SYRIA: Copper sculptors worry the art of crafting pieces will die out as local demand for the products dwindle amid high prices

Record ID: 279489

  • Title: SYRIA: Copper sculptors worry the art of crafting pieces will die out as local demand for the products dwindle amid high prices
  • Date: 27th March 2009
  • Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) DAMASCUS CITY STREET VARIOUS OF COPPER PIECES ON DISPLAY IN MARKET SHOP VARIOUS OF ARTISTS WORKING ON COPPER PIECES IN MARKET SHOP VARIOUS OF COPPER PIECES ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF HASSAN RAMADAN, A COPPER SCULPTOR, CHISELLING A PIECE OF COPPER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HASSAN RAMADAN, A COPPER SCULPTOR, SAYING: "It is a very artistic job and it
  • Embargoed: 11th April 2009 13:00
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  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA4GP1RCJ84DW4JEAO5SLWMHBXP
  • Story Text: Syrian copper sculptors are worried their art, historically one of Syria's most famous oriental arts, will die out as local demand for the products dwindle amid high prices, and those skilled in the craft retire.
    The artwork requires a high level of skill in drawing and chiselling, despite the fact the tools needed to craft the art are simple -- they include a table, metal hammers of many sizes, in addition to pens and chisels.
    The difficulty of hand-making copper pieces, the high prices of raw copper, and the lack of skilled people who know how to sculpt copper make it difficult for this art to survive into the future, say some in the industry.
    Hassan Ramadan, an Egyptian man who has worked with copper for 45 years, said it would be a big loss if the art became extinct in Syria.
    "It is a very artistic job and it would be a loss if the skills needed to do it died out. I hope Syria preserves this job through opening schools to teach it to people," Ramadan said at his workshop in Damascus.
    The local demand for copper products has decreased in recent decades and it's now tourists rather than local residents who buy the intricate copper items - mainly because of the high prices the pieces fetch.
    Ahmad Saleh, owner of an oriental art shop in the Syrian capital, said this is why local enthusiasm for copper and working with copper has slowed, becoming the domain of tourists and wealthy people.
    "It is a luxury item that needs tourists more than local people because local people can buy many simple pieces but to sell the big quantities we need a tourist to buy them," Saleh said.
    The prices of the sculpted pieces of copper differ according to the type of copper, its colour, the design and any additions that are added to the pieces, whether it is silver or red copper. The price a piece can reach is about 3500 US dollars.
    Mohammad al-Zend, an owner of a metal trading shop in Damascus, said the high price was down to the work required to make the pieces.
    "The prices are a little bit high because the hand made pieces became hard to shape," al-Zend said.
    Sculpting copper dates back to the beginning of the Islamic epoch when buildings such as mosques, schools and palaces were decorated with it.
    Then, when people became attracted to that kind of art, sculptors followed the demand and designed new drawings and models to sell.
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