Zahroun Mulla Khidr bin Badran bin Qarjar Al-Zahroun Amara ( ar, زهرون الملا خضر بن بدران بن قارجار ال زهرون عمارة), known simply as Zahroun Amara (also spelled Zahrun, Zahron or Zahroon Amarah) ( ar, زهرون عمارة), was an Iraqi

niello Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed ...

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

and jeweler who was born in

Amarah Amarah ( ar, ٱلْعَمَارَة, al-ʿAmārah), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in the late 19th Century. Zahroun Amara was a member of the

Mandaean Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They ...

community who were famed for their silverwork. Zahroun Amara was known by many nobles and monarchs around the world and was the doyen and most renowned of the 'Amarah Silverworkers', with his signature on silverware prized by royalty.Drower, Ethel Stefana. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937. Individuals known to have owned his silver nielloware include Sultan Abdul Hamid II,

Stanley Maude Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude KCB CMG DSO (24 June 1864 – 18 November 1917) was a British Army officer. He is known for his operations in the Mesopotamian campaign during the First World War and for conquering Baghdad in 19 ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, the

Bahraini royal family The House of Khalifa ( ar, آل خليفة, translit=Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe, some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which mig ...

, Egyptian King Farouk, the Iraqi royal family (including kings

Faisal I Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi ( ar, فيصل الأول بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, ''Faysal el-Evvel bin al-Ḥusayn bin Alī el-Hâşimî''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria ...

and Ghazi), and the British royal family, including the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

who became

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

Zahroun Amara and the Emirs of Bahrain

The Emirs of Bahrain, when weddings and other festivities took place, entrusted Zahroun with pearls in large quantities without counting them in order for Zahroun to fashion necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry items for them. One of Zahroun's workers had a baby girl, so he asked Zahroun to make her earrings from the pearls of the

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

s of Bahrain. However, Zahroun refused and said to him, “Ask the Emir first, if he agrees, I will make one for you.” When the Emir arrived, Zahroun explained what happened with the worker. The Emir said to him, "Zahroun, the pearls are yours, and we trust you blindly, so why did you deprive him of this simple request?" Zahroun obliged and gave his worker what he wanted.

Zahroun Amara, Churchill, and Royalty

After the

British occupation of Iraq The Kingdom of Iraq under British Administration, or Mandatory Iraq ( ar, الانتداب البريطاني على العراق '), was created in 1921, following the 1920 Iraqi Revolt against the proposed British Mandate of Mesopotamia, ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Zahroun became the jeweler of kings, princes and major politicians, both from inside and outside Iraq, including King

, Ghazi bin Faisal (

King Ghazi Ghazi ibn Faisal ( ar, غازي ابن فيصل, Gâzî ibn-i Faysal) (21 March 1912 – 4 April 1939) was the King of Iraq from 1933 to 1939 having been briefly Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Syria in 1920. He was born in Mecca, the only son ...

) and

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. The British

Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

at the time,

, had a silver cigar box commissioned by Stanley Maude which was decorated with a

portrait of Churchill with his arm raised in addition to a niello image of the British battleship

HMS Victoria Four vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Victoria'' in honour of Queen Victoria: * , a wooden paddle sloop launched in India in 1839 and sold in about 1864 * , a first rate screw ship broken up in 1893 * , a Coast Guard yawl, ...

. One of the

' (

) highly prized possessions was a decorated cigarette case made by Zahroun. Zahroun also made items for Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

) and Farouk bin Fuad (

King Farouk I Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

). Zahroun is considered the first to insert colours into niello in Iraq by using an oven that he bought from India.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amara, Zahroun 19th-century births 1929 deaths Iraqi Mandaeans Iraqi silversmiths People from Amarah Iraqi goldsmiths

Zahroun Amara and the Emirs of Bahrain

Zahroun Amara, Churchill, and Royalty

See also

References