North African metal art gets UNESCO tag

TUNIS — Mohamed Amine Htiouich began honing his metal engraving skills as a teenager. Now the 37-year-old Tunisian is training the next generation in the ancient art, recently recognized by UNESCO.

Htiouich first worked on copper, then silver and finally gold at the family's workshop in the old medina of Tunis.

Two decades later, he offers free apprenticeships to young enthusiasts in the art of manually cutting words or symbols into jewelry and household objects, a craft often passed down from father to son.