Four craftsmen from Bethlehem followed a period of 100 hours of continuous training from 3rd to 30th November 2008 for mother-of-pearl craftwork. This was one of the two projects that the later Father Michele Piccirillo followed and which he started up in 2003.
In one of his last works, “La Nuova Gerusalemme. Artigianato palestinese al servizio dei Luoghi Santi” [“The New Jerusalem. Palestinian crafts at the service of the Holy Places”], Father Piccirillo presented, after lengthy and patient research, a considerable number of craft works started by the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land.
He also quoted in full the article by Father Bellarmino Bagatti, published in 1942 and entitled “L’industria della madreperla a Betlemme” [“The mother-of-pearl industry in Bathlehem”](Cf. p225 and ff), recalling that mother-of-pearl craftwork was introduced at the end of the 16th century, joining that of olive wood, and was always supported by the Custody of the Holy Land.
Joining in this ancestral Franciscan tradition, Father Piccirillo wanted some craftsmen from Bethlehem to further raise their standard of specialization and called on the Italian craftsman Salvatore Giannottu.
He expressed the objectives of this programme as follows: “The project took place profitably and has definitely produced professional growth and enriched knowledge for the students. At this stage of the training, the aim was to build up the phases for an improvement in the quality of the production, showing the operators techniques that were unknown to them such as burin engraving with the subsequent insertion of India ink, an ancient and refined technique which was handed on to the local crafts by the Franciscan Friars several centuries ago, but which has now practically disappeared. With this technique it is possible to give depth and value to all the images that are to be represented with this material. Another important phase of the training was to transmit to the operators a simplification of the subjects as they are strongly influenced by existing production, which is too full of predictable symbology and decoration of marked Arab origin.
The students practised geometric design to gain at least a fundamental grounding of the elements essential for the design and production of an object. Also important was the in-depth analysis of the highly advanced equipment supplied to the workshop, designed and constructed not only to make work easier and better from a strictly technical point of view, but it also respects the regulations currently in force in Europe regarding safety at work. The equipment allows working in almost total absence of noise and above all, the extractor unit prevents the craftsman breathing in dust which is produced in a large quantity in the process of working mother-of-pearl.
The results obtained at the end of this first stage of training are undoubtedly positive, also for the interest aroused in the students. However, everything was conditioned by the limited quantity of equipment that could be bought. The workshop was supplied with only two benched with an extractor and two micro-motors and so the students had to work in turn. Hopefully this initiative can continue and be completed, so that the work already carried out has not been done in vain. The project includes the purchase of other work stations and further training which can be done only with the purchase of machinery and equipment that allow teaching the students all the work techniques and the various phases that form a complete production cycle.
On the conclusion of the training, the objective is to stimulate and support some way that the students can form a group to join the world of work, supporting them in business management, access to credit facilities, inform them of all the instruments necessary today to become established in the world of work. All of us involved in this project hope that the funds can be found to complete one of the many works that Father Michele Piccirillo always carried out with commitment, passion and obstinacy, never for personal interest, but for the sole purpose of bringing benefit and knowledge, not only to the populations of the Holy Land, as a good Franciscan, but to all those who were able to know him and work with him.”
When the Custos, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa awarded the craftsmen their certificate of participation, he also promised them that the Custody will continue to support this type of craftwork.
The participants offered the Custos one of their works, whilst Fr. Carmelo Pappalardo, representing Father Piccirillo who recently passed away, gave them the book “La nuova Gerusalemme” [“The New Jerusalem”], in the bilingual Italian-Arabic version. The Custos also awarded a diploma of thanks to all those who made this training period possible, in the first place to Salvatore Giannottu, the Italian maestro and to Lena Kharouf, representative of the UNDP (the United National Development Programme), the financial partner of the training, as is Carla Benelli.
In the introduction to his book, Father Piccirillo concluded with the following words: “We hope that the publication of these works that honour Palestinian craftsmanship gives new impulse to an art that we believe weighed down by the response to mass tourism and the political situation of isolation and difficulty that the population of Bethlehem has been experiencing for too many years at the doors of Jerusalem which are unfortunately closed.”
