مهناز شایسته فر

Lithography illustration ushered in a critical age in Iranian culture, art, and literature, and its spread played a crucial role in scientific and information instruction. Significantly, the religious books were widely printed and available to the general population and reciters of religious poems. One of the religious lithography-illustrated books from the Qajar era that has survived in several copies is Asrar al-Shahadah, by Sarbaz Borujerdi. In his Divan, the poet has described the life, birth, death, martyrdom, and glorification of the Infallible Imams. The oldest known illustrated version of this book goes back to 1852, the subject of the current study. This edition features 71 black-and-white illustrations and Nastaliq calligraphy, and its scribe was Abdul Hossein bin Haji Ibrahim. It was printed at the Mirza Ali Akbar printing house. The illustrator of this edition is not included in the National Library of Iran, although Aligholi Khoei's signature is visible on the book's illustrations. Although this edition is more accurate than those released in older periods, no study has been done on the edition known as Asrar al-Shahadah pictures. The present research introduces and examines the pictures of this book by analyzing the images of this book, particularly its three folk tales, as well as the religious narratives and visual aspects of the paintings. This research aims to identify the illustrated edition of Asrar al-Shahadah in the National Library of Iran and analyze the religious and visual narratives of three common folk tales of Ashura during the Qajar era. This research employs descriptive, analytic, and documentary methods and aims to answer the question, "What are the factors of the imagery in the three stories from Asrar al-Shahadah, and what visual and thematic characteristics does it possess?" Additionally, based on the statistical population of 4 samples of book illustrations, this research examines the first lithographic illustrated edition of Asrar al-Shahadeh (1852), which is on display in the National Library of Iran. It refers to the three anecdotes of Zafar the Jinni, the King of India, and the Lion in Karbala, challenged by academics and believed to be among the widely accepted and inaccurate legends. These stories are not referenced in credible historical texts and were taken from the literature of the Qajar period. In Asrar al-Shahadah, one of this era's most significant cultural aspects for emphasizing the mourning of this event and its mood is the emphasis on subsidiary narratives whose veracity is hugely dubious and the spotlighting of these narratives even more than the primary narratives. This edition has vivid coloring and rich punctuation to produce the volume of organs and things as one of its aesthetic characteristics. The holy light aura surrounding Husayn ibn Ali's head as a symbol of innocence and appears in various instances as extended linear and triangular radii is another distinguishing element. This edition depicts, in general, the tragedy of Ashura, the war scenes of the Imam's companions, and the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. The events of Husayn ibn Ali's battle are not depicted, but other sequences of the Ashura incident portray the Imam being wounded by an arrow and talking with people based on various tales or popular and distorted interpretations. Some religious books, such as Rozatol Shohada, which people have embraced in rituals since the Safavid era, made their way into other religious books of the Qajar era. At the same time, folk stories and unreliable narratives about the events of Ashura led to the perpetuation of erroneous accounts of the events of Ashura in written and pictorial form. The distortions of Ashura and the misleading stories on the Karbala incident are erroneous interpretations derived from the rise of Husayn ibn Ali, and several scholars have researched and written about these acts throughout history. The Qajar era marked the beginning of efforts to correct Ashura's distortions. Al Lu'lu wal Marjan (1901), written by Muhaddis Noor, is regarded as the first work by a Shia scholar to challenge Ashura's misconceptions. After him, Abbas Qomi, the author of the book Muntahi al-Amal (1931), and Muhammad Baqir Khorasani Birjandi (aka Muhaddis Birjandi, died in 1933) authored critiques against the inaccuracies of Ashura in these sources. Morteza Motahhari also examined the distorted Ashura occurrences in his book Hemaseye Hosseini, and he labeled linguistic distortions, falsification of historical accounts, and inaccurately citing the Karbala tragedy as spiritual distortions. To this, image distortions that were derived from false texts or widely held visual perceptions of the event might be added. In addition to those described by Ulrich Marzolph, the results indicate that further lithography-illustrated editions of this book can be found in other Iranian libraries. The three illustrated narratives presented in this book are among the accounts that lack valid narrative validity and are among the twisted tales in Ashura. All three images have used the text of Asrar al-Shahadah and descriptions of narrations featured in many books, particularly Qajar sources, but in other elements, they have employed the usual techniques and iconography of Qajar art. In addition, the method of archaism, attention to various mythology, and the impact of western culture on depicting exotic animals have made these images possible. The images varied and were comparable to Asrar al-Shahadah's text and the narrations. The subject, the narrative of the incident, and the main characteristics of the objects and people in the image are identical, but the artist has gone beyond the book's scope and even the narratives it references by paying attention to the details and using his imagination to create images. Visual techniques, such as framework compositions as a helpful indicator and circling composition to center the story on Husayn ibn Ali, have been included in narratives to portray various concepts. The expansion and lack of crowding in the Imam's body's backdrop indicate his isolation and loneliness, and the concentration of visual components on the narrative's central issue is to draw attention to the scene and characters. According to the artist's perspective and focus on the story of recent centuries, the king of India is characterized in a different location in the second tale. The tale of "Lion in Karbala," in the view of the Haram doves around the body of Husayn ibn Ali, connects the narration of 1400 years ago to the present and depicts the incident from several perspectives in one picture. The artist tries to demonstrate his faithfulness to the narrative text, but he also applies his creative mind, far from the book and the narration, and his imagination to express the visual sermon in this manner. It has been attempted to portray many concepts of visual methods, such as frame compositions as a symbol of support, rotating composition to spin the narrative of Husayn ibn Ali, and expansion and lack of crowding the backdrop of Husayn ibn Ali as a symbol of his loneliness and isolation.

