The Study of Varoius Methods of Mould Plaster Decoration in Historical Monuments ofYazd in Qajar Period Case study: decorations of Prince mihrab in Jame mosque

Stucco decoration is one of the oldest methods of architectural decoration in Iran. The city of Yazd is one of the most famous cities regarding this kind of building decoration. Amongst the different periods of time, Qajar era is the most prosperous era in using stucco decoration. The most common method is making very thin, subtle and artistic patterns. There is some evidence such as no trace of stucco tools, small repetitive designs, designs of the same size without the slightest difference and change and very low thickness of stucco patterns which all reject the use of stucco tools such as cutting and carving tools during the decoration procedures. What comes to mind in the first view is the usage of a template in the creation of this ornament. It seems that although the stucco decorations are the same, the methods are different. The outstanding example of this decoration can be seen in dome chamber of Prince mihrab in Jame Mosque of Yazd. In order to investigate such decoration methods, samples of these ornaments were taken for observational and laboratory studies. At the same time, a wide range of articles and different sources, which point indirectly to this kind of decorations, were studied. The findings of this study show that two different methods of molded plaster have been used.