TEHRAN -  National Seal of Excellence has recently been granted to nine handicrafts made by artisans who are natives of South Khorasan province.

 “Nine works of handicraft made by South Khorasan crafters have been received Seal of Excellence,” IRNA quoted the provincial tourism chief as saying on Saturday.“300 fields of handicrafts have been identified in the country, of which 85 fields are practiced across the province,” Hadi Shahvari said.South Khorasan intersperses arid mountains and semi-deserts and is famed for saffron and barberries.

But there’s also a wealth of old mud villages that seem to have been left almost complete as though to tempt archaeologists.With 14 entries, Iran ranks first globally for the number of cities and villages registered by the World Crafts Council, as China with seven entries, Chile with four, and India with three ones come next.

For instance, Shiraz is named a “world city of [diverse] handicrafts”, Malayer is a global hub for woodcarving and carved-wood furniture, while Zanjan has gained the title of a “world city of filigree”.In addition, the ancient city of Shiraz has been chosen to host the 39th General Assembly of the World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR) in May 2023.

Shiraz has a remarkable amount of handicraft pioneers.

With an average age of 70, some of these pioneers are still active at their workshops.

The occupational records of about 100 pioneers are collected and are annually praised by the custodians of the WCC General Office.Available data compiled by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts suggests the value of Iran’s handicrafts exports stood at $120 million during the first eleven months of the past Iranian calendar year 1399 (March 20, 2020 – February 18, 2021), Mehr reported.

The country’s handicrafts exports slumped during the mentioned months in comparison to the same period last a year earlier due to the damage the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on global trade.AFM