Mab
In one of his last works, “La Nuova Gerusalemme. Artigianato palestinese al servizio dei Luoghi Santi” [“The New Jerusalem. Palestinian crafts at the service of the Holy Places”], Father Piccirillo presented, after lengthy and patient research, a considerable number of craft works started by the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land.
He also quoted in full the article by Father Bellarmino Bagatti, published in 1942 and entitled “L’industria della madreperla a Betlemme” [“The mother-of-pearl industry in Bathlehem”](Cf. p225 and ff), recalling that mother-of-pearl craftwork was introduced at the end of the 16th century, joining that of olive wood, and was always supported by the Custody of the Holy Land.
Joining in this ancestral Franciscan tradition, Father Piccirillo wanted some craftsmen from Bethlehem to further raise their standard of specialization and called on the Italian craftsman Salvatore Giannottu.
He expressed the objectives of this programme as follows: “The project took place profitably and has definitely produced professional growth and enriched knowledge for the students. At this stage of the training, the aim was to build up the phases for an improvement in the quality of the production, showing the operators techniques that were unknown to them such as burin engraving with the subsequent insertion of India ink, an ancient and refined technique which was handed on to the local crafts by the Franciscan Friars several centuries ago, but which has now practically disappeared. With this technique it is possible to give depth and value to all the images that are to be represented with this material. Another important phase of the training was to transmit to the operators a simplification of the subjects as they are strongly influenced by existing production, which is too full of predictable symbology and decoration of marked Arab origin.
The students practised geometric design to gain at least a fundamental grounding of the elements essential for the design and production of an object. Also important was the in-depth analysis of the highly advanced equipment supplied to the workshop, designed and constructed not only to make work easier and better from a strictly technical point of view, but it also respects the regulations currently in force in Europe regarding safety at work. The equipment allows working in almost total absence of noise and above all, the extractor unit prevents the craftsman breathing in dust which is produced in a large quantity in the process of working mother-of-pearl.
The results obtained at the end of this first stage of training are undoubtedly positive, also for the interest aroused in the students. However, everything was conditioned by the limited quantity of equipment that could be bought. The workshop was supplied with only two benched with an extractor and two micro-motors and so the students had to work in turn. Hopefully this initiative can continue and be completed, so that the work already carried out has not been done in vain. The project includes the purchase of other work stations and further training which can be done only with the purchase of machinery and equipment that allow teaching the students all the work techniques and the various phases that form a complete production cycle.
On the conclusion of the training, the objective is to stimulate and support some way that the students can form a group to join the world of work, supporting them in business management, access to credit facilities, inform them of all the instruments necessary today to become established in the world of work. All of us involved in this project hope that the funds can be found to complete one of the many works that Father Michele Piccirillo always carried out with commitment, passion and obstinacy, never for personal interest, but for the sole purpose of bringing benefit and knowledge, not only to the populations of the Holy Land, as a good Franciscan, but to all those who were able to know him and work with him.”
When the Custos, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa awarded the craftsmen their certificate of participation, he also promised them that the Custody will continue to support this type of craftwork.
The participants offered the Custos one of their works, whilst Fr. Carmelo Pappalardo, representing Father Piccirillo who recently passed away, gave them the book “La nuova Gerusalemme” [“The New Jerusalem”], in the bilingual Italian-Arabic version. The Custos also awarded a diploma of thanks to all those who made this training period possible, in the first place to Salvatore Giannottu, the Italian maestro and to Lena Kharouf, representative of the UNDP (the United National Development Programme), the financial partner of the training, as is Carla Benelli.
In the introduction to his book, Father Piccirillo concluded with the following words: “We hope that the publication of these works that honour Palestinian craftsmanship gives new impulse to an art that we believe weighed down by the response to mass tourism and the political situation of isolation and difficulty that the population of Bethlehem has been experiencing for too many years at the doors of Jerusalem which are unfortunately closed.”
Mab