes including natural landscapes, historically prominent figures, animal images, and Iranian classical or Quranic verses. For preparing this type of Iranian handicraft different wood types are used such as orange, jujube, poplar and walnut wood.

History of Moaragh

Zabul

Due to the fact that wood is a relatively unstable material and a low-longevity of nature, works made over time have been eliminated due to various events and factors, or that nobody was thinking of the maintenance and collection of wooden handmade products. As a result, no significant Iranian wooden arts of different historical periods have been left out. However, researchers consider different times as the source for wood sculptures. It is said that the wood mosaic is inspired by the tile flame. As the tile industry begins to decay, the wood mosaic has started to grow. The oldest piece of work was obtained in the burnt city (Shahr-e Sukhteh) of Zabul. It is a wooden shoulder that carries the geometric patterns. It dates back to the fifth millennium BC.

Stages of Moaragh

Pattern

Selecting the desired pattern and image. Gluing the pattern onto a plywood. Cutting the different parts of the pattern into smaller pieces and then adhering them the proper underlay by nail. Selecting various colored pieces of wood with varying wood arts for placing them onto the cut pieces of the pattern. Placing the pattern onto the desired wood with the use of nail or wood glue. Cutting the wood in line with the pattern. Replacing the pattern pieces with wooden pieces on the underlay of the tableau. Filling in the furrows and cut-marks and leveling the work off with the use of polyester. Smoothening the tableau with the use of various abrasives. Placing the last cover on the work with the use of a thin layer of polyester and polisher. These are the stages of making Persian Moaragh.

Qualified Product

The moaragh tableau must be a completely dried wood-work. In a high-quality mosaic-work, the outer layer of the tableau is completely burnished and smoothened. The smaller the wood pieces used in the tableau, the higher the value of it. Some factors such as coloration, disappearance of the glue trace and nailed points and the strength of the understructure are very important in the valuation of the work.

How to keep

Mosaic tableau must be kept in arid places without humidity.
Moaragh tableau must never to be washed.
The object which has undergone inlaid working is covered by a coat of clear polyester in the final stage.
The cleaner the cutting of the different parts of the design, the better the work-pieces are arranged next to each other with less crack space.

Types of artwork

The woodwork mosaic is actually a mix of different wood alongside a beautiful design. Creation is, in fact, the side-by-side placement of small pieces of wood, and then creating the desired role with the use of natural wood colors. In addition to woodwork, simple mosaics, tile mosaics, ceramic mosaics, mosaics and leather mosaic, there are also similarities in general, but each of them has a special beauty paradigm.