In the discourse of Safavid era, we could see a duality-centered and opposition, placing Shiite Safavids in tension with Uzbek Hanafi and Sunni Ottomans. According to the paradigm of cultural semiotics, it is within this opposition and tension that semantics is taken place. Safavid is regarded within the culture, internal actor, and east neighbors or the enemy within no culture, nature or the other. Since the art is regarded such as a pattern –maker system in cultural semiotics, it could be at the service of discourse and ideology, showing this duality-centered and opposition. One of the most important advertising media along this oppositional semantics at Safavid era, is the illustrated manuscript of Tahmasbi Shahnameh. The seven labors of Rostam's story and its illustration by the artists of this period is a remarkable example of duality-centered, created in the discourse atmosphere of Safavid Shiite government against Sunni religion governments of neighborhoods, showing hero and antihero within an oppositional system, and involved of dominant discourse. The aim of the present research is to analyze the oppositional system of Rostam's seven labors miniatures in Tahmasbi Shahnameh by respecting a cultural semiotics pattern within the discourse dominated on that period and, to answer these questions: How an artist has illustrated the oppositional system of hero and antihero in miniatures of Rostam's seven labors in Tahmasbi Shahnameh? To what extent the miniatures have been affected by the oppositional discourse of Shiite and Sunni governments? The results of research indicate that the oppositional system of Safavid discourse and ideology has been established in the cultural-artistic text of this period and the artist utilized metaphorical description at the service of this discourse for marking the oppositional system. The method of research is historical-interpretive and within the miniature readings, descriptive-analytic one. In addition, the method of collecting the data is through library studies.

Pottery, as the oldest human application industry, has a variety of products. One of the most famous and widely used products in the pottery industry in the past is called Albarello. Albarello considered by pottery artists of various lands, including 15th century European artists, as a medicine vessel and a widely used product. One of the most important centers of Albarello construction in the 15th century is Valencia, Spain. Spain in the Middle Ages was part of the great realm of Islam, and importantly, the culture and works of European pottery, especially Albarello, in this period are influenced by Spanish artists and craftsmen of this period. Due to this, the present study is a study that has been done to identify the decorative motifs and form of the Spanish Albarello and how they relate to Islamic art. This research has been done descriptively and analytically and using the library method and in this study, the studied specimens are Albarello belonging to the 15th century and are preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The findings of this study indicate that the forms of these Albarellos are divided into two categories, in terms of decorative patterns include geometric and plant motifs. These motifs are influenced by Islamic art and are executed in accordance with the use of utensils. They are also influenced by the pottery of the eastern part of the Islamic realm in terms of form.

