HANDMADE Persian Khatam Backgammon

Khatam Kari or marquetry is the art of covering and decorating the surface of wooden objects with pieces of wood, bones, and metals that have been cut into tiny and delicate triangle shapes (for example 3 millimeters) to create a surface of different geometric shapes in different colors. This eye-catching surface and the harmony of rhythmic colors and forms can amaze a visitor for a while! 
art of Khatam Kari with this standard originally belongs to Iran.

It is said that Khatam Kari in Iran dates back to Deylamian Dynasty and was invented in the city of Shiraz, but this art was flourished during the Safavid Dynasty in Isfahan which was the capital of Safavid kings, and notable masterpieces, like the royal Chahar Bagh door in Isfahan and the tomb of Sheikh Safi Eddin Ardebili in Ardebil, which is a world UNESCO heritage. During the Zandiyeh Period, when Shiraz was the capital of Iran, Khatam Kari thrived again and artists were gathered in this city.

Khatam kari is a refined and meticulous work of inlay (marquetry), the earliest examples of which date back to the Safavid era: the Khatam was so appreciated by the court that some Princes learned the technique in the same way as music, painting or calligraphy.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Khatam technique declined, before being brought back into fashion under the reign of Reza Shah, during which craft schools were established in Tehran, Esfahan and Shiraz. "Khatam" means "inlay". “Khatam-kari” is therefore the “work of encrustations”. This technique involves the creation of motifs, mainly in the shape of a star, with incrustations of fine wooden sticks (ebony, teak, jujube, orange wood, rosewood sticks), brass (for the golden parts) and camel bones (for the white parts).

Ivory, gold and silver can also be used for collector coins. These rods are first assembled in triangular bundles, and then these again assembled and glued in bundles according to a strict order in order to form a cylinder of about 70cm, the edge of which shows the unity of the base of the final decoration: a six-pointed star contained in a hexagon. These cylinders are then sliced into shorter cylinders, then compressed and dried between two wooden plates, before undergoing a final cut that makes slices about 1 mm thick. The latter are then ready to be plated and glued onto the support object to be decorated before being lacquered. They can be preheated to soften them, if the object is curved, so that they can perfectly match the curves. The decorated objects are legions: boxes, chess or backgammon (backgammon or tric-trac), picture frames, or even musical instruments. The Khatam technique can also be applied to the famous Persian miniatures, thus creating real works of art.