Thursday, November 17, 2011

Herat Glass


The famous blue glass from Herat is a popular item. Handed from father to son for generations, there is only one family in Herat that produces this glass. Carefully guarded techniques, the blue glass is a beautiful tradition left from Timurid Herat [15th Century] or more. One of the family members [Nasrullah] moved to Kabul for some time, but lost the shop in leasing arguements and returned to Herat. Using the blue Herat glass, takes one to a classic age. This is an excellent addition to your dining table. Any shape or size could be made. We accept large and small orders.


From a long line of Glassmaker, stretching at least a thousand years, Master Glassmaker Nasrullah, 55, along with his brother, Saidullah, 60, his nephew Ghulam Sakhi, 35, his two sons, Zabiullah, 25, and Khairullah, 23 are the only five people in the whole of Afghanistan who know how to make the Herat glass, learning this ancient craft from their fathers, who learned it from their fathers for centuries. Haji Sultan Ahmad is the face of Herat Glass due to his shop's location across from the Friday Mosque. Ghulam Sakhi works for Haji Sultan producing the items in his shop. These gentlemen supply glass to everyone else in Afghanistan. They have small furnaces that can accommodate modest order sizes. There are limitations to their craft as to the size and color variations but they can produce almost anything if they understand the concept and see the design.



































6 comments:

  1. I have one piece of the glass in Poland. I bought it in Herat in 1973. It's beautiful.
    Mirek

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    1. That is great Mirek! Thanks for sharing. Please send us a picture of your glass and the story behind it. The Galleria is taking the glassmaker of Herat to the US for an exhibition in New Mexico and to the Corning Museum of Glass in NY in July 2014. As for Poland, I have been to Warsaw as a child in mid 1970's; and remember Metropole hotel and our usual order of chitiri korchak e chitiri lemonad. :) lovely place.

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Wow, this is an old website. I was looking up Afghani Blue Glass to use as my wallpaper

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  4. Hello, I am interested in buying Herat glass. Do you also sell abroad?
    P.S. are the glass makers of Herat still working in Herat?
    Kasia

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    1. I know this is a year old...
      Yes, I just had a friend pick some up. Unfortunately sultan Hamidi passed away about 6 months ago.

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