As a result of the establishment of the printing industry in Iran during the Qajar dynasty, more religiously significant works were made available to the general people. Most of the lithographic religious books focused on the Ashura event and the tragedy of Karbala. Dhakirs, Maddahs (religious singers), and Ta'zieh tellers used different texts and muqatils in Ashura ceremonies and rituals.The illustrators of religious literature also played a significant part in elucidating Ashura narratives, using various visual techniques; they provided the audience with a concrete and visual perspective of the Ashura description. Within the popular culture of the people, these books exhibited imagery inspired by religious beliefs, which drove the development of a distinctive style in lithography's design.The lithography in the preeminent scenes of these versions may be studied and explained using narrative sources. In the meantime, specific illustrations were made by made-up customs or widespread myths surrounding the Ashura incident, which frequently referred to lines from Safavid and Qajar literature.The word narration in this context refers to communicatiON; however, because speech may be transmitted to others by narrating, the word narration is also used to refer to words and speech in its secondary definition (Porseman website, representative of supreme leader institutions in universities, 2018). The term "Islamic narrations" refers to written passages and quotations that have been passed down to us from reliable narrators throughout the history of Islam. These narrations are one of the study sources used in this research.For a deeper comprehension of the events of Ashura, we need to consult narrators with integrity and sensitivity. Without favoring popular citations, authentic Ashurai narratives serve as a foundation for enlightenment. These resources are worthwhile and practical for authors, poets, and artists working in the Ashura genre. The analysis of the images is based on two images from the book Asrar al-Shahadat, one from the book Tufan al-Boka and one from the book Vasilat al-Nejat.This study also aims to evaluate the images of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom and his encounter with Shemr as illustrated in three old and dated lithographic versions of the books “Toufan Al-Beka’” (1853), “Wasila Al-Nejat” (1867), and “Asrar Al-Shohada” (1851) available at national libraries. The research objective includes a thematic and visual review of related images in the three intended versions. Meanwhile, the research questions are: How do the images of these versions portray the Islamic concepts and narrations related to the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH)? Moreover, how are images characterized by the visual features that describe Imam Hussein's martyrdom in the versions?In order to obtain the description of the relevant events and the increase of historical and hadith sources, some of the mentioned sources have been referred to more because of their age, validity, comprehensiveness, and continuity, such as Akhbar al-Taval by Abu Hanifa Dinawari, Tarikh al-Tabari (History of the Prophets and Kings), al-Fotouh by Ibn A'tham, Al-Amali by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, al-Ershad by al-Shaykh al-Mufid and I'lam al-Wara bi A'lam al-Huda by Shaykh Tabarsi.The present research does not suggest the methodology of hadith studies in the paintings. However, it focuses on how the paintings reflect the pertinent themes in various written sources and what visual techniques have been employed to portray the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali.Husayn ibn Ali's Martyrdom convention was one of the significant occasions that drew the attention of authors and illustrators. This issue is specifically addressed and frequently has more critical information and larger dimensions when viewed in the images of the Ashura manuscripts in the National Library of Iran. The names being considered, however, were designed differently from the pictures' subjects; for instance, the word "battle" was registered for the martyrdom scene. Therefore, it is evident that the titles were introduced by scribes, while the designers did not adhere to them and functioned autonomously. In defining and embellishing the story depicted in the painting, the artists used their imagination to add details or even to design additional narratives beyond the book's text.In images depicting the scene of Husayn ibn Ali Imam's martyrdom, several tales accompany the depiction of this event. The attack on Husayn ibn Ali, his falling to the ground and facing Shimr ibn Dhi 'l-Jawshan, has been the focus of the illustrators, and our study has also addressed this crucial incident.In the scenes depicting the Imam's martyrdom, his turban was covered with blood when an arrow struck his forehead. Most prior versions focus on the sword strike to Husayn ibn Ali's head and do not mention the arrow; however, these images emphasize the arrow to the forehead. Recent works like Rozatol Shohada and Bihar al-Anwar show this topic more. In Vasilat al-Nejat, Shimr attacks Imam from behind with a dagger, a spear pierces his chest, and three of his troops fall to the ground. Enemies surrounded Husayn ibn Ali, as recorded in numerous hadiths.The narrator-illustrator portrayed Imam Husayn as heavily arrowed and lying on the ground. According to the accounts, his body was covered with arrows, and his enemies stood before him. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir describes the frontal wounds of Husayn ibn Ali Imam, indicating that he never turned his back on the enemy.A teen boy who stands with Husayn ibn Ali and rushes to the battlefield to support the Imam is described in specific versions, including Tufan al-Boka and Vasilat al-Nejat. The phrase "teenager" appears in most sources, and the images show a handsome teen.In contrast to Husayn ibn Ali's facial covering, his foes are the most enraged and anxious. Their eyes are round and protruding; they have enlarged noses and unruly beards with clenched teeth. Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's face is represented by a white beard, large ears, and anxiety. Long horizontal mustaches projecting from the face indicate enemies in a condition of breakdown or inflammation, similar to the visage of Qajar executioners with long mustaches and hostile expressions.Imam Husayn ibn Ali in full view, with head and body from the front and hands and feet from the sides, is the optimal design. One hand is raised to symbolize stance and determination, while the other holds a straight or angled spear. The direction of the Imam's spear is in opposition to the direction of the other lines in the painting, highlighting his static stature and larger size than the other figures.To symbolize Imam Husayn's distance from the war, he is depicted in most paintings without complete warfare equipment, such as a bow, arrow, shield, dagger, or sword. Unlike other characters, his weapons are placed on the ground or in sheaths. Zaynab bint Ali's hijab in Vasilat al-Nejat is a light-colored, long, fringed veil similar to the Qajar women's veil with loose, fringed leggings beneath and a short veil, but Qajar veils are long and narrowly laced. Zaynab bint Ali and other women, Sakina Bint Hossein and Umm Kulthum, wear full veils, and their faces are covered with cloth for their dignity.The results from this qualitative research, which uses a descriptive-analytical method and falls under documentary categories, refer to visual indicators and Islamic narrations about the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), with some of which being credible and others taken from public beliefs of the Qajar era and the illustrator’s mind, without any credible narrations. These images have been shown to represent the narrations in agreement with the martyrdom and sacrifice in various visual forms, which are consistent with the Shia concepts and beliefs; the images are also represented by the design method, covering and tools, painting, structure and configuration and themes pertinent to the event.

