Feature > Short Stories > INTRODUCING ZAHRA KARAMAD BY DR. MANOUCHEHR MOSHTAGH KHORASANI
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On September 19, 2008, Ms. Zahra Karamad successfully defended her Master’s thesis
titled Sakhtarshenasi-ye tigheha-ye
fuladi-ye jowharddar va era’eye tarh-e darman va maremmat (Investigation
into the Structure of Crucible Steel Blades and Proposing a Plan for Treatment
and Restoration) in the field of Conservation of Cultural and Historical
Heritage at the Art University of Isfahan.
I was her first supervisor, Professor Mohammad Golazar from the
Technical University of Isfahan was Ms. Karamad’s second supervisor and her
advisor was Ms. Mitra Etezadi (who holds an M.A. in Conservation and who is the
Conservation Specialist of the Cultural Insitute of Bonyad and the Museum of
the Central Bank of Iran).
Ms. Karamad completed her defense with
a very good grade. She presented an
excellent work analyzing four antique Persian swords with crucible steel
ranging from the Safavid period until the end of the Qajar period that are kept
in the Cultural Institute of Bonyad. She
took samples from each blade and had these samples analyzed by SEM (Scanning
Electron Microscopy) and metallographic analysis. She found some quite astonishing
results. In contrast to earlier research
and hypotheses, there were no traces of vanadium in the crucible steel. Instead, other elements were found, among
them niobium (Nb).
Ms. Karamad has an eclectic background. As everyone knows, the entrance exams for
admittance to Iranian universities are extremely hard. Ms. Zahra Karamad obtained the 170th place in
the entry exam, at a national level, for the B.A. in Conservation Studies
program. She successfully completed her
B.A. in Conservation at the Art University of Isfahan, specialising in the
preservation of historical buildings and artifacts. She finished her B.A. thesis on the preservation
and conservation of a bronze knife and dagger sharpener from Luristan. Ranked as one of the best students of the Art
University of Isfahan (Este’dad-e Derakhshan), Ms. Karamad achieved the 7th
rank overall in the entrance exam for the M.A. degree in Conservation.
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During her M.A. studies at the Art University
of Isfahan, she concentrated on the preservation of metal objects and
successfully finished her M.A. on the properties of crucible steel.
Ms. Zahra Karamad was actively involved
in the preservation and conservation project dealing with the stucco and frieze
ornamentation of the western ceiling of the Ali Ghapu building in Isfahan. She has also been involved in the
preservation of the Safavid-period building of Sukias, the preservation of clay
and glazed ware of the 4-10th century Hegira from the Jaame Mosque of Isfahan,
the preservation of a manuscript of the holy Quran from the 12th century
Hegira, and the preservation and documentation of the stucco and frieze
ornamentation at the Saint Estepanus Church of Jolfa.
I am happy to announce that Ms. Karamad
plans to publish her Master‘s thesis as a book in Iran. Her dedication, hard work and love for the
culture of her native country Iran is exemplary. I am really proud and honored to have been
her first supervisor. I could see her
work develop from the early steps and at the end I was witness to a unique
piece of research in the field presented to the Art University of Iran. I would like to congratulate Ms. Karamad upon
her graduation. Our country Iran has
yielded many excellent researchers throughout its history. Ms. Karamad is surely one of them and will
contribute more to this field in the future.
Currently. Ms. Karamad is teaching at the University of Shiraz. I am also delighted to announce that Ms.
Karamad and I will publish two articles on the results of her findings
(concerning the elements of crucible steel) and on the professional polishing
of a crucible steel blade in a magazine soon.
Very often we talk about established
scholars in the field and omit to mention the young scholars. Ms. Karmad is surely one of the most
promising scholars I have ever seen. She
is a major asset for our country Iran. I
wish her all the best and every success in her future research and academic
career.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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Dr. Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani writes for PersianMirror from Germany. He is the author of the book Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period" that won the prestigious World Book Prize of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Iranian Studies on February 07, 2009.
Dr. Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani wrote his doctorate thesis in English linguistics on the analysis of conflicts and controversies under Professor Dr. Andreas H. Jucker at Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Germany, while doing research and writing books and print articles in English, German, Spanish, and Persian in the field of historical arms and armor from Iran. For his publication list and his research activisties see:
www.mmkhorasani.com
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This article was contributed by DR. MANOUCHEHR MOSHTAGH KHORASANI, Guest Contributor for PersianMirror.
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