Calico cloth by Ali Reza Botlani and inlaid box by Mohammad Ebrahim Golriz both from Isfahan were awarded Seal of Excellence by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
According to ISNA, the works were judged by UNESCO experts in Malaysia.
The seal is awarded for handicrafts which feature the respective country’s cultural and national identity and traditional arts. Calico--a type of printing designs on cotton fabrics such as canvas--is one of the genuine and indigenous arts in Isfahan.
It is said that the art reached its zenith during the Safavid era and became popular among the people as demands for such works outstripped supply.
Inlaid (Khatam) work is the art of decorating the surface of wooden articles with delicate pieces of wood, bone and metal precisely-cut geometrical shapes.
Inlaid work, which has experienced many changes since its emergence, is another favorite art in Isfahan.

Two books introducing contemporary artworks and jewelry which will go under the hammer at Christie’s auction in Dubai have been made available to Iran.
According to ISNA, the publications titled ’Contemporary International Art and New Age’ focus on Christie’s action in Dubai scheduled for October 31 and November 1. It features the schedule and venues of other auctions elsewhere in the world.
Details of a bas relief of an Achaemenid soldier, which will be sold in Christie’s auction in London on October 25, are also given in the catalogue featuring Dubai jewelry. The stone piece depicting the profile of an Achaemenid warrior has been valued in the range of £500,000-£800,000.
Christie’s has introduced the bas relief as a stone inscription from Persepolis (Takht-e Jamshid) featuring Persian soldier dating back to first half of the fifth century BC which measures 8.23 cm by 1.31 cm.
The work will be displayed from October 23 while the auction will be held on October 25.
The book on jewels also provides information about the time and venue of the auction for jewelry and valuable watches and clocks on November 1.
According to the 203-page catalogue, 13 special jewelry, clocks and watches auctions will be organized in the final months of 2007 while 28 auctions on contemporary arts including Iranian, western and Arabic will be organized in the same period.
In the October 31 auction, a collection of Iranian, western and Arabic artworks will go under the hammer.
Some eleven and six auctions will be held respectively in November and December.
Contemporary arts catalogue has also published the schedules and venues of auctions for African and Asian-Pacific artworks.

Six Iranian animations are on the screen in Louvre Museum of Paris.
According to IRNA, the museum’s film selection committee screened the animations ’Homecoming’, by Behzad Farhat, ’Companion’ by Ali Asgharzadeh and ’Bahador’ by Abdollah Alimorad on Thursday concurrent with ’World Song’ exhibition featuring Iran’s art and civilization during the Safavid era (1501-1736) at the museum’s 450-seat hall.
The animations ’Sweet Tale’ by Mohammad Reza Abedi, ’The White-Winged’ and ’Jewelry Mountain’ will be shown for children above six as well as the visitors to the museum.
The animations will remain on the screen until October 31.
’World Song’ showcases a collection of valuable artistic and historical works from the Safavid period including paintings, calligraphy works, brass dishes, potteries, fabrics, weapons and armors.
The exhibition opened on October 1 in cooperation with the Iranian museums and some other countries and will continue until early January.

Fifth performance therapy festival for the neurologically disabled will be held in the specialized and free sections at the Neurology Hospital in Saadatabad, northern Tehran from October 21-24.
According to MNA, Gholamhossein Arab-Sheibani, director of the hospital said that the event seeks services for neurological patients to help them lead a normal life. Currently, 105 patients are being treated in the 70-bed hospital.
The medical team includes nurses, psychologists and relief workers, he said, noting, “We even consider the families (of patients) as part of the team.“
Modern science seeks to adopt drugless treatment by using methods such as performance therapy, which is a subcategory of work therapy, he said.
Arab-Sheibani further stated that the team first began using this method to cure patients five years ago and the festival aims to reflect on the outcome of a year of efforts. “We believe performance therapy can also be used for educational purposes,“ he said.
Meanwhile, executive director of the festival, Majid Amraei said that the event is not audience-oriented and the people attending the program are in fact seeking cure and are somehow linked to the treatment process.
Performance therapy is the real struggle of mankind with problems, he noted.
The festival will feature the achievements of the treatment team during a year, he said, noting that the free section will include street plays since this genre of performance has special affinity with performance therapy and the actor/actress directly performs before the audience.
The event is sponsored by Martyr Foundation’s Rehabilitation Center and Cultural Department, Performing Arts Directorate General and the Foundation for Safeguarding Sacred Defense Accomplishments.

