A Research on the Geometric Ornaments in Figures of Ebrahim Mirza’s Haft Awrang

Decorative motifs are applied in Islamic arts, including architecture, book design, and miniature. In Persian miniatures, we can see the emergence of decorative elements as supplementary factors of designs. These elements have a significant role in promoting the magnificence and visuals of Persian painting. The use of decorative arrays (decorative ornaments) has been common in painting surfaces, especially in the Timurid and Safavid miniatures. Among the outstanding depicted versions of the Safavid era, Jami’s Haft Awrang, maintained in the Freer Museum, Washington, can be mentioned which has been developed and depicted in the royal workshop of Ebrahim Mirza Safavid. This version is rich in arrays (ornaments) and decorative motifs. From among its most prominent decorative motifs, geometric knots can be mentioned which are observed in most of its figures. The current paper has been performed aiming at introducing and recognizing the geometric decorations of figures in Ebrahim Mirza’s Haft Awrang, linear analysis of these ornaments (arrays) and providing an appropriate classification for them, as well as explaining how they have been applied in different parts in terms of type and technique. Data collection process has been performed by referring to written sources during which the data obtained from the study samples were investigated using an analytical-comparative method. Accordingly, the following questions are posed: - What are the features of geometric knots existing in figures of Jami’s Haft Awrang? - How have the geometric knots been applied and implemented in figures of Jami’s Haft Awrang? The results gained of investigating the figures in Ebrahim Mirza’s Haft Awrang indicated that application of geometric motifs has been more widely manifested in the area of tiling, brickwork and wooden knot work; and the number of knots is mostly based on six or eight. These knots have been mainly applied on surfaces of porches, floors, and lateral walls of building, and they have been also used in the form of knot work as shields for gardens, doors, and windows.