نشریه مطالعات هنر اسلامی
پیاپی 25 (پاییز و زمستان 1395)

One of the most important subjects used in the works of the Iranian- Islamic artists is the Merajnameh of Prophet Mohammed. Many of the Iranian artists of miniature painters have created various pictures in the form of Merajnameh, the most distinguished of which can be mentioned is the Merajnameh of Mir Heydar. It is obvious that the painters have paid attention to the visual aspects of Meraj (Ascension to Heaven). In order to illustrate this event, they have shaped visual forms of different elements of the story, including the angels such as Gabriel with different sizes, colors, and special aspects. On the other hand, the Iranian philosophers and theologians, too, analyzed and examined the real theorical ascension.The present article tends to give an answer to this question that “what relationship is there between the picture of Gabriel in various scenes of Meraj, which can be seen in the Merajnameh of Mir Heydar, and Avicenna’s theoretical descriptions of Gabriel in his treatise of Merajnameh? It is illustrated in this article that in spite of time difference, and the different approaches of the creators of these two works (the visual approach and the philosophical approach) we can consider these two works as two different narrations but adaptable from the Gabriel illustration in Meraj.

Painting was at the height of its prosperity in the age of Herat and at the time of the rule of Baysunghur. Several factors joined together to reach the painting of that era to the degree of development which have been unique before and after that. Mir Khalil Mosavar was one of the prominent painters of this period.Although outer factors such as governmental supports, rulers interest to the artworks and suitable political and economical conditions of the country had undeniable impacts in growth of painting in Heart but the novelty and freshness of these works after about six hundred years have another internal reasons and it is the state of visual structure in them. In this article with the aims of achieving visual features of Mir Khalil Mosavar works and how to operation this visuah structuers, it will be answered to this question that: what’s the impact of geometry in the formation of Mir Khalil Mosavar’s paintings and how will be balance in imbalance border? Geometry and balance are the two elements of the six elements of visual structures which have a significant impact in beauty and durability of Mir Khalil Mosavar’s works. The contents of this study were collected through library information. This article is a qualitative and practical study and it will be done by the analytical method.

Illustration of historical and religious scenes is of high significance in Islamic versions of Iran’s illustration; different features have been manifested in these pictures during different periods of art. In Moghul era, because of the kings’ tendency toward Christianity and Christian factors, influences of byzantine painting was observed in the illustrations; but what is clearly evident with the Il-khans era is the strong influence of Chinese art, particularly the Yuan and Sung period, on Mughal painting. One could claim that Il-khans is the period of conflicting elements of Chinese, Iranian, Byzantine, and Arabic art. On the other hand, illustration of Islamic historical scenes became common in the books during Il-khans period, the period when Islam became the formal religion. As an instance, in the second volume of the manuscript version of Jameá- al-Tawarikh, written by Rashid-al-Din Fazl-allah (the minister to Ghazan Khan), one can see the presence of some descriptions of Muhammad’s life (PBUH). Some Byzantine and Chinese elements can also be observed in the illustrations of this manuscript. On the other hand, the artists of these illustrations have intended, in spite of all the foreign elements they had used in the paintings, to convey above all the work’s theme, and they have here and there turned to realism to do this job. They even illustrated the face of Islam’s Prophet (PBUH), something that was never seen before. In this article has been based on library studies of 12 paintings which have illustrated the life events of Islam’s prophet (PBUH) and which have been found in the manuscript version of Jameá- al-Tawarikh manuscript in the library of Edinburgh University as well as Naser Khalili’s collection, have been investigated in the present study. The reason this subject was chosen as the subject of this paper was to identify the foreign visual elements effective on the religious paintings of Il-khans period.

The art and architecture of the Roman Seljuk was influenced by the art of Damascus, before the presence of Iranians. However, the advent of Iranian artists and cultural exchanges between these two areas led to resemblance of the Seljuk’s architecture with Iranian designs and ornaments. Furthermore, during the history of Islam, especially the Seljuk era, Iran has always been one of the main centers of Islamic art. Taking inspiration from the art of Iran and Byzantium in the field of architecture, the Ottomans had made great strides. Due to the proximity of Iran and the Ottoman Empire, as well as their cultural exchanges and commonalities of governments, the arts and architecture of these two lands have made them similar to each other and benefited from one another. In this research, a comparative study was conducted to explore the architectural characteristics and elements of the schools built in the Seljuk era of Rome inspired by Iranian mosques and schools that were established during Seljuk times (Nezamiyeh). Accordingly, using the method of historical-interpretive research, these aftereffects in two domains of design and planning along with the use of decorative designs were discussed in this study. The findings of this research showed that certain aspects of Iran’s architectural designs and decorative ornaments were used in the architecture of Ottoman schools (Nezamiyeh).

Studying the ornamental motifs of luster-painted earthenware in the middle Islamic centuries of Iran provides us with diverse information. Although the pottery are of less visual attractiveness than enamel ones, they are regarded as a reliable resource for motifs documentation and research. The production method of luster-painted earthenware is very specific and unique and sometimes holds luxurious and patrician facet. This characteristic has caused precise motif-making and detail drawing on them that makes it necessary to conduct a research surrounding such kind of pottery and especially their pattern and motif. In this article, around 30 luster-painted earthenware of Iran’s middle Islamic centuries, having been mostly built in Kashan and Rei cities, have been chosen and their human motifs were studied. Through conducting such research, it is inferred as so human motifs of luster-painted earthenware in this time limit, although being maximal, are of definite framework, specific composition and precise classification that they will be dealt with. Also, the covering type and men and women finery in this era are of different types having their own peculiar features. The research method of this study is a historical-descriptive one and data collection method is through library and with a qualitative approach. The pictures of objects used in this article have been gathered from Internet portal of international prominent museums and also interior ones and its motifs design has been done by the authors.

Kilim weaving is of Iranian original art that roots in racial cultures and beliefs and is considered as a means to recognize thoughts and deliver reginal customs . Of the regions active in this field is Ardabil that since the past besides producing kilim was also a place of trade for Turkish Shahsavan that sold their weavings. Therefore, the mentioned region had a special place in kilim weaving. In Ardabil old kilims, we observed dark colors, traditional designs and slashed weavings. In comparing these weavings with the present samples, what attract attention are those differences emerged in the mentioned parameters. In new samples, the highest change is seen in coloring that light colors replaced the old dark colors. In lower rank, there exists change in weaving method. In the past, we observed diversity of slashed weavings in comparison to the method of ghayegh weaving, but today these two techniques are exchanged. Regarding the type of design, the least rate of change could be found that these changes have been made in their methods of combination. The present research that has been conducted by qualitative method used descriptive-analytic method and by comparative approach has examined ancient and new samples which results show the kind of changes. Though the mentioned changes were in order to reach the customers goals specially foreign ones and as a result earn more money by producers, but the quality of new weavings are not considered and besides losing old traditional state, the quality of weavings has been decreased a lot.