The Morphology of Iranian Glass Jugs In the 3rd& 4th centuries AH

Glassmaking is one of the oldest, most valuable and growing arts throughout history which has long been the manifestation of outstanding and unique glass works that show the level of interest, mastery and skill of glass artists in Iran. Glassmaking as one of the most prominent arts in Iran, has continued to shine throughout history despite the vicissitudes. Glassmaking as one of the glorious arts of Iran during the Islamic era entered a new phase with the advent of Islam. The Iranian glassmakers in the 3rd and 4th centuries AH have created unique and valuable designs, some of which have survived over time. In the aforementioned centuries, glassworks were not simple, but glassmaker artists created works in the form of text and various decorations by using the rich experiences of their predecessors and new methods of making and decorating glass. Jugs are of the functional utensils among these glassworks. The purpose of this research is to study Iranian glass jugs with a focus on the general structure of components, forms, patterns and ornaments under the title of morphology which is a science in the field of literary studies currently used in other fields including art studies. The term morphology was first coined by the Russian researcher and anthropologist Vladimir Propp. Morphology literally means studying and recognizing shapes and faces. That is, the study of the components of an object and their relationship to each other and to the whole structure of that object. This approach was first introduced in the field of literary criticism and is now applied in artistic fields where it is possible to examine and recognize the components of these types of glass and to give a general overview of the shapes of the works for further comparison. Morphology does not only mean determining the form and shape of works, but it also generalizes to recognizing and classifying works, determining the fixed and variable elements of each work, and in a broader dimension, extracting the morphological pattern, and the scientific comparative study of works by reviewing components of each effect. It is noted that fixed elements are those constantly present in the work, but variable elements appear in different forms and cause diversity. 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 present study seeks to answer the basic question of “what are the visual features of Iranian glass jugs in the 3rd and 4th centuries AH? According to the available sources, the samples found from the jugs in the given period are 24 in total, the related data of which has been collected from library sources. The research method used here is descriptive-analytic and the given samples are evaluated and analyzed qualitatively upon the morphological approach. Drawn upon the results, glass jugs are composed of fixed elements of tank, opening and handle. Appendages on the handle, neck, base, ornaments and motifs are the variable components of these jugs. The glass jugs tank is made in tear, parabolic, meat grinder, cylindrical and syncretic forms with narrow, cylindrical and wide openings. The handle is connected to the beginning, middle or end of the tank through the opening. The glass artist prominently considers an appendage on the handle of most glass jugs. A simple and flat base was observed in the bottom of all the parabolic and tear jugs. Glass ornaments and jugs can be traced in two categories of pure and iconic abstracts including geometric, non-geometric, written, animal and plant motifs. One third of these works lack decorations and motifs.