Mahtab Norouzi (c. 1934 – 14 July 2012) was an Iranian Balochi master artisan in traditional Balochi needlework and

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

Biography

Mahtab Norouzi (English: ''Moonlight New Year'') was born in c. 1934 and had lived in the small village of

Qasemabad, Bampur Qasemabad ( fa, قاسم اباد, also Romanized as Qāsemābād; also known as Qāsemābād-e Pā’īn and Qāsimabad) is a village in Bampur-e Gharbi Rural District, in the Central District of Bampur County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, I ...

in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. She had learned to do the traditional Balochi embroidery from her mother, starting at age 15. She never married and lived alone, but she taught all the children in the village her crafting skills. She worked for nearly 50 years, creating various textiles. The art of traditional Iranian needlework was largely forgotten until the early 1980s, with an influx of imported and mass manufactured products mimicking the style. As a result, the providence of this type of work is not always known. In 2007, she was honored with the title of one of the "Forgotten Treasures of Iranian Art" by the

Iranian Academy of the Arts The Iranian Academy of Arts (IAA) ( fa, فرهنگستان هنر ایران; formally Academy of Arts of the Islamic Republic of Iran) was established in March 2000. It is one of the four academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the other three ...

, they had named only thirteen people with this title. Additionally the Cultural Heritage Office of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province gave her a pension payment for a few years for her work. The last four years of her life she stopped embroidery because she struggled with back problems, low vision, and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

; and she lived with her niece Zeinab Norouzi who is also a noted craftsperson. Norouzi died on 14 July 2012 in Qasemabad, Bampur.

Shahbanu Shahbanu ( fa, شهبانو, ''Šahbānū'' lit. "Lady King") was the title for empress consort in Persian and other Iranian languages. The two Sassanian empresses regnant, Boran and Azarmidokht, c. 630, were the last two that carried the title ...

Farah Diba Pahlavi had wore Balochi embroidered clothes in various ceremonies, and some of that work is thought to have been made by Norouzi. Her works are included in the Sa'dabad Museum in Tehran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norouzi, Mahtab 1934 births 2012 deaths Needlework Embroiderers Women textile artists People from Sistan and Baluchistan Province Baloch culture Iranian artists People with Alzheimer's disease Iranian textile artists

Biography

See also

References