Iranian White Metal Cigarette Case Engraved Teheran 12-iii-43

A beautifully decorated, unmarked Pahlavi dynasty Iranian (Persian) cigarette case engraved with Teheran 12 - III - 43 in the central panel. The interior is lightly engine turned, whilst the front and rear halves are engraved with Ghalam Zani style decoration. The art of Ghalam Zani is to decorate and carve patterns on metal objects, especially copper, Persian gold, Persian silver, and brass, or in other words, to create lines and patterns with a pen with a hammer and on metal objects. This art is one of the traditional Iranian art disciplines that has a high degree of elegance. Nowadays, for this art, the inside or under the container or tray, which is usually made of copper or silver, is first filled with a solution of bitumen and gypsum to reduce the noise of the pen and also to prevent the container from being punctured during work.