One of the most important factors that develop Shiite themes in writing among the people was the lithography of manuscripts. The lithographic illustrated books, which included a large part, were religious books depicting the event of Ashura. Their content, often combined with poetry and imagery, was Maqtal, elegy, mourning, or supplication texts. One of these books is Majalis al-Muttaqin, the illustrated type of which is kept in the Iranian libraries, including the National Library, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Ayatollah Boroujerdi Library, and so forth as well as in foreign libraries such as Prussian Cultural Heritage in Berlin. Majalis al-Muttaqin was one of the common books in the Qajar era. Compared to other popular books, it is now available in large numbers in Iran. It contains 50 Majlis about divine knowledge, moral and doctrinal principles, jurisprudence, and history of the prophets and Infallible Imams (AS), which were prepared by erudite Mujtahid for sermons and guidance in the holy month of Ramadan. Today, Majalis al-Muttaqin is available as manuscript, movable type or lithography. It has not been edited or reprinted in a new way, and researchers only refer to these resources. The other two copies are illustrated by Aligholi Khoei and Mohammad Ismail Tabrizi. Nevertheless, another manuscript, introducing outstanding design features, is the work of Abdul Jalil. This research aimed to introduce the illustrated lithographic copies of Majalis al-Muttaqin in the National Library and to make a comparative study of the version designed by Abdul Jalil. Therefore, the research aimed to recognize the illustrated lithographic manuscripts of Majalis al-Muttaqin and their artists, to study the design features and Ashura characterizations, and to determine differences and similarities between the designs of the manuscripts’ artists. This is a qualitative descriptive-analytical study that used a library method. The research question is: 1.What are the characteristics of Majalis al-Muttaqin illustrated lithographs and who are their artists? 2. What are the design features and characterizations done by Abdul Jalil in the mentioned manuscript? 3. What are the differences and similarities in the performance of the designers of the Majalis al-Muttaqin? The study of the design and Ashura characters of this manuscript makes us examine the relevant factors. Personality reflects a person's appearance, behavior, moods, beliefs, and even culture; and when reflected in an image, it incorporates the visual culture. Visual characterization shows internal and external attributes in the form of color and shape. Moreover, the artist expresses the character's spiritual qualities using the language of drawings. Visual characterization includes not only the creation of images regarding the character, but also in line with the symbols and visual signs, reflection of environmental elements and also the relationship with other figures. The spiritual characteristics, doctrinal concepts as well as the characteristics of creating a story are transmitted to the viewer. Identifying different elements, including clothing and decorations, facial expressions, body movement, the relationship of scenes with characters, relationship of characters to each other, the position of the character in the scene, the color of clothing and the environment, and even the actions of other elements in the scene towards the desired character can indicate personality traits in illustration. The artist is able to show such features more or less with different techniques in illustration. The results showed that several copies of the Majalis al-Muttaqin are still unknown and have not been yet analyzed. Accordingly, it seems that the 1274 AH manuscript in the National Library and the undated version are the works of Mohammad Ismail Tabrizi and Khoei, respectively. One of the manuscripts from 1284 AH by Abdul Jalil (an unknown artist) has scattered, irregular and dense cross hatching, and characters with short limbs, round and large faces. In addition, in the infidel army, faces are depicted with irregular and thick beards, and facial expressions are exaggerated. Irregular compression is seen in the infidel army. Lack of observance of proportions and the position of perspective along with lack of attention to the figures’ size at different distances and the image background are significant issues to be considered. In this version, expression and dynamism and avoidance of decorations can be seen, especially in the infidel army. The general structure has a diffuse and dense composition, while in other versions, especially the work of Mohammad Ismail Tabrizi, light and shades are seen less or even as dots, and the limbs’ proportions and elongation of the figures are more realistic. In addition, Khoei has used clothes and tools, more background work, latticework, and hatches. All designs have a regular and symmetrical shape. The square framing in most of the images, the Imams outfits, the ideal beauty and lack of emotional reaction in the faces of positive characters, the design of the covering of the face of Imam Hussein (AS), and the diagonal composition are common points.

