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Originally Posted by laEspadaAncha
Hi Gene,
Well mate, as you know, I've been appreciating this - it's stunning to say the least - and I'd love to see some close-up photos of the koftgari posted in this thread as well. 
Was the design engraved/chiseled into which wire was hammered (as with bidriware) or was it hammered flat into cross-hatched grooves? 
Best,
Chris |
Hi Chris,
Thanks for coming in on this one
Excellent question.
This kind of kotfgari is characterised by the mixture of the broad leaf (hawthorne?) pattern that is now so familiar because fo the modern koftgari work's heavy use of a similar style and the very fine and far more labour intensive koftgari often seen on earlier pieces.
If we look closely at the two pictures below, I've tried to illustrate the construction techniques involved using worn areas of the koftgari.
The ruler is in centimetres and millimetres to show how fine this detail is.
The larger silvered areas and leaves are applied into finely incised crosshatching, as are some of the finer foliate patterns.
However, much of the very finely detailed work has been applied into patterns punched into the steel with a fine point.
Where the koftgari is worn or was heated until liquid in the original application process the 'pin holes' in the steel underneath have become visible.
The modern koftgari artisans would save considerable time by avoiding this process and concentrating on the crosshatching and larger pattern technique.