نشریه مطالعات هنر اسلامی
پیاپی 23 (پاییز و زمستان 1394)

Iranian paintings during its glorious years enjoyed a particular and gifted trait in the field of language and expression. An excellent case of this claim can be sought in a number of paintings of the Tahmasepi Shahnameh which belonged to the Safavid Tabriz school. In this article, the visual language and expression of two selected paintings taken from the Tahmasepi Shahname have been studied and analyzed. Today, in analytical and critical studies, linguistic theoretical devises which were once applied merely in literary criticism are becoming common among scholars and experts. In this paper, by using renowned theories of semiotics- sign moods, structural method of analysis, meaning levels, rhetorical terms such as metaphor and metonymy, the structure, form, denotations, connotations, pictorial metaphors and metonymies in two prominent historical artworks in the history of Iranian art will be focused upon. In other words, the expression and visual language and also the implied and visible meaning of these artworks will be revealed. Hence, in this study, two main chapters of the story of Siavash from the Shahnameh will focused upon: “Siavash passes the fire challenge” and the “the death of Siavash”. Initially, the main principals and notions will be focused upon and next the visual expressions of the paintings will be discussed upon based on the mentioned principals. The results of this study indicate that the narrative structure of the pictures is based on the opposition of the protagonist and antagonist and for connotation of the literary text, the metaphoric and allegoric expression and implicational meaning of pictorial signs have been used.

Sheikh Sanan is amongst one of the oldest stories in Persian literature which is also considered as one of the well-known narrations of Atar’s Mantegh al Teyr. This allegoric story is full of theological concepts which painters from various eras especially during the Timurid era have contributed in its illustration. In this story, the poet expresses his thoughts and views through literary techniques with the use of storylike elements and imagination. Understanding and comparing the mutual elements of the text with that of the illustrations and the influence that these two features have on each other will ultimately cause an enhanced perception and criticism of the images in hand. This paper follows a descriptive and analytical methodology and by analyzing a number of the paintings of the story of Sheikh Sanan in the Herat school, the relationship between the scripts of the poet with that of the illustration techniques will be studied upon. This analysis confirms that the painter in addition to narrating the story by perceiving the desires of the poet and applied concepts, seeks to illustrate such notions. In all, there is a constant harmony between the paintings and the story which is all due to the creativity and novelty of the painter.

Among the stories of the holy Quran, the story of Yusof and Zulaikha has always been a topic of interest for writers and poets. The story that is one of the most significant stories in Islamic culture focuses on many social behaviors and has always been one of the most significant social events. Different scenes of the story is also portrayed in different schools of painting. The story of Yusef and Zulaikha because of its many moral and ethical features has been depicted greatly compared to the other stories of this prophet. The painting of “the flee of Yusuf from Zulaikha” by Behzad is one of the most significant artworks in the history of Persian art. In this paper, the theological aspects of this event from the viewpoint of the Holy Quran, religious texts and also the religious literature of Jami, the famous Persian poet of the fifth/ninth century all indicate the aesthetical perspective of this painting and its affiliation with religious interpretations. The conclusion of this study reflects the fact that the painter of this work of art was influenced by religious theology and the paintings is illustrated based on these mentioned traits. The paper follows a historical and analytical methodology and data is collected via library and documentation research.

The Buyid period (932-1055, 320-447) is considered as one of the most imperative eras in the history of Persian-Islamic art. The Jami Mosque of Naeen is regarded as one of the most outstanding instances of Buyid architecture dating back to the beginning of 350/962. As the Arabic alphabet replaced the primordial Pahlavi script, calligraphy and inscription writing of the Holy Quran emerged and found its significant place in Islamic art. Hence, a number of Kufic artwork, applied during seven centuries, became a significant features in the ornamentation of mosques, structures and objects. In the present paper, it is sought to study the inscriptions of the Jami Mosque of Naeen. Henceforth, the symmetry between the vertical and horizontal lines with the combination of the letters, the distinctiveness in creating similar letters and the attentiveness to the baseline of the script are all among the principals that an artist will consider when depicting the inscriptions. Furthermore, the addition to this, the application of herbal patterns alongside Kufic inscriptions, similar to those applied in Sassanid art, has added to the beauty of this structure in which it is considered as one of the unique structures of Persian-Islamic art and architecture. The methodology of this paper follows a research, fundamental and qualitative framework and data is collected through library research and direct observation.

