The kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger from Indonesia. Both weapon and spiritual object, the kris is considered to possess magical powers. The earliest known kris go back to the tenth century and most probably spread from the island of Java throughout South-East Asia. Kris blades are usually narrow with a wide, asymmetrical base. The e 40 variants), the pamor (the pattern of metal alloy decoration on the blade, with approximately 120 variants), and tangguh referring to the age and origin of a kris. A bladesmith, or empu, makes the blade in layers of different iron ores and meteorite nickel. In high quality kris blades, the metal is folded dozens or hundreds of times and handled with the utmost precision. Empus are highly respected craftsmen with additional knowledge in literature, history and occult sciences. Kris were worn everyday and at special ceremonies, and heirloom blades are handed down through successive generations. Both men and women wear them. A rich spirituality and mythology developed around this dagger. Kris are used for display, as talismans with magical powers, weapons, sanctified heirlooms, auxiliary equipment for court soldiers, accessories for ceremonial dress, an indicator of social status, a symbol of heroism, etc.

Indonesia 2008

Jewellery art (kaz. 'zergerlyk') - is knowledge and skills in the field of traditional Kazakh art manufacturing of silverware. Since ancient times, there were produced a variety of silver jewelry: rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, buckles and much more. Especially highly prized precious silver vessels, such as jugs, bowls, mugs, decorated with engraved images. Archeological findings suggest that Kazakh people achieved a higher level in the development of jewellery making. Chylik findings were made using such techniques as stamping, engraving, true grain, incrustation (VII-V century BC); Issyk finding included “Golden warrior” (IV-III century BC); Berel kurgan findings (IV-VI century BC) from Eastern Kazakhstan are the testimony of a unique “animal style” in jewellery making. Jewellery is mainly made with silver. This craft is widespread across Kazakhstan but each region has its specifications concerning technique and design. Jewelry sets are made for men, women, and children; as well jewellery making is used for decorating musical instruments, household items, weaponry and horse gears; some made for rituals, others have symbolic or sacred value. Zergerlyk used for making details in men’s clothing, rider’s gear, horse riding gear, for example, horse equipment (er-tuman), traditional belts (beldyk, kyseh beldyk and kyemer belbeu), sword and knives’ handles and scabbards, powder flask (okhshantai), snuffboxes (nasybai). Women’s decorative items include forehead jewellery (shekelyk), braid jewellery (shashbau), earrings (syrgha), necklaces (alkhah, onirzhiyek, tumar), bracelets and cuffs (bilezyk), rings (zhuzyk), belt buckles (khapsyrmah), buttons (tyuime), personal hygiene items (tyss tazlaghysh, khulakh tazlaghysh), tools for crafting, spindle (urshykh), thimble (oymakh). Zergers also make child’s cradle set: bessyk (cradle), shumek (tube to flow urine), syldyrmakh (rattle), yemyzik (pacifier), tumar (amulet, charm) and other items. The jewelry pieces in the form of circle, oval, triangle, half oval, rectangular, petal, peak and beak are frequently combined to make a larger piece, for example pectoral decorative items onzhyrek and alkah are made of several triangle and rectangular plates, khudaghy zhuzik (a special large double ring presented when marriage brokerage occurs) and bes-blezyk (a bracelet connected with chains with three rings). Geometric style from Western Kazakhstan is famous for large-scale decorative items that are assembled from pre-made pieces that are joined together by soldering (plates, borders, solar symbols, grain). Most common techniques include true grain, plated filigree, stamping, embossing, engraving, niello, enamel, casting, forging, and incrustation with precious and semi-precious stones. Stone (tas) are sliced flat and are called eye (koz) as they considered to be protection charms. The most popular stone is cornelian (akhykh) as it symbolizes prosperity and joy.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Najeonjang, or mother-of-pearl inlaying, is a Korean traditional method of decorating the surface of diverse household objects by lacquering and inlaying them with strips of mother-of-pearl. This traditional handicraft is known to have originated from Tang China, but discoveries made at many archaeological sites related with ancient Korean kingdoms prove that Korea has a long tradition of the craft and that ancient Korean people exploited it profusely to produce all kinds of everyday household objects. To produce a lacquer work inlaid with a mother-of-pearl design, the artisan needs to make a “white frame” with wood first of all. He then lacquers its surface and decorates it by inlaying carefully prepared strips of mother-of-pearl, some of which are as thin as threads, on a prearranged pattern by using the techniques of kkeuneumjil and jureumjil. Each of the individual work processes is completed with a stage of grinding, lacquering, and polishing the surface. In the Goryeo and early Joseon Periods, the most favored designs included peony blossoms, chrysanthemums, and lotus flowers. Designs became more diverse during the mid-Joseon Period as artisans began to extend their interest to flowers with birds, white cranes, grapes, apricot flowers, and the Four Gracious Plants. The traditional technique of inlaying mother-of-pearl is a time-consuming process that is currently preserved by, among others, two government-designated artisans, Song Bang-ung and Yi Hyeong-man.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Hwagak is a transparent plate made of finely ground ox horn. Hwagakjang refers to the handicraft skill of making such a plate or to an artisan with the skill. The materials are scarce and the work requires a great deal of time and a meticulous procedure. This artwork was chiefly used by upper class people. During the Goryeo Period (877 – 1394), cases for keeping Buddhist scriptures and rosaries were made from the skin of the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Artisans used a technique of applying colors to the back of an object which permeated to the front, along with mother-of-pearl. This practice continued until the mid-Joseon Period (1392 – 1910). In the ensuing period, handicrafts adorned purely with hwagak developed. Objects made with hwagak skill include wardrobes, chests of drawers, side tables, dressing tables, pencil cases, powder cases, sewing rulers, desks, workbaskets, hand-held fans, and writing brush handles. Hwagak handicraft features elaborate ornamentation in colors and patterns.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Ipsajang refers to the skill of inlaying ornamental silver or gold string into a groove made on a metal surface, or to an artisan with such a skill. Objects made with this skill were among the relics unearthed from the sites of Lerang dating from the 1st or 2nd Century BC and from Silla (circa 57 BC – 935) tombs. There are two ways of making this ornamentation. One was a method which started during the Goryeo Period (877 – 1394) of inlaying ornamental silver or gold string into a groove made with a chisel on a metal surface. The other, which started toward the mid-Joseon Period (1392 – 1910), was to make a figure on a metal surface using a chisel, and fit thin silver/gold pieces into the space by striking with a hammer. The patterns thus made were chiefly apricot, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo, crane, deer, bat, tiger, and pine.

