The Study of Iranian Glass Bowls Evolution from 4 B.C to 13 A.D from Morphological Viewpoint

Glassmaking as one of the most prominent arts in Iran, has continued to shine throughout history despite the vicissitudes. Behind several millennia of Iranian art history, valuable glassworks have been left with glass bowls as an integral part of them. The study of glass bowls focusing on its constituent elements, forms and decorations under the title of morphology can lead to understanding the background and historical evolution of Iranian glassmaking. It is to claim that morphological studies of any period can be of a great step in examining the development and historical evolution of form and decoration in the field of works of art. Considering that the basis of criticism in art with any approach is focused on the form of the work of art, a general picture of the shape of the works can be achieved and thus they can be examined and refined from this perspective. The attempt is made in this study to present the evolution of the art of glassmaking over time by examining glass bowls. Samples of pre-Islamic glass bowls have been collected and studied in order to find an answer to the fundamental question of “what changes have been made morphologically in Iranian glass bowls throughout history?”. The method of this research is descriptive-analytic and the data have been collected through library sources. The results show that the method of making glass bowls of the Islamic period of Iran is in fact a continuation of the method of pre-Islamic glassmaking while mixed with the initiative and innovation of glassmakers of the Islamic period. Pre-Islamic glass bowls during the Achaemenid period were made by pressing the mold and in the Sassanid era by blowing into the mold additionally. Glass bowls of this period have similar shapes to hemispherical molds and are often colorless and decorated with cuts. The cutting methods of these bowls are surface, double surface and embossed surface, and the most widely used is the role of honeycomb. The glass bowls of the first century of Islam had a shape similar to the bowls of the previous era, and their decorations is taken from the decorations of the glass bowls of the pre-Islamic era.These decorations are created by surface, double surface and linear cutting on the given works which the latter one was marked in the glass bowls of Islamic period. In the following centuries, glass bowls were often made and decorated by blowing into the molds. Pre-Islamic glass bowl decorations are mostly pure geometric abstract decorations including circular and honeycomb motifs, two specimens of which are decorated with plant motifs. Over the centuries, these ornaments have continued and iconic-abstract ornaments containing animal, plant and human motifs and purely abstract ornaments including written and non-geometric motifs have been used by the glassmakers.