Shirani

Shirani is one of Iran’s most established and widely played names in the tombak (also called the tonbak or zarb), the goblet drum at the heart of Persian classical and folk music. Built in the Isfahan workshop of Rahim Shirani, these drums are found in the hands of students and professional percussionists alike across Iran and beyond.

Shirani instruments are known for their mohr (seal) grading: each drum carries the workshop’s burned oval seal, and the number of seals — one, two, or four mohr — signals its grade, rising from student models through semi-professional to fully professional instruments. It is a maker’s mark that has become a recognised shorthand for quality among Persian drummers.

The workshop builds its bodies from aged, figured walnut and mulberry — woods prized by Iranian makers for the mature, deep, ringing tone that dense, seasoned timber gives a drum — with some models in ash. Heads range from calfskin and goatskin to camel skin on the premium drums, and special instruments are finished with intricate khatam-kari marquetry. Tapadum carries Shirani within its Persian-classical collection, alongside the santur, setar, and daf makers who shape the sound of the dastgāh repertoire.