Ebrahim Zarghouni

• Comment: Good work so far on this article. However, unfortunately, in order to prove notability, an article needs to references 2-3 sources which are reliable, independent, secondary sources, which talk about the subject of the Wikipedia article at length. This means that for notability purposes, interviews with the subject do not count, as they are considered primary rather than secondary sources. Mentions in passing, in articles mostly talking about other things, and sources produced by people and organisations with ties to the subject also do not count towards notability. This means that this article still needs a couple more sources to prove notability, and then we can try again. Good luck 👍 Absurdum4242 (talk) 08:33, 31 August 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Mzarghouni (talk) 16:11, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

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Ebrahim Zarghouni (Persian: ابراهیم زرقونی; c. 1910 – 1987) was an Iranian enamelist and teacher of traditional Iranian decorative arts from Isfahan. He worked in enameling for more than four decades and taught the craft at the Isfahan Fine Arts Conservatory. His works included large-scale enamel paintings as well as decorated metal vessels. Some of his works were reportedly presented by the Iranian government as diplomatic gifts, while others were held in collections in Isfahan.

Ebrahim Zarghouni

Early life and training

Zarghouni was born in Isfahan in 1289 in the Solar Hijri calendar, corresponding to approximately 1910–1911 in the Gregorian calendar. He attended a traditional school (maktabkhaneh) in Isfahan before leaving formal education to pursue the arts.

As a teenager, Zarghouni began studying metal engraving (qalam-zani) under the artist Aqa Seyyed Shirazi. He subsequently worked in engraving for approximately seventeen years. In a 1971 interview, Zarghouni said that although he had become an accomplished engraver, he was increasingly drawn to the use and combination of colors, which led him to enameling.

Zarghouni also described a family connection to enameling. According to his account, his grandfather, Aqa Seyyed Mohammad, was a noted enameler who had recorded his knowledge and techniques in a handwritten manuscript. Zarghouni studied these notes with the assistance of his maternal uncles, whom he described as masters of moarraq mosaic work who had worked on the decoration of Golestan Palace in Tehran.

Zarghouni further stated that he obtained manuscripts describing the techniques of Indian enamellers. He regarded these sources, together with his grandfather's notes and his own experimentation with color, as important to his development as an enameler.

Enameling career

Zarghouni entered enameling at a time when, according to his 1971 account, the craft had declined in Iran. He recalled that when he began working in Isfahan, only a German craftsman whom he identified as "Monsieur Schonemann" was producing commercial enamels locally, and that he subsequently worked largely on his own.

His early enamels were made on silver. Zarghouni described his approach as drawing on both Safavid and Qajar traditions while experimenting with color and composition. He was particularly interested in the relationship between colors and described color as having its own "language" and "music".

Contemporary Persian sources identify Zarghouni as one of the notable enamelists of modern Isfahan. A 2012 account of the Isfahan Fine Arts Conservatory lists him among the institution's notable teachers, identifying him specifically with the teaching of enameling (minasazi).

Works

Battle of Chaldiran

One of Zarghouni's best-documented works is a large enamel painting depicting the Battle of Chaldiran, the 1514 confrontation between the Safavid ruler Ismail I and the Ottoman sultan Selim I.

Zarghouni stated that he completed the work in 1316 in the Solar Hijri calendar (1937–1938), after working on it for approximately one year. The composition depicts Shah Ismail surrounded by tribal forces and Qizilbash, with Sultan Selim and the Ottoman forces facing them. Zarghouni said that he sought to combine the image of Shah Ismail as a warrior with the spiritual character associated with the Safavid Sufi tradition.

The work was made on an enamelled ceramic or tile surface and was more than one metre in dimension. According to Zarghouni , it was subsequently displayed in a number of exhibitions.

Other works

Zarghouni said that during his career he produced numerous enamel works, some of which were presented by the Iranian government as gifts to foreign heads of state. Persian biographical sources likewise report that some of his works were held in the Decorative Arts Treasury of Isfahan, now associated with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Isfahan.

A later Persian-language account of Isfahan's enamel tradition also lists Zarghouni among the city's notable modern enamelists and reports that examples of his work are held in the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Isfahan.

Innovations

In his 1971 interview, Zarghouni claimed that he was the first artist in Iran to use turquoise as a decorative element on enamelled vases and that he was the first in Iran to transfer enameling to the exterior wall or body of a vase.

Because these statements were made by Zarghouni himself, they are best understood as claims about his contribution rather than as independently established historical facts.

Death

Zarghouni died in Isfahan on 26 Dey 1365 in the Solar Hijri calendar, corresponding to January 1987. Persian biographical sources state that he was buried in Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery in Isfahan.

Legacy

Zarghouni was part of the generation of Isfahan artists who continued the city's tradition of enameling during the 20th century. His career combined metal engraving, traditional enamel techniques, experimentation with color, and teaching. His own account of his career emphasized the importance of preserving earlier Iranian techniques while allowing enameling to develop new forms.

Persian-language accounts of modern Iranian enameling continue to include Zarghouni among the notable enamelists of Isfahan.

Further reading

• Honar va Mardom (Art and People), vol. 10, no. 109, November 1971, pp. 30–31. "گفتگویی با ابراهیم زرقونی درباره میناکاری" ("An interview with Ebrahim Zarghouni about enameling"). Archived by the Iranian Cultural Heritage Documentation Center.

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