Subhechcha Ganguly 
Meenakarii is a Safavid Iranian technique for painting and colouring the surfaces of metals and ceramic tiles with enamel. It is practised as an art form and primarily manufactured commercially in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Minakari art usually consists of intricate designs and is used to decorate serving dishes, containers, vases, frames, display ornaments, and jewellery.Minakari is a compound word made up of the words mina and kari. The feminine form of the word minu, which means paradise or heaven, is mina. Kari is a verb that means to do or place something an object.
Minakari, when combined, means to imbue paradise on an object.Enameling metal for ornamental purposes dates back to the Parthian and Sassanid periods of Iranian history. The meticulous ornamental work seen today, on the other hand, can be traced back to Safavid Iran in the 15th century. The Moghuls brought it to India and perfected the technique, making the designs on objects more intricate. The craft peaked in Iran in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Iranian artisans specialising in meenakari were invited to other regions in the twentieth century to help train local craftsmen. Rajasthan and Gujarat are well-known in India for their Minakari artefacts and jewellery.In most cases, the process entails intense heat fusing of coloured powder glass onto a substrate (metal, glass, or ceramics) (usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius or 1382 and 1562 degrees Fahrenheit). On metal, glass, or ceramic surfaces, the powder melts and cures to form a smooth, long-lasting glassy coating.
By Subhechcha Ganguly
