Chandelier industry in Syria

The chandeliers industry in Damascus, which dates back to more than a hundred years,  reflects  the deep-rooted civilization of Syria and its distinguished skilled  craftsmen, who managed to develop this industry and combined the past and the present  through the integration of seashells and copper for the first time inside a copper chandelier to be a masterpiece created by the Grand Masters ( sheikhs Al- Kar)  of “Dummar” Central  Incubator for  Traditional  Crafts   in Damascus..

The skilled Syrian craftsman, who  is capable of creativity and  keeping up with the up-to-date  techniques to develop heritage crafts,  made  the first copper  seashell  chandelier to prove that this heritage profession is amenable to change and development.  

“A soft and tender metal”  with these words, Sheikh Al-Kar Adnan Tanbakji described the copper metal which  accompanied him throughout his career in the ancient chandeliers industry dating back to  more than a hundred years when electricity  was generated into  the city of Damascus and people began to replace old lanterns with lamps, especially in places of worship, palaces and large Damascene homes.

The age  of making copper chandeliers is relatively recent compared to other traditional  crafts according to Tanbakji.   He underlined that the “ Dummar “ incubator for traditional crafts   enabled  the craftsmen  to create new  models, such as  seashell  copper chandeliers, which  is being made for the first time in Syria and witnesses  remarkable popularity.

According to Tanbakji, chandeliers are divided into a heritage manual section that depends on 100% manual work, starting with breaching, unloading, knocking and pouring copper, and another section in which the percentage of manual work reaches eighty percent, and thus it remains on the heritage crafts list.

As for the stages of work, Tanbakji  told SANA  that it begins with hand drawing  of chandeliers  or using modern technology and 3D printing,  then the stage of pouring the chandelier or candlestick pieces to go to the manufacturing workshop where the places designated for loading the crystal are perforated and then the grinding and pickling stages come and then coating it with  gold or silver solution Bronze.

The skilled craftsman   underscored  that the participation in internal and external exhibitions is  one of the most important factors that help Sheikh Al-Kar in continuity and development.

He  pointed  out that Syrians have always had a distinguished presence in exhibitions, where he won first place in the name of Syria in several exhibitions, including Beirut, Moscow and Algeria, in addition to being honored in Abkhazia. .

Tanbakji stressed  that  the Syrian pavilion  is characterized  proudly by a notable turn out of visitors who enjoy watching the  creation of  masterpieces of traditional crafts  such as engraving on copper directly. 

Despite the technical development and the fierce competition between the automatic and manual industry, the Syrian heritage handicrafts still have a distinctive place in the whole world, according to Tanbakji.

He  indicated that his work in Dummar   central incubator for traditional  crafts  will enable him to teach this profession to generations of young people in order to preserve and develop it.

Rawaa Ghanam