Traditional leather processing and dyeing techniques are widely used in Shubarkuduk (Western Kazakhstan), which also hosts a school for teaching these techniques to young people. Leather utensils, serve as a 'refrigerator', which can withstand any changes in temperature. The freshness of kymyz (mare's milk) and shubat (camel milk) kept in such way. The tradition of leather craft, method of treatment passed down from generation to generation. Currently, the synthesis of professional creative activities and traditional motifs of the past is seen as the source of the revival of the classical tradition. These days, leather utensils fail to fulfill its utilitarian function, people mostly use it as a souvenir. Traditional technique of leather processing is used along with modern methods. The leather is used to produce men’s belts (kumys beldyk); hunting belt with accessories (kyseh beldyk with powder flask, pouch, fire striker, and sheath for a knife); women’s belt (belbeu); traditional footwear (yetyk, kebys, myasy); leather braided whip (khamshy), four, six and eight strand whip (used for horse riding); twelve and fourteen strand whip (used for protection from wolf attack); a quiver for arrows; a sheath for knives, swords, and sabers; leather shields. There are also leather vessels for mare’s milk: kauhar (flat vessel with narrow neck), torsykh (a vessel with rounded handles), mess (water skin), sabah (a large vessel tailored from goatskin). Traditional fur hats are widespread in Kazakhstan, namely tymakh and boryk with a lining made from fox, wolf, muskrat or mink fur and pushpakh tymakh made from fox paws; as well traditional men’s clothes (shapan and zharghakh) light coat made from light and soft suede and decorated with fine silk embroidery. Kazakh suede was one of the most valuable goods of the Silk Road and was traded as expensively as Chinese silk. One of the most common techniques used by Kazakh artisans is hot stamping on leather with metal plates called khalyp. Nowadays the national artistic traditions and new creative trends reflected in the works of modern masters and artists, where the ancient stamping technology has been preserved almost intact. . Embossing is made on soaked leather on the underside using special wooden plates with a desired carved design. Leather is clamped between two wooden plates and left to air-dry naturally. The design used for decorating leather is similar to the one used for making carpets. The central field filled with khoshkhar muyiz (sheep horn pattern) and khos myuiz (a cross-piece made of paired sheep horns). For the border, usually a plant design is used. The leather can be decorated with shaped metal plates with silver inlay. Embossed leather can be used for decorating wooden chests (zhaghlan). Along with embossing, incrustation with colored leather (kok saur), velvet and gold embroidery on leather is used.

