The Persian Textile Industry In Historical Perspective 1500 1925

Celle étude présente une analyse serin-économique de l'industrie textile en Perse de 1500 à 1925. Les deux premiers chapitres traitent des caractéristiques géniales de la production, de l'industrie et du commerce des textiles, ainsi que de leur évolution. Une attention spéciale est réservée au commerce international, en particulier celui des tapis, pour lequel une analyse nouvelle est proposée. Le troisième chapitre offre un glossaire très détaillé des termes techniques concernant tissus et artisanats textiles. Une présentation complète des vêtements masculins et féminins en Perse, et de leur évolution, est fournie dans le quatrième chapitre. Le cinquième chapitre présente les sites de production, les divers types et emplois, la commercialisation et l'évolution de l'un des plus beaux produits de l'industrie textile persane, le châle. Enfin, le dernier chapitre concerne la production, le commerce, l'utilisation et l'évolution du "kork" (duvet de chèvre de Kerman), le produit le plus important aux yeux des marchands européens en Perse, après la soie brute.

Cette étude présente une analyse socio-économique de l'industrie textile en Perse de 1500 à 1925. De nombreux thèmes y sont traités : caractéristiques générales de la production et son évolution, présentation des vêtements féminins et masculins en Perse, les sites de production, les divers types et emplois, la commercialisation et l'évolution du châle, un glossaire des termes techniques concernant tissus et artisanats textiles.

This comprehensive and richly detailed study by renowned scholar Willem Floor is the culmination of what is known about domestic glass and ceramic production—location, quality, craftsmen—in Iran from 1500 until the end of the Qajar period in 1925. Because of increasing imports, the Qajar government tried to improve domestic glass and ceramic techniques through transfer of technology, (once through direct foreign investment). The reasons for these failed attempts are discussed as well as the development of the import of glass and ceramic products. Over time, there was not only a change in the places of origin of glass and ceramic imports, but also in their volume and composition, which, during the Qajar period, included a large variety of cheap articles for mass consumption. There is an appendix for each chapter giving a market assessment for glass and ceramic production in Iran, written in French by Belgian consultants in 1891. The Belgian assessments offer a detailed chemical analysis of glass and ceramics made in Iran, as well as an inventory of the types of glassware and ceramics made by domestic craftsmen. It concludes with proposals for the establishment of a modern glass and ceramic factory in Iran. This superb body of research will not only be of great interest to Iranian scholars inside and outside the country, but also to everyone interested in the story of glass and ceramics throughout the world.

The eighteenth century was a crucial era in modern Iranian history, but up to now it has been little studied outside Iran. In Crisis, Collapse, Militarism and Civil War, Michael Axworthy has gathered leading experts on this period from around the world to provide a multifaceted account of this fascinating, dramatic, and turbulent era. The volume covers economics, intellectual history, military developments, politics, and the visual arts. In the 1720s, after the collapse of Safavid rule in 1722, it seemed that Iran might disappear altogether, partitioned between her neighbors. Within a few years the country surged back to make a bid for regional dominance under Nader Shah, but lapsed again into civil war after his untimely death in 1747. The civil wars lasted almost until the end of the century, albeit with an interlude of relative calm and good governance under Karim Khan Zand, who ruled from the mid-1750s until his death in 1779. In 1796, after more civil wars, Agha Mohammad Shah had himself crowned as the first monarch of the Qajar dynasty, which lasted until 1925. This formative period is vital for understanding modern and contemporary Iran, and it is a fascinating drama of events and personalities in its own right. It was a period of crisis and turmoil, but also a period of possibility and creativity in ways that have for the most part been forgotten. Until now, scholarship on the significance of the eighteenth century in Iran has been scant and often obscure. This volume will not only change that, but it will also reshape our understanding of the history of one of the most important and influential states in the Middle East.

With contributions from leading experts, this edited collection presents original research on the skills brought by immigrant communities to the textile and fashion industries, from the early modern to postmodern periods in Asia and the Islamic World, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Manufacturing of textiles and apparel is arduous work, which historically depended on skilled artisans, inexpensive labor, and the introduction of labor-saving technology. Immigrant communities supplied much of the work force, bringing their own skill sets to new locations, leading to the development of new manufacturing centers and an increase in both production and technical expertise. Throughout the volume, the role of migration and immigrant involvement in manufacturing is also examined in relation to trade, politics, and socio-religious circumstances prompting relocation. Deconstructing the question of provenance by examining the cultural identity of migrant populations, the research brings to light ongoing dilemmas and practices of diaspora communities. By analyzing material, mythical, and technical aspects of textile and apparel production, contributors create a new narrative about textile- and garment-making as a collective endeavor, requiring diversity of skill and methodology to thrive.

Despite its apparently peripheral location in the Qajar Empire, Kirman was frequently found at the centre of developments reshaping Iran in the 19th century. Over the Qajar period the region saw significant changes, as competition between Kirmani families rapidly developed commercial cotton and opium production and a world renowned carpet weaving industry, as well as giving strength to radical modernist and nationalist agitation in the years leading up to the 1906 Constitutional Revolution. Kirman and the Qajar Empire explores how these Kirmani local elites mediated political, economic, and social change in their community during the significant transitional period in Iran’s history, from the rise of the Qajar Empire through to World War I. It departs from the prevailing centre-periphery models of economic integration and Qajar provincial history, engaging with key questions over how Iranians participated in reshaping their communities in the context of imperialism and growing transnational connections. With rarely utilized local historical and geographical writings, as well as a range of narrative and archival sources, this book provides new insight into the impact of household factionalism and estate building over four generations in the Kirman region. As well as offering the first academic monograph on modern Kirman, it is also an important case study in local dimensions of modernity. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Iranian studies and Iranian History, as well as general Middle Eastern studies.

The Indian Ocean World was an idea borne out by researchers in economic history and trade in the 1980s in response to the compartmentalization of specific area studies within the wider rubric of Asian civilisations and culture. Professor Kirti N. Chaudhuri’s books Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company (1978), and then Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean (1985), figured amongst the forefront of this new movement in historical thinking, undertaking detailed historical analysis, first of the English East India Company, and then a comparative cultural history of Asian material life and civilisation. Today, historians continue to hold on to the idea of an Indian Ocean world, although studies now follow a number of different threads, from themes like linguistics and creolization, to the seeds of national consciousness. By presenting a number of studies here, gathered into the themes of ‘Intermixing,’ ‘The World of Trade’ and ‘Colonial Paths,’ it is hoped we can render tribute to one of the outstanding historians in this field and reflect the plenitude of current research in this subject area.