OXLAEYBecause of my BLOOD • Pateh Needlework • Kerman • IRAN
Opening the door to Mrs. Mitra Moinzadeh’s art room is like opening the door to a secret garden. As Faly Golshan (her daughter-in-law) explains, Mrs. Moinzadeh collects artistry done pieces of Pateh.
It takes several stages to complete a pateh. First one of the ladies has to make the fabric. After that someone has to make a pattern or design – like a parrot or canary. Thirdly, the whole pattern is outlined. During the next step, simple embroidery is used to create flowers, blossoms and decorative leaves. Lastly comes the 3D embroidery. It’s a long and arduous process which give pateh its special quality.
In the past pateh was done all in red, and the women said it was red because of their blood (from too many needle pricks). If you visit Kerman, you’ll notice that it lies on the edge of a vast desert. Hardly anything grows here – and certainly no flowers. Pateh was a way that women could add color and life to the inside of their homes, bringing the Persian gardens inside the home – so to say.