The Lacquerware Making in Cát Đằng was born more than 600 years ago (from the end of the Tran Dynasty) associated with festivals to worship the village's ancestors (the founders are Mr. Ngô Đức Dũng and Mr. Ngô Ân Ba) and annual ceremonies taking place on January 14-16. Rich materials: wood, rattan, bamboo, reed... The main material is lacquer processed according to a secret recipe. It takes the craftsman a month or more to complete a product. Wooden objects for lacquer are not nailed but only use mortise and tenon joints with paint mixed with sawdust. Of all the stages, the most outstanding skills/techniques of the lacquer craft are the way of mixing paint, spraying paint, gilding gold, silver, inlaying, and drawing. These are also the most typical secrets of the Lacquerware Making in Cát Đằng. To make a product of the craft village, it is necessary to have the main materials such as: lacquer, tung oil, resin, sawdust, soil... Materials for making the core (vóc): wood, bamboo, rattan. Decorative materials: gold leaf, silver leaf, pearl shell, snail shell, egg shell, etc. Tools for making lacquer: beak, bucket, earthenware pot, etc. Tools for making lacquer: steel hair, sandpaper, whetstone, broom, curtain cloth, jackfruit leaves, xoan charcoal, tangled hair, paring knife, slotting knife, iron rod, etc. Decorative tools: cat hair pen, steel hair, slotting knife, etc. Currently, in addition to traditional lacquer materials, mainly industrial paints such as PU, cashew nuts, Japanese, etc. are used, and there are many other supporting tools such as: peeling machines, quilting machines, sharpening machines, sanding machines, paint sprayers, etc. to make bamboo patchwork products. The products of the craft village currently include two main product lines: Fine lines goods (worship items) and patchwork goods (handicrafts). Fine lines products are usually made from wood with two stages: making the frame (wooden blank, attaching, wrapping, tying, jamming, lining, giving, holding) and decorating (using silver leaf, gold leaf, mother-of-pearl, snail shell, eggshell... to inlay or paint on the product including the stages: gilding, covering. After each stage, it must be polished). Patchwork products are usually made from bamboo, rattan. To complete a patchwork lacquer product, in addition to the same process as patchwork, it must go through stages such as: soaking, drying, splitting, whittling, quilting, creating product blanks, bathing, shaving, smoothing, sanding the product, jamming, sanding, drying the product, spraying paint, and painting. Today, on the basis of inheriting the traditional Lacquerware Making craft, Cat Dang artisans have been creating and absorbing new techniques and new materials to create a variety of products to serve the needs of religious activities, decoration and consumption such as thrones, chairs, palanquins, statues, paintings, betel boxes, engagement trays, gilded lacquerware decorated at relics, tables and chairs, mother-of-pearl inlaid mahogany beds, vases, lampshades, pen holders, trays, bowls... with many rich and diverse designs, suitable for the needs of the domestic and export markets. The development of Lacquerware Making in Cát Đằng contributes to solving employment, improving local social life, building a rich and beautiful homeland. At the same time, it has gradually introduced traditional values, the quintessence of Vietnamese culture in general and Cat Dang locality in particular to the world. With the historical, cultural, artistic, usage and economic values of the heritage, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized "Lacquerware Making in Cát Đằng" as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017.

The art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/kamancha (“little bow”), a bowed string instrument, has exsited for more than 1,000 years. In Iran and Azerbaijan, types of this art constitute major elements of classical and folkloric Music. Classical Iranian Music refers to the urban music with “Radif” repertoir; the Folkloric Kamantcheh Music refers to the mainly rural musical traditions of Azarbayjan, Lorestan, and Torkaman Sahra. In both countries, contemporary practitioners mainly make and use four string Kamantcheh/kamancha composed of a body (chamber, neck and pegs) and a bow with horse-hair. Some Folkloric variants with two or three strings are also popular in Lorestan, Azarbayjan, or Torkaman Sahra, Iran(also, cf.D). Craftsmanship starts with choosing wood material. Craftspeople use walnut and/or mulberry for the body, and cornel for the bow. In Azerbaijan, only ball-shaped resonating chambers are crafted. Iranian communities produce the following resonating chambers/sound-boxes: 1-Pošt-baste(""closed in the back""):A hollow oval with sheep-skin; 2-Pošt-bāz(""open in the back""):A half-cone, with sheep-skin on one end. Craftspeople create a bowl and a round fingerboard, and unite them with an iron billow that ends up with a base shaft at the bottom. The chamber’s open side is covered with sturgeon, catfish, sheep or bovine bubble skin. They very often inlay the body with mother-of-pearl or other materials to express and mark different motifs and add their personal touch to the external decoration. In Iran, calligraphy, wood carvings, or inlayed jewels and shells are also practiced. The instrument rests on the base shaft and stands vertically on performer's lap or beside them; performers move the bow horizentally on the strings, and pivote Kamantcheh round the shaft to facilitate transfers on the strings. Kamantcheh/kamancha produces strong and subtle sounds, close to human voice with the sound diapason ranging from small octave ‘A’ to the third octave ‘A’. Players perform large works and etudes using various performing techniques, individually or as part folk orchestras. Generations of performers have left invaluable heritage of Kamantcheh/kamancha works, which are reproduced by young performers, adding their own playing dynamics and colouring. Transmitted from generations to generations at professional and amateur levels, within families or professional education institutions, this art brings together a large community of Kamantcheh/kamancha music lovers and listeners and continues to be a marker of cultural belonging.

