Slow art: The master illuminator of Tehran

Iranian artist Mohammad Hossein Aghamiri sometimes labors for six months on a single design, very carefully — he knows a single crooked line could ruin his entire artwork.

In the age of AI-assisted graphic design on computer screens, the centuries-old tradition of Persian illumination offers an antidote to rushing the creative process.

Aghamiri's fine brush moves natural pigments onto the paper with deliberate precision as he creates intricate floral patterns, religious motifs and elegantly flowing calligraphy.

The exquisite artwork has for centuries embellished literary manuscripts, religious texts and royal edicts as well as many business contracts and marriage certificates.

Aghamiri, 51, is one of Iran's dozen or so remaining masters of the ancient illumination art of Tazhib, which was inscribed last year on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage.

"It is a very unique job that requires a lot of patience and precision," Aghamiri, a veteran of the craft with over 30 years' experience, told AFP in his downtown Tehran studio.

"It's not accessible to everyone."

Tazhib's non-figurative and geometric flourishes have traditionally adorned the margins of holy books and epic poems.

The artform dates back to the Sassanid era in pre-Islamic Iran but flourished after the seventh century advent of Islam, which banned human depictions.

Aghamiri says it often takes him months to finish one design and that a single misplaced stroke that disrupts its symmetrical harmony can force him to start over.

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Recently, he was working on a so-called shamsa design, a symbolic representation of the sun, about 50 centimeters across with intertwined abstract, geometric...