Among the most precious Iranian lithographic books from the Qajar period is Kulliyat-e Joodi, whose illustrations stand out in their depiction of the women present at the Battle of Karbala. With a focus on Zaynab bint Ali (peace of God be upon her), this study analyses those of the book’s illustrations that are centered on the women of the Battle of Karbala. It also explores the themes surrounding the event, as well as the thematic and visual qualities of the illustrations. The study asks: “How are the accounts and themes of the Battle of Karbala rendered in the illustrations? And how are the religious significance and outfit of Zaynab (p) and the other women of the Battle of Karbala shown in the different Manuscripts of the book?”The findings of this descriptive-analytical desk research helped identify the illustrators of some of the Kulliat-e Joodi Manuscripts whose illustrators were originally unspecified. Many of the studied artworks were not completely faithful to the accepted Islamic historical accounts, with the artist having taken creative liberties with the source text.To show the religious significance of Zaynab (p), the illustrations make her the focus of the scenes and distinguish her with visual elements of holiness. She also notably appears in three different outfits across the artworks. Notions such as the strength of character, support, patience, and grief are highlighted using different artistic tactics.

The lithographic religious books as one of the most prevalent books in the Qajar period, are closely related to the public culture and also influenced other artworks. In this regard, the present study aims to review the impacts of Ashura paintings of one of the most effective lithographic books (i.e., Judi collection) on the tilework of Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk.

This analytical-descriptive study utilizes a documentary-library method involving the study of lithographic manuscripts available in the National Library of I.R.Iran along with the  tilework of Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk with the theme of Ashura.

Ashura paintings on the Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk tiles have been inspired by lithographic images found in such books as Toofan Al-Beka’, Asrar Al-Shahada, Majalis Al-Muttaghin, and Judy Collection. This inspiration is seen more in Judi Collection than in other lithographic books. This inspiration is evident not only in the subject matter but also in the design styles. The similarities include the same elements in the selection of scenes and figures, religious and historical narrations, visual presentations, layout, and lines of shapes and interior surfaces. The background is more important in tilework and the presence of women is remarkable in the paintings of the building’s tiles. Indeed, the quantity of women in the paintings of the Judi collection is more than in other manuscripts. The concepts of resistance, the superiority of good over evil, and the companions of uwliya (saint figures) are significant in these works.

In the present paper, attempts have been made to find the differences and identify the functions of representation and objectives of producers of the works through a comparative study of two paintings with the same subject from the Ottoman and Mughal illustrated historical manuscripts. The approach of new cultural history, especially Peter Burke’s views on the common patterns of “representation of the other”, forms the theoretical framework of the research. According to the theme of the paintings, which is related to the diplomatic relations of Iran during the Safavid dynasty with its neighbors, the images will be examined and analyzed in relation to their contemporary political relations and events. Based on this, the present study seeks to answer the following two main questions:1- How was the exposure pattern of the Mughals and the Ottomans with the Safavids as the other?2-What was the political function of the representations in the Ottomans and Mughals visual chronology? The purpose of this study was to find the meaningful relations between how and function of representation the Safavids in political-cultural systems which works of art were its product and then, answer the reason of representations. Findings suggest that representation of the Safavids in Ottomans and Mughals visual chronology are performed differently in similarly themed paintings; and different aspects of this political event have been emphasized. Mughals chose the pattern of analogy and adaptation at the other side Ottomans select the pattern of Othering and opposition. The reason for these choices goes back to the function that these representations had for the Ottomans and the Mughals. The nature of this research is historical according to the subject of the research, which is the study of events in the past, and the research method is based on how the research is conducted, analytical-comparative and case study. The method of data collection is library research and the method of sampling is purposeful, non-random, and selectively based on the content of the images.

