What is Tazhib?
Tazhib is one of the most famous art disciplines and handicrafts in Iran, which has been used for many years to decorate buildings, books, works of art, and various dishes. The elegance of this art has made it popular in various industrial fields such as printing and packaging. Some artists consider gilding as a subset of Iranian painting, But the unique features of this art have turned it into an independent field over time.
The art of Tazhib in painting can be considered as a collection of original and beautiful characters that painters use to beautify religious, scientific, cultural, and historical books, divan of poems, Quran and artistic wars.
Tazhib, as a part of Iranian painting art, was mostly used in the past to decorate the margins of historical and religious books, especially the Holy Quran.
This art has been popular in Iran since before the advent of Islam, but due to the lack of support and attention to it, as well as the lack of active artists in this field, today it has become one of the most abandoned visual arts.
In the past periods, this art was mainly in the service of calligraphy and painting, and it is seen in a lesser way as an independent painting in the field of gilding; In other words, gilding has served as a sacred Iranian art in the service of book layout.
tazhib
The art of Tazhib or gilding or traditional motifs derived from plants and geometric motifs is one of the sub-branches of painting art.
Of course, it has expanded for itself.
Because this art is single, it can be used on many practical and decorative items.
This art gives a spiritual dimension to wherever it is used.
Art is based on the repetition of Khatai and Slimi motifs.
Tazhib, like painting, has schools and each school has branches
The schools are based on historical periods and the branches are based on the centers where the thought is active.
By learning the principles of painting, painters can learn its main sub-branches such as gilding, poetry, flowers and birds very quickly.
Applications of Tazhib in Negargari
Tazhib in painting has many branches, each of which is used for a different purpose. The most famous uses of this art are:
Decoration of books and magazines: Tazhib is used to decorate various parts of books and magazines, including the beginning and end pages, margins, headers and miniatures.
Decorating the Quran and religious books: Gilding is used to decorate the pages of the Quran and religious books, especially in important parts such as surahs, illuminated verses and titles.
Decoration of boxes and chests: gilding is used on wooden, metal and stone boxes and chests to embellish and increase the beauty of these objects.
Tazhib is used on commendation plaques and plaques to honour and thank people and notables.
Decorating jewelry and metal works: Tazhib is used on jewelry and metal works such as necklaces, rings, watches and various objects to beautify and increase their value.
Decoration of buildings and historical buildings: gilding is used in the architecture and decoration of historical buildings and buildings, including brickwork, bricklaying and wall decorations.
All these applications show the influence and prosperity of the art of tazhib in increasing the beauty and visual value of works of art and various objects.
In the tazhib of the border, decorative motifs are used only in framing the pages of books, paintings or photos. Among the most important examples of border tazhib, we can mention Quranic decorations, divans of poems and historical books. In the gilding of the border, the design lines and patterns are very elegant and the colours are chosen in harmony with the text or image. This branch of tazhib is also widely used in the printing industry.
