Pietra Dura: Ancient Art in Violent Times

“To conserve an ancient art in violent times is a therapeutic experience.”
—Meherunnisa Asad

Meherunnisa Asad is the creative director of Lél, an artistic collective in war-torn Peshawar, Pakistan, specializing in pietra dura.

“When Peshawar was violence-ridden for a whole decade, Lél became a way of pushing back and finding space for beauty in very dark times. All of us lost family members to suicide bomb blasts and violence during that time,” says Asad.

Lél is reviving the 16th-century Florentine and Mughal art of pietra dura—handcrafted stone inlay. Many of the artisans are Afghani refugees.

“Our workshop gives you hope. There’s a strange kind of satisfaction in creating works of art despite the difficulties, turmoil, and challenging circumstances.”

The name “lél” is a Hungarian word that means soul. It’s also a boy’s name that translates as “one who forges his path.” The artisan collective harmonizes both sentiments. By being true to themselves and following their own hearts, Lél’s artisans are able to forge their own path in this space of art, design, craft, and creativity.

“We have carved out a niche for something that didn’t exist prior to us. Lél is the only internationally-celebrated artistic collective from Pakistan,” Asad says.

Surviving Taliban bombing

Lél was founded by Asad’s mother, Farhana Asad. A self-taught artist, Farhana learned to work in different art forms, from stained glass to fabric painting.

Thirty years ago, at a bazaar, she became fascinated by an exquisite box adorned with inlaid stonework. To learn more about the box, she tracked down its creator, an Afghani master artisan and refugee.

“This technique caught her imagination,” Asad says.

Farhana invited the artisan over to the family’s garage and they began their collaboration. Out of their love of the craft, they created many beautiful art pieces.

After watching her mother work, Asad left home for a decade. She received her Masters of Fine Arts at Pratt Institute in New York and became a conservation architect for the Aga Khan Foundation.

“It was during that time that I developed a very strong interest in conservation. I then gravitated towards joining my mom in restoring this art form,” Asad says.

Local craftsmen and displaced artisans make up the artist collective, which stayed open in Peshawar even during the height of the Taliban insurgency in the early 2000s when bomb blasts rattled the studio’s windows.

“In the last few decades, Peshawar has become known for conflict. Lél is a way of changing the narrative about the region, [which] was once the seat of culture, craftsmanship, music, and art.”

In 2012, Lél hosted an exhibition at the Argentinian embassy in Islamabad. Many ambassadors and ex-pats attended the event.

“It was surprising to the Japanese ambassador that something so fine in aesthetics and workmanship, something of such high quality, was created in a place like Peshawar. [This experience] left a mark on my psyche. I felt we must change the narrative about the region through our work,” Asad says.

Rejuvenating the dying art of pietra dura

Anyone who sees the stonework produced by Lél’s artisans will be amazed that it’s handcrafted in such exquisite detail.

Pietra dura, the 16th-century Italian stone inlay technique, is the secret behind Lél’s charming aesthetic. The collective has helped revive this dying art.

“Our products can’t be mass-produced or handled on a larger scale. The biggest challenge is to achieve the level of workmanship we require,” Asad says.

Lél nurtures and develops artisans by building an apprentice system with a two-year intensive training to learn the basic techniques. Artisans eventually master the art forms, often staying with the collective for decades.

Over the last 30 years, not only has Lél revived this ancient stone art but also the collective has infused it with vibrant new life, constantly developing new techniques with its refined aesthetics.

Lél’s Reidi collection—”reidi” comes from the Persian word for “poppy flower”—is made in serpentine, a semi-precious stone sourced from Pakistani mountains. The motif is inlaid in fine marble, combining pietra dura with cloisonné, the Chinese technique of encasing cutouts in metal. The calcite is then stained in the French technique verre églomisé, a process of painting the reverse side of a mirror or glass to produce a design on the front.

“The Reidi tables combine cloisonné, pietra dura, and the verre églomisé. The effect is quite stunning,” Asad says. “It was a happy mistake—we were experimenting and playing with three different techniques and created something totally new!”

Lél’s artisanship merges beautifully with its classically-inspired patterns, which are full of historical spirit and profound meaning. One of the collective’s most intricate pieces, The Badakhshan Table, is named after the ancient lapis lazuli caves in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. The flowers commemorate Lél’s roots in the Afghan province and the artisans crafting timeless art.

“Since we’re an artistic collective, the artisans are at the forefront. I think they feel the importance of their work. They see this as something special. It’s an art form,” Asad says.

“The Reidi tables combine cloisonné, pietra dura, and the verre églomisé. … It was a happy mistake—we were experimenting and playing with three different techniques and created something totally new!”
—Meherunnisa Asad