The art of painting is the manifestation of national and religious ideas. Muslim artists in diverse lands have reflected many common moral and religious themes; in the interim, due to cultural, religious ties and wars between nations that led to the conquest of lands, the paintings and illustrations of the Safavid and Ottoman illustrated manuscripts of the fifteenth to seventeenth /ninth to eleventh centuries highly influenced each other and many common concepts including religious, literary, mystical and historical themes are found in their illustrated versions. Therefore, considering the characteristics of the paintings of the Safavid and Ottoman periods, the hypothesis of this research is that despite the relationship between cultures and the common political and social changes of both empires, significant effects are considered. The present research is a qualitative content analysis and the method of data collection is accomplished via the library method.   The findings of this research display that the paintings of the Safavid and Ottoman empires are similar in a number of features, however they are diverse in terms of method, style and context. In addition, the prominent visual features in the paintings of each era were influenced by the culture and religion of the society of that time and reflect the cultural and religious situation of that period despite their variances.

1. A study on the characteristics of the paintings in the Safavid and Ottoman periods. 2. An analysis of the paintings with similar themes in Safavid and Ottoman paintings.

Research questions: 

1. What themes and stories have been used in Safavid and Ottoman paintings? 2. How are common themes and stories depicted in Safavid and Ottoman paintings?

Colors have exceptional visual, semantic and mystical properties and are considered as the most significant tool for creating works of art. The concealed and inner meanings of colors in traditional coloring have remained unknown till today. In the art of creating traditional Iranian paint, functional elements have a distinct place and uniqueness. This research is pathway for the better understanding of traditional color-making and refers to the sciences in the Islamic tradition. Recognizing how color is used in art and its nature is a matter for reflection. Familiarity with the general principles of traditional Iranian painting is significant for the construction, promotion and revitalization of multifarious painting in Iranian traditional art. This research is completed via a descriptive and analytical method and relying on the data of library resources. The research findings indicate that the correct method of color-making in traditional Iranian art is based on previous instructions and its association with other sciences. Achieving how the methods of making the four elements, the four natures and the temperament qualities of each element in combination with the other component and how they are related, are the significant achievements of this research in the field of traditional coloring in Islamic Iran. The combination and generation of colors in the past was primary based on method of the four basics (thermal, wetting, compressible, pulverizable), the four elements of nature (fire, air, water, soil) and the temperament of the elements (warm, cold, wet, dry). The quality of the application of such colors and their nature are observable in the illustrated versions of the 4th to 6th centuries AH.

1. Understanding the general principles of traditional Iranian painting 2. Recognizing the main colors in the coloring cycle of traditional Iranian art.

Research questions: 

1. What are the general principles of traditional coloring in Iranian art? 2. What are the main colors in the Iranian painting cycle and what is the basis of the combination of these colors?

In the Imperial Mughal painting, there are many monographs of the portraits of the king, royal family, courtiers, and kings and ambassadors from other countries. The political relations between the Safavids and the Mughal are often accompanied by friendly engagement. The influence of these relationships in the Mughal's art can be found from the inspiring of Iranian painting techniques to illustration the Persian literature and the depiction of the portrait of the Safavid kings and ambassadors. This article studies a painting named Jahangir's Dream by a painter in Mughal court in India, and attempts to find out some contemporary meanings of this text by applying the symptomatic approach and visual semiotics methodology. Also, by using some comparative and contextual information that has been grasped by some contemporary verbal and visual texts with this painting, we could get into the unconscious layer of this text and what the text has denied saying them explicitly because of ideological repressions. This painting that was drawn after the siege of Qandahar by the Abbas I king of Iran. Composition of this image is a metaphoric structure such as more paintings that was drawn by the Jahangir's order, in spite of narrative structure that was common during his father Akbar's reign. For analyzing this image, social visual semiotics was selected as the method of research; and according to three metafunction which descript in this method we have done. Results from analyzing the Jahangir's Dream with have been shown that there are some Ideological signs with metaphoric functions in this painting. Have been found contradictory semantic implications that helped us understand the unconscious thought of the text. In this visual text has been tried to illustrate Jahangir as a superior ruler versus Abbas. At the first look deference between their garments attracts the audience attentions. The whit turban of him with contrast by gold halos round his head salience him. Jahangir as the active agent of the sense embracing Abbas, staring at a distant horizon and Left unanswered the eager eyes of Abbas. We could classify participants of this image in tow group, first of two is composed of Jahangir and Abbas and the second composed of lion and ship that lying on a globe with a detailed map. The lion under the Jahangir's foot that in this text Because of Companion Interpret as the metaphor of Mughal's territory push back the ship - metaphor of Safavid's territory- from Qandahar and even more so inside center of Iran. In conclusion, can be said which enmity and hypocrisy with a powerful neighbor and ally who recently attacked a part of their territory is a political position that is not politically in favor of Jahangir and seems to be repressed, but this desperate desire through contradictions and gaps this text is visible. The reason of Jahangir's claim of a friendly relationship between himself and Shah Abbas I, leastwise after Qandahar's story, could be his need of a strong confederate in the region, and his lack of enough power to resist against it, not his true will.