One of the most significant issues regarding this paper is studying the spacing of lachak and toranj in the Safavid carpets in comparison with that of contemporary samples of the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz. The carpets will be analyzed according to the main spacing, texts, borders, lachaks, toranj (medallions), and background. Furthermore, this study focuses on the hypothesis that the Safavid carpets mostly follow a traditional spacing; hence, contemporary carpets also follow the same pace. The overall phase of this paper includes extracting the seven sizes consisting of: the width of the carpet, text and border; also, the length of toranj, lachak and also calculating the ratio of the width of the carpet to the width of the border; the ratio of the width of the text to the width of the toranj; the ratio of half the width of the text to the length of the lachak; the ratio of the length of the toranj to the width of the toranj and the ratio of the length of lachak to the width of the lachak of all the Safavid and contemporary carpets. The findings of this study suggest that there appears to be commonality between the Safavid carpets and the contemporary Isfahan carpets and to some extent with the Tabriz carpets. The methodology of this paper follows a descriptive, analytical and comparative framework and a number of 10 Safavid carpets and 10 contemporary carpets are studied.

Seals are considered as original and first hand documents; hence, a comprehensive study on such seals is a required and necessary act. The patterns of the seals and coins are a rich visual collection that enhance the visual literacy and shapes the cultural identity of a nation. This paper seeks to gather and analyze the seals preserved at the Islamic Research Foundation in the city of Sough in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad province. Furthermore, the typology of the finger seals will be studied in terms of aesthetics and morphology. To generalize the typology relationship in traditional seals, to discover methods of adding attractiveness to the letter and also to study the arrangement of the letters are all among the findings of this research. Furthermore, the conceptual application of the seals which is not considered at first and is observable after elaborations are among the other outcomes of the research. The paper follows a descriptive and analytical methodology and data is collected via library and documentation research (the hand-written documents of Seyed Ali Mousavi Nejad Soug).

Creative industries are the ultimate source of human innovation and the main basis for industrial development. Technology plays a vital role in the advancement, localization and the development of cultural and creative industries in our country. According to the prolonged history of our nation in regard to the hand-woven carpet industry and the absence of adequate technology in design, color, size, proportions, types, threads and also disregarding the taste of the buyer has caused many other countries that possess a shorter experience in the mentioned field to thrive and become a well-known dealers in today’s worldwide carpet industry; hence, many assume Iran has failed to keep up with such standards. In this research, it is strived to challenge the issues in regard to the Iranian carpet industry with a descriptiveanalytic method and the use of library research and classified interviews in order to reach a valid and reliable solution. In general, industry has no value without technology and will only cause inconvenience for that nation. The findings of this study suggest that in regard to the rich Iranian-Islamic culture, this cultural and artistic features powered by the existence and growth of creative industries can shift from cost-oriented expenses to wealth progression. Hence, this will ultimately cause a substantial alteration in the economic state of the nation. With no doubt, creative industries will lead to the preservation of the national culture and identity of Iran with noticeable appreciations of local industries. With the assistance of technology and the use of creativity and innovation in the mentioned field, one can observe a noticeable increase in export, revenue and use of Iranian hand-woven carpets.

Undoubtedly, one of the influential ways of assessing art works qualities is to examine its geometrical order and proportions. Also, the existence of golden proportion criterion and mathematical and geometrical proportion in the world as well as the incomparable order in the world components confirm the existence of mathematical secrets and mysteries in the world and also endorse the importance of these ways in art works assessment. On the other hand, the emphasis and many applications of geometry in Islamic art have made this issue more important to the researchers. Thuluth script has a very prominent importance among Islamic Calligraphy in Islamic art. In this study, first we dealt with the record and importance of geometry in Islamic and Greek thoughts, then, we introduced the most significant ways of irrational numbers ‘proportion measurement. Therefore, having assessed the form of Thuluth script alphabets based on irrational numbers proportion and comparing those ratios to the alphabets the existence of those proportions in Thuluth calligraphy could be recognized. In this research, the accomplished analysis of individuals facts and some composites’ one of Thuluth script. Thuluth was done though irrational numbers and golden proportion criteria in a descriptive-analytic way and information gathering was done by means of conformity of principles of this proportion with words of Thuluth script. To do so, the shapes similar to the alphabets in number of dots were omitted. Then, the geometrical proportion admissible ratios in form of alphabets through classification and analysis of those alphabets were discovered. The method of finding these ratios was based on putting some of those alphabets as proportion indicator. So, it was tried to appoint this criterion as an important part of the alphabets details. In addition, the short and long forms of alphabets were compared. Finally Thuluth script alphabets common components were introduced by making clear the combinability of words of this handwriting. In the end, it became clear that these alphabets follow irrational numbers proportion as well as enjoying numbers structural order.