زرگري و جواهرسازي در عصر صفوي

Jewels and Gold in the Art of Jewelry-Making during the Safavid Period

From the earliest days of their history, Iranians have shown a great interest towards jewelry and the art of jewelry making. Whenever powerful dynasties came to rule, dynamism in economy increased and as a result the treasuryʹs wealth grew, including collections of precious jewelry and ornaments. The magnificent Safavid era was not an exception to this rule and manifestation of original Iranian art is visible in a variety of areas. Jewelry and goldsmithing is one such area. Travelers like Kempfer, Tavernier, Chardin, the Sherley brothers, and Sunson have recorded valuable material in their travel diaries. In their descriptions of the Safavid kingsʹ treasures, they provided specifications of precious stones and methods of workmanship, setting, and polishing. The Safavid kings not only made effort to safeguard existing holdings of jewelry and precious stones, but also endeavored to build their collections. They bought jewelry from India, Ottoman Turkey, Italy, and France, brought them to Isfahan and used them to produce exquisite works. With the fall of Isfahan to the Afghans, the treasury was plundered as the Treasury and other royal buildings were destroyed. This paper makes use of the above-mentioned sources in an effort to shine light upon the jewelry and goldsmithing of this period, their use in Safavid Iran, and their greater role in civilization and policy making. In this article, the library method of research is put to work, comparing and analyzing the available sources, with special attention to original documents, and then drawing relevant conclusions.