TEHRAN -- In a village called Amirieh near Tehran, skilled artisans in a workshop are trying to keep ancient Iranian art and culture alive and well for the benefit of those who have been slowly forgetting their origins over the past few decades.

This workshop was established about 15 years ago by the Shahriar Tandis and Peykare International Company (STPIC) to manufacture statuettes of contemporary Iranian luminaries, Iranian personalities from ancient times, and mythical personalities from Persian literature.
You can find examples of their artwork in a gallery at the company’s office in Tehran.
The company’s artists have sculpted cultural figures from Ariobarzanes (368-330 BC), the Persian satrap of Persis who fought against Alexander the Great, to living legend of Iranian traditional music Mohammadreza Shajarian.
They have also brought many Iranian epics to life, such as the battle of Rustam and Sohrab and the Third Adventure of the Shahnameh, with their creations.
One of the most interesting artifacts on display at the STPIC office is a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder, which is the same weight and size as the original artifact kept in the British Museum.
Shortly after its inception, the STPIC shifted from making small sculptures to working on larger projects, one of most valuable of which is the Garden of Inscriptions. 33 models of the ancient inscriptions located in various sites of Iran are on display at the garden located in the courtyard of the Niavaran Palace Museum in Tehran.
“Most of the inscriptions were created by kings and out of the reach of the common people in order to safeguard them,” STPIC Managing Director Hossein Taqavi explained to the Tehran Times last week.
The garden provides ordinary people and scholars alike with easy access to models of the inscriptions that are the same color and size as the originals, he added.
Molding, making, and installation of the replicas took 12 years and according to Taqavi, even planting the grass at the garden was done by the STPIC.
The STPIC never received a penny for its work from the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO), which had commissioned the project, Taqavi said, adding, “We only desired to see the project through to its completion.”
He believes that most of the inscriptions are threatened by destruction from human and natural factors and the garden is a means to preserve the ancient inscriptions for future generations.
A part of the Kartir inscription carved on the Zoroaster’s Kaba at the Naqsh-e Rustam site in Fars Province vanished in 2006, just one year after it was molded by the STPIC for the garden.
No harmful effects have been shown for the material used to mold the inscriptions and other artifacts. The material has been innovatively formulated by the STPIC.
The STPIC has installed a great tableau depicting the evolution of script at the 23rd Tehran International Book Fair, currently underway in Tehran at Imam Khomeini Mosalla.
Over the past three years, the STPIC has focused on creating pieces for installation in buildings to complement their architecture.
“New Iranian buildings lack national symbols,” Taqavi lamented.
“Over the past three years, giving meaning to the environment has been high on our company’s priority list,” he added.
In this way, in the revetment of a structure entitled “The Nations’ Wall” at the CHTHO in Tehran, the STPIC used tile-shaped plaster pieces bearing copies of motifs originally carved on rocks and structures located at various prehistoric and ancient sites in Iran.
“With an introduction provided for each piece, CHTHO’s clientele are kept busy with the details given for each of artworks,” Taqavi said.
The CHTHO has approved a STPIC’s plan for decorating its entrance using a design based on the gift presenters’ bas-reliefs at Persepolis.
The molds for the decorations have been taken off the originals at Persepolis.
The STPIC has made single balusters and urban furniture carrying motifs and symbols of ancient Iranian architecture. Some of the artworks have been used in a number of locations in Tehran.
Over the past year, about 1.2 million artistic creations were crafted by the 273 artists working at STPIC’s workshop located in Shahriar, which is a working class neighborhood.
“We could have set up our workshop in one of better districts of the capital, but we believe that providing employment for people in less affluent communities is a blessing for us,” Taqavi stated.
The STPIC has been honored several times as Iran’s Employer of the Year.
So far, the company has held 15 foreign exhibits in Germany, England, Russia, India, Oman, Qatar and several other countries.
French cultural attaché in Tehran Jean-Claude Voisin has proposed that the STPIC offer some of its products at the Louvre Museum. Initial discussion of the issue is on the agenda of an upcoming meeting scheduled with Louvre officials.
The STPIC is also making a model of the Nations’ Gate of Persepolis for the Toronto municipality.
Creating each one of our artifacts requires an expenditure of time-consuming, in-depth research, Taqavi noted.
“The matter becomes more complex with abstract designs, because they need even more time and talent, in a similar way that a poet must strive when composing intricate rhymes in poetry.”
Photo: The entrance of the Garden of Inscriptions, which opened at the courtyard of the Niavaran Palace Museum in Tehran on February 3, 2009 (Photo by Saghar Amir-Azimi)
Photo: A tile replica of a bas-relief of Persepolis made by the STPIC