A Study on the Role of Persian Poems in Zarrin-Fam Pottery in Middle-ages of Kashan (with a look at the items in Glassware and Ceramic Museum of Iran)

In the second half of sixth century (A.H) and twelfth century (A.D), Zarrin-Fam pottery reached the pinnacle of its craft. In this era of pottery, Persian poems and epigraphy played an important role in Zarrin-Fam potteries; therefore, potters have decorated their works with poems and inscriptions alongside other decorative pictures. Poems and inscriptions, which have a close relationship with the artist’s personal taste, and sense and the culture and, literature of its time, have an important role in Zarrin-Fam pottery’s design, which is mostly neglected in archeological studies. Studying and analyzing these poems, which are based on the literature of its period, have literary and cultural importance, in addition to their beauty. This article studies eight cases of Zarrin-Fam potteries from Saljuk and Ilkhanate era, which are held in the Glassware and Ceramic Museum of Iran, in order to get a better understanding about the contents, poems, and epigraphs of these potteries. Two questions are presented in this study; one, is there a relationship between the content of these poems and epigraphs and the decoration of potteries, and two, what is the general content of these inscriptions. Answering these questions brings us one step closer to the objectives of this article, which are analyzing the relationship and consistency of these inscriptions with Zarrin-Fam pottery in middle-ages of Kashan, and categorizing the contents of these poems and epigraphs. This study uses a descriptive – analytical approach and written sources. The findings show, that inscriptions had a major role in the decoration of Zarrin-Fam pottery of Kashan; also, that epigraphs and poems on these potteries contain prayers for the owner, and are usually romantic in nature