A sample of Iranian needlework

When one speaks of Turkmen textiles, the mind of every enthusiast in such arts is immediately drawn to their fuzzy hand-woven works. However, a different kind of Turkmen handicraft is needlework.
According to IRNA, woven materials include carpets, bags in various sizes and reins for animals while needlework is a part of the clothing or the cover of special objects such as the holy Qur’an.
Turkmen fuzzy hand-woven works are rather coarse while the needlework on them is elegant.
Icons woven by Turkmen are not simple motifs of flowers and animals; rather one should guess to be able to make out the pattern.
However, Turkmen collection owners believe that elephant, bird, boat, weapons and horse designs are clearly visible on fuzzy textiles. Chyrpy is yet another kind of Turkmen needlework, which is a covering worn by the women on specific occasions.

Bahram Beizaei

Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry’s Cinematic Department has issued production permits for five 35mm films, including a film by Bahram Beizaei.
According to MNA, the films are: ’When We All Are Asleep’ directed by Bahram Beizaei, ’Codified Law’ by Mazyar Miri, ’Wink’ by Jahangir Jahangiri, ’Angel of Mercy’ by Mehrdad Khoshbakht and ’A Span of Sky’ by Ali Vazirian.
The department has also extended production permit for the film ’On Wedding Night’, directed by Reza Qahremani and produced by Mohsen Badrlou.

two-day seminar on the 20th century French philosopher Michel Foucault will be held as part of a series of discussions titled ’Those Thinking’ at the Youth Thought Center on October 21-22.
According to Fars news agency, at the event sponsored by Students Basij (volunteer forces) of Tehran University’s literature and humanities faculties, noted scholars such as Reza Davari-Ardakani, Hossein Kachoeian, Mohammad Reza Rikhtehgaran, Darioush Rahmanian, Hamid Reza Namazi, Mohammad Eivazi, Davoud Firahi and Shahriar Zarshenas, will review the views of the philosopher.
Main subjects of discussion at the gathering include ’Review of Foucault’s Thoughts’, ’Foucault and Review of History’, ’Foucault and Society’, ’Foucault and Narration of Death’ and ’Foucault and Islamic Revolution’.
The center has so far organized similar seminars on Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, both German philosophers.
Foucault (1926-1984) was a French philosopher, historian and sociologist. He is best known for his critical studies of various social institutions, most notably psychiatry, medicine, the human sciences and the prison system.
Foucault’s work on power, and the relationships among power, knowledge, and discourse, have been widely discussed and practiced.

Artists House is holding an exhibition of paintings by 15 contemporary artists at its Morteza Momayyez and Mirmiran galleries.
According to Fars news agency, the event is organized by a magazine titled ’Profession: Artist’, which deals with the works of contemporary painters.
Abolqasem Saeidi, Marco Gregorian, Nikzad Nojoumi, Manouchehr Saffarzadeh, Farshid Maleki and Amin Nourani, are among the artists who display their works at the event.
Those interested may visit Momayyez and Mirmiran galleries from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., respectively.
The event will run until October 25.

People usually spend their savings on buying property or gold rather than artworks whereas state institutes can purchase artworks to help the economy of art, observed a well-known artist.
Speaking to CHN, Kazem Chelipa, son of the noted Iranian teahouse painter Hassan Esmailzadeh, known as Chelipa, added that it is not customary in Iran to buy a tableau in the hope of profiting from a price increase.
Citing tax concessions as a solution to promote the economy of art, he said that Economy Ministry can play a crucial role in this respect.
In developed countries, governments offer tax allowance to companies which contribute to the betterment of the art and culture sector, he said, noting that if a firm buys a tableau or sponsors an exhibition, it is entitled to such concession. Undertakings of this kind can be effective in ensuring the prosperity of visual arts, he noted.
Complaining that administrative buildings are void of artworks, he said that no tableau or statue is even seen in their outer perimeter.
Calling for allocating part of the ministries’ funds to buy artworks, Chelipa said that the municipality and Economy Ministry can assume a greater role in creating market for artworks.