Symbolism as one of the tools of pictorial expression and transmission of concepts has brought many works of Iranian painting closer in form and meaning. On the other hand, the use of symbol is also considered as one of the literary arrays. In the process of composing, what attracts the poet's sensation, emotion and imagination more is the creation and the space and scope of nature. Iranian artist creates in a symbolic atmosphere; Taking advantage of the valuable context of Persian poetry and literature, the Iranian painter has not sought to represent tangible nature, but to represent symbolic effects. Manouchehri Damghani and Molana Mohammad Jalaluddin Balkhi (Shams) are among the most prominent poets describing nature in Persian literature. The present study seeks to analyze the symbolic effects of nature in poetry and painting in the fourth and seventh centuries AH with a descriptive and analytical method. The research findings demonstrate that the use of lexical range in the poems of Manouchehri and Rumi shows that their poetic world is a green world filled with symbols resembling nature. The symbolism of nature depiction is beautifully visible in the poetry of these two poets and the painting of the fourth and seventh centuries AH. The invention and use of symbolic elements in Iranian painting in the mentioned centuries does not bear an independent form, but an evolutionary process in form and content based on Persian poetry and literature of this period with poets such as Manouchehri and Rumi and under the influence of naturalistic imagery influenced from Chinese art.

1. Recognition of the symbolic effects of nature in Iranian poetry and painting with emphasis on the poems of Manouchehri Damghani and Ghazals of Shams. 2. Comparison of the elements of nature from the point of view of Manouchehri (mere naturalist) and Rumi (Shams).

Research questions: 

1. What is the place of the use of symbolism in the poems of Manouchehri and Rumi and in the paintings of the fourth and seventh centuries AH? 2. How did Manouchehri Damghani and Rumi acknowledged nature in their poems?

From the point of view of Shiites and Shiite commentators, the event of Qadir Khom and the announcement of the succession of Imam Ali (PBUH) by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is one of the greatest historical events of the beginning of Islam and beholds a special position particularly to substantiate the legitimacy of Amir al-Momenin (PBUH). Among the explanations of the hadith and the narration of Qadir Khom many references have been made to the verses revealed by God in this regard, including the verse of “Tabliq” and the verse of “Akmal”. This event has received exceptional responses due to its prominence and position among Shiites in various fields of art, society, politics and also in the daily life of Muslims. In the meantime, Islamic-Iranian painting has provided the painters with an opportunity to portray and display various stories and themes, specifically sacred and religious themes. Qadir Khom is one of the themes that has been written and illustrated by the order of Shiite and religious rulers and supporters. Most of the paintings obtained from this subject belong to the Safavid manuscripts that follow a unique Shiite approach. Such artworks include the works of Al-Baqiyah, Habib al-Sir, Fal-nameh, the works of Al-Muzaffar, Ahsan al-Kabar, Rozat al-Safa, the attack of Heydari, and the paintings of Master Farshchian. Most of the handwritten drawings from this copy display the event with almost the same description and interpretation of the Qadir hadith in Dasht-e Farakh, nevertheless a number of the drawings behold diverse symbols and concepts; furthermore, they demonstrate the dignity of the Imam's guardianship according to the hadiths, narrations and verses of the holy Qur'an. This article, considering the dignity and status of Imam Ali's (PBUH) guardianship has explained and examined the event of Qadir Khomin the paintings and samples obtained.

