TEHRAN -- The Bongah publication company will soon put out Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli’s book “Locks from Iran”.

“I have studied over 600 types of locks dating from the Sassanid era to modern times in this book,” Tanavoli told the Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
The English version of the book had previously been published in Canada and the United States 30 years ago, and the locks are from the collection gathered by Tanavoli and his wife over many years, he added.
“After all these years, the book has become rare. Thus I decided to republish it, with some revisions to the content of the earlier edition,” he explained.
“The absence of the art of sculpture in Iran after the advent of Islam led artisans -- including locksmiths -- to make everyday tools using animal motifs,” he added.
Tanavoli has written several other books, including “Kohl Box”, “Talisman, Iran’s Traditional Graphic Art” (also known as “Talisman and the Occult Arts”), “The Tacheh of Chaharmahal”, “Rustic and Tribal Weaves from Varamin”, “The Sofreh of Kamo”, “Riding in Splendor: Horse and Camel”, and “Trappings from Tribal Iran”.