Copper craft in Lahij

There are deep and rich traditions of folk art in Azerbaijan, and the art of copper work is no exception. There were once entire cities of copper work with streets dedicated to copper craft. One of such cities was Lahij near the ancient city of Shamakhi.

Lahij, a mountainous settlement situated at an altitude of 1,375 meters on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and preserving its originality, has the status of being a national historical preserve of the 14th-15th centuries, and is on the International Silk Road International Tourist route, as an original monument of ancient city construction and architectural art.

At first glance, Lahij is amazing with its unusual construction and architecture. Its streets are laid with white stones from the Girdiman River. Two and three-storey houses are also built of stone. It attracts tourists not only for being a mountainous settlement of unusual beauty, but also for being a medieval art and trade centre in the Caucasus, where arms and dishes are made of copper and decorated with ornaments.

Copper production in Lahij was primarily in the Aghali quarter, on both sides of the streets, and there were many copper workshops, a “coppersmith market.” Manufactured copper products were sold here, and workshops served as a kind of store. Caucasian handicraft production studies report that in the nineteenth century, the number of workshops in Lahij is estimated to have been more than 200.

But by the end of the 19th century, the number of workshops decreased dramatically due to the introduction of cheap Russian factory products. Also other arts - blacksmithing, leather craft, arms production – were diminished. Nevertheless, traditional workshop facilities and instruments, the tradition of copper casting, forging and carving are preserved today. The inclusion of Lahij's copper craft into UNESCO’s list will undoubtedly contribute to the preservation of ancient traditions of the Azerbaijani people, handing on to future generations, and socio-economic development of this ancient settlement.

“Lahij copper craft” was included in UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the 10th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Namibia from November 30 to December 4, 2015.