 

The dominance of political approach in historiography was challenged in late 19th century and contemporary to the emergence of the new approaches in historiography. In their attempt to challenge traditional paradigm of historiography, historians presented some new models and approaches in historiography which are called “new history”. Different sources of Islamic art and architecture, after nearly two centuries of the emergence of this field of study and one year of its entrance into the academy which led into the production of many texts on the artistic heritage of Islamic civilization, has formed a specific historiographical tradition called “Islamic art historiographical tradition” by the authors of this paper. Had we criticize this historiographical tradition according to the “new history” paradigm, we would come into significant results. This research seeks to reveal the political approach in Islamic art historiography and criticize its dominant traditional historiographical paradigm. This is a qualitative study. Data are gathered from library and are analyzed with thematic analysis technique. Results show that the main sources and texts of Islamic art history had almost chosen political perspective for their historical narration of the story of art in Islamic countries and thus have marginalized great parts of the artistic heritage of Islamic civilization.

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.

Corner Medallion design is among the designs that as in other regions has been applied on Azerbaijan rugs and Fars Qashqais. The rugs of these two regions have similarities and differences due to the structure of this type of design. In addition to learn how to design corner medallion rugs of these regions, Study of these structural characteristics can help to identify and evaluate of visuals features in their rugs.This research that has been done with the aim of recognition and introduction of the structural characteristics of Corner Medallion design in the rugs of these two regions tried to explore the probable influence of the design structure of Corner Medallion in Qashqais rugs from Corner Medallion design in Azerbaijan rugs and especially determine that part of structure of this design which has been most represented. For this purpose, in this research that is descriptive -comparative and its information has been collected on the basis of library research, with selection of ones that have been more compatible with each other, we have chosen five rugs from each of the above mentioned regions (totally ten examples) and we have compared and evaluated together.The study of chosen examples shows in spite of some extant differences among the design structure of Corner Medallion in these two regions, there are impressive similarities among the rugs of two regions in design structure of Corner Medallion including number, form and medallion type ;design structure of Corner Medallion including form and Corners type and harmony between Corner Medallion designs in form, size and the motifs that exist in them.

Haft-tanan tekye ,one of Karim Khan Zand’s building, is situated at the foot of Chehel Maqam Mountain. There are seven tombs covered by plain gravestones in this place that is for which the present name stands for, meaning Seven Bodies. The gravestones were put on these tombs by Karim Khan Zand’s order. The tombs are assigned to the seven mystics who lived next to Hafiz mausoleum and died in that place. The open-side hall located at the garden is suppored by two great monolithic painted columns. In the upper recesses of this building there are five scenes painted in oil colours on plaster which are the subject of this study. The survey tries to study the relation between the aesthetic features of the mentioned paintings and mystical issues posed in that era. According to the descriptive- analytical research performed here, the aesthetic features of the five scenes

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 remained visual sources of Qajar art works can be studied as one of the referable, valid evidences for identifying the women's roles and identity during this period. For this respect‚ the illustrations of the Arabian Nights manuscript by Sani Al-Molk is considered as one of the references recognizing the womanʼs presence during Qajar period. This superb art work has some exclusive features distinguish the collection from the similar ones made in the same period; and the painterʼs use of social sources and contemporary, real persons and places for drawing the illustrations. The study aims to describe the women's social status in the Qajar era‚ using the itineraries and other written sources‚ and comparing it with the pictures of the collection and also, tries to answer the question “has Sani Al-Molk used his contemporary social references for drawing the women in the manuscript?” This paper which is based on the documented studies, is focused on the paintings which show the stronger woman’s attendance. According to the findings of this paper‚ Sani Al-Molk did not absolutely apply the social sources of his age for picturing the women at his manuscript.

This paper aims to study and review the main approaches to Islamic art studies and strives to present a new theory in this field of study. Hence, a critical and descriptive methodology has been followed equipped with library and documentation research. In this paper, features contributing to the marginalization of concepts such as power, art, culture and ideologies of meaning are criticized in art studies of Islamic periods. Accordingly, the methods theorized as the outcome of the research and analysis of texts written by the authors of this paper, the method of theosophical- Imaginary readings are critically analyzed. The findings of this research imply that the common approach in the study of Islamic art studies in the domain of subjective analysis, descriptive and interpretative research methods consist of introspective features that have subsided from hidden and effective discourses in explaining the cultural meaning of Islamic art from outside the circle of this specific research field and fail to have a strong scientific methodology. Hence, Para Islamic Art discourse theory and also the new classification methodological research approaches for studying Islamic art are among the other outcomes of this research paper.