Comparative Study of Illustrated Books and Pottery Motifs of the Seljuk Period

Seljuk visual art is one of the richest examples in the history of Iranian art. Crafts such as pottery and paintings on them reached flourishing peaks in this period. Due to the Mongol destructions after the Seljuk era and natural destructive factors, there are only a few illustrated books left of this time. These resources do not provide sufficient information on the visual arts of this period. However, there are many containers related to the Seljuk era because of the persistence of pottery works against destructive factors. By examining the similarities of these two types of visual art [illustrated books and painted pottery], it was possible to take advantage of the pottery motifs of this period in investigating the visual characteristics of the Seljuk period. Relying on available resources, this study intended to discover the features of the illustrated books and the pottery of the Seljuk era as well as their similarities and differences. Thus, the visual arts of the Seljuk era and the visual roots of the art of this period were examined by comparatively studying some examples of the paintings of illustrated books remaining from this era in addition to pottery motifs of the two centers of Ray and Kashan. In order to study the visual characteristics and motifs more accurately, the two types of art were compared and presented in two tables.