Iranian Crocus Picker — Saffron Harvest
58.72 د.ك
A saffron crocus picker working the pre-dawn harvest in the Khorasan fields of northeastern Iran — each delicate purple flower handpicked in darkness to preserve the stigma, the picker’s face illuminated by head torch.
Description
Iran produces approximately 90% of the world’s saffron — the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, hand- harvested from the purple flowers before dawn each October morning. The harvest must take place in darkness before the flowers open fully in the morning sun, as open petals cause the stigma to deteriorate. Each flower contains only three stigma threads, and it takes approximately 70,000 flowers to produce 1 kilogram of dried saffron — the world’s most expensive spice by weight. This photograph was made at 4am in the Khorasan Province fields near Torbat-e Heydarieh with full farmer cooperation, using the picker’s own head torch as the primary light source supplemented by a low-power fill card. The purple flowers in various stages of picking fill the ground below the working hands in the foreground, while the field extends into the darkness beyond.
