Qamsar
Encyclopedia
Qamsar is a village in central Iran
. It is the administrative centre of the Qamsar District
, which forms part of Kashan County
in the Province of Isfahan. In the 2006 census the population was 3,566, in 1,048 families.
From the 13th century and perhaps considerably earlier, cobalt was mined near Qamsar. The metal oxide was exported all over the Muslim world for use as the cobalt blue
pigment in the decoration of pottery. It is possible that the cobalt ore was also exported to China. In 1301 Abū'l-Qāsim, who came from a family of tilemakers based in Kashan
, wrote a treatise on the manufacture of fritware ceramics in which he mentions the village as a source of cobalt ore. Albert Houtum-Schindler
visited the village at the end of the 19th century when Qamsar was "a large and flourishing village of about three hundred houses with extensive gardens with fine roses used for the manufacture of rosewater." He described the processing and marketing of the cobalt containing ore.
Qamsar is the biggest center in the Middle East in production of rose water. The Kaaba
in Mecca
is annually washed by Qamsar rose water.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It is the administrative centre of the Qamsar District
Qamsar District
Qamsar District is a district in Kashan County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 10,812, in 3,409 families. The District has two cities: Qamsar and Jowshaqan va Kamu....
, which forms part of Kashan County
Kashan County
Kashan County is a county in Isfahan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Kashan. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 297,000, in 81,816 families. The county is subdivided into four districts: the Central District, Qamsar District, Neyasar District, and Barzok District...
in the Province of Isfahan. In the 2006 census the population was 3,566, in 1,048 families.
From the 13th century and perhaps considerably earlier, cobalt was mined near Qamsar. The metal oxide was exported all over the Muslim world for use as the cobalt blue
Cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a cool, slightly desaturated blue color, historically made using cobalt salts of alumina. It is used in certain ceramics and painting; the different cobalt pigment smalt, based on silica, is more often used directly in tinted transparent glasses...
pigment in the decoration of pottery. It is possible that the cobalt ore was also exported to China. In 1301 Abū'l-Qāsim, who came from a family of tilemakers based in Kashan
Kashan
Kashan is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families....
, wrote a treatise on the manufacture of fritware ceramics in which he mentions the village as a source of cobalt ore. Albert Houtum-Schindler
Albert Houtum-Schindler
General Sir Albert Houtum-Schindler was a scholar of Persia and an employee of the Persian government.- Career :...
visited the village at the end of the 19th century when Qamsar was "a large and flourishing village of about three hundred houses with extensive gardens with fine roses used for the manufacture of rosewater." He described the processing and marketing of the cobalt containing ore.
Qamsar is the biggest center in the Middle East in production of rose water. The Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
is annually washed by Qamsar rose water.