Azerbaijan,Iran 2017

The art of wood carving in Uzbekistan is part of the Central Asian artistic heritage and its origins date back to ancient times. In the traditional architecture and life of the peoples of Uzbekistan for a long time, carved wood was very popular. In architecture, it was used as important architectural details and structures such as columns, cornices, doors, ceilings, and gratings. The use of carved wood in everyday life, or as it is also called household carving, absorbed a wide range of objects from furniture to small household utensils. Local wood species were used as a material: plane tree, elm, walnut, juniper, here, apricot, poplar, tal, pear, quince, cida, which differ in a variety of texture and pattern. When decorating various household items, furniture and musical instruments, the craftsmen used ornamental carving, painting and inlay. The main centers of woodcarving art are Khiva, Urgench, Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Qoqand, Margilan, Andijan, Fergana, Shahrisyabz etc.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea The term chiljang refers to the craftsman who creates lacquerware by applying lacquer -- or the refined sap of lacquer trees (Rhus verniciflua) -- to various objects. The first trace of lacquer use dates back to the third century BCE, but the earliest relics of lacquerware date back to the first century BCE. Lacquerware began to develop into an art form during the Nangnang (Lelang) Period and progressed further in the Silla Kingdom. In the Goryeo Dynasty, lacquered works were decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay, creating a new art form called najeon chilgi. In the Joseon Dynasty, lacquerware became more common, and many works were produced. The state compiled data on the distribution of lacquer trees nationwide and collected the sap from these trees. Lacquer craftsmen working in the capital and in the provinces were affiliated with their local government offices. The raw lacquer from the trees had to be refined before it could be used, and lacquer craftsmen would do the refining themselves. The refining process removes impurities and creates a fine particle liquid. Creating lacquer works is a long, laborious process. The item to be lacquered, called soji, had to be made of materials that are easy to work with and to paint, including wood, bamboo, cloth, paper, clay, and metal. First the object is smoothed down, and then the lacquer is built up in many coats, requiring lacquering, smoothing, and drying over and over again. Basically, the process is divided into three steps: chochil (first lacquering), jungchil (middle lacquering), and sangchil (final lacquering). After the final coat, the object is vigorously polished.

Syrmakh (syru means “stitch”) is another iconic wall and floor carpet made in traditional nomadic technique. There are around 20 syrmakh making techniques. To name but a few: akh syrmakh (white rug), oyuly syrmakh (colourful inlay pattern rug), oyistyrylghan/tyor syrmakh (solid color fabric appliqué on a white felt), syru (stitched pattern on felt), zhyiek syrmak (stitched felt rug with borders), kestelyi syrmakh (a felt rug embroidered with satin stitch). A pattern can be stitched to the background using bitpes (hand twisted cord), or zhyiek (hand weaved cord). An artisan can make syrmakh using a combination of techniques. The size of syrmakhs can vary from 1 to 6 meters and consist of 5 parts stitched together (1 bas or central part and 4 khol or borders). An artisan will spend from several weeks up to one year to make one syrmak. Traditional felt making is practiced by the artisans of southern and western Kazakhstan. The Union of Artisans of Kazakhstan revitalises the tradition by conducting trainings and master-classes on felting and its popularisation. Tekemets and syrmakhs are widely used in official celebrations, during holidays, for yurt decorations and in rituals. As well, modern interior and fashion designers use traditional techniques and materials in their work.

Blacksmithing includes a variety of techniques, including casting, welding, copper embossing, thread inlay, steel engraving, and double-engraved silver. Blacksmithing is inseparable from nomadic pastoral cultures, and is one of the wonders created by the nomadic pastoralists of Mongolia. The steel hearth, fire tongs, and other household tools are made by blacksmiths. Since ancient times, Mongolian artisans have made weapons and other army equipment, as well as tools and instruments, in a communal manner, meaning that blacksmithing workshops are found in many different sites in Mongolia. There are famous designs and schools of blacksmithing, such as Dariganga, Noyon Sevrei and Archuul, and although the artisan creates his work according to customary designs, one can find individual styles in their works. Traditionally, Mongolian artisans transmit their knowledge to the next generation through a master-to-apprentice way. In this method, the master becomes both a parent and teacher for the apprentice.