Nasser talks about his spiritual experience carving these doors
Spiritually, it gives me special peace… The feeling of happiness and pride that I had while working will always remain for me.
Naseer is one of the most accomplished classical carvers in the world. Naseer fled to Iran at in 1989 at the age of 11 following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In Iran, Naseer was apprenticed to an Iraqi master of classical carving. It was here that he learned the precision, sense of design, and scrupulous attention to detail which was to distinguish him from his peers.
When Naseer returned to Afghanistan in 2006, he was taken on as a woodwork master at the Turquoise Mountain Institute. He set up his own business employing a large number of young Afghan craftsmen and women, and has now worked on a number of prestigious commissions, from a whole suite of woodwork for London’s Connaught Hotel to producing all the woodwork for UNESCO’s restoration of the Gowhar Shad Mausoleum in Herat. Today, Naseer’s private clients include presidents and princes, as well as five-star hotels in Mecca and large public buildings in Kabul.
The splendor of mosque doors
Nasser learnt to start carving from the bottom up
More on Turquoise Mountain's Virtual Exhibition Below:
Discover the prayer rugs that fusion historical knowledge and local skills from transnational travels. Find out about the ancient technique of stone carving, the iconic Islamic geometric art of carved mosque doors, and the divinely inspired art of calligraphic panels. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn about the lost art of wood mosaic carving in the wooden minbar and the Quran stands.
Inspired by the geometries of the mosques in Makkah Sharif and Madinah, Ustad Naseer Yasna Mansouri led a group of master artisans apprentices in designing and carving by hand these mosque doors made from light and dark walnut wood.
