A comparative study of verbal cues in the Mihrab frontal part in the Mirabi (niche)rugs of Safavid and Qajar eras

Systematic reading of works of art helps to identify meaning and identity in the visual works. This is because the visual works of art, with their historical and social background, reflect the intellectual and cultural changes of the time; among these works, Mihrabi rugs can be noted. One of the most important points in these rugs, under the frontal part of Mihrab, is the representation of the verse of Noor. The verbal cues in this place can be regarded as a representation of the verse of Noor in the Safavid era, so it refers to an Islamic text; however, gradually, after the Safavid era, in the Qajar period, this place is assigned a specific human name and non-Islamic verbal signs. So the question is how can this change from non-subjectivity to subject and from an Islamic text to non-a Islamic one be explained? The answer to this question can be found by using a comparative-analytical method and matching the subjects and themes in the verbal text below the frontal part in the rugs during Qajar and Safavid periods;, the purpose of the present research was to explain this difference of the verbal cues in these rugs. By matching the rugs, it could be concluded that the artists, according to the common ideas in the Safavid period, tended to Islamic and Shiite principles, while in the Qajar era, due to the tendency to archeology, the influence of the West and the anthropocentric approach, rugs with different themes and symbols were created.