A Comparative Study of Characteristic of Human Images in Hunting Carpets and Miniatures in the Tabriz’s Second School

The Safavid period is considered the golden age of art in Iran. Numerous books were illustrated by painters in the royal courts of Safavid kings. On the other hand, Safavid king’s interest in Persian art led to the establishment of carpet weaving workshops. Carpets and miniatures with hunting designs are important groups of artworks in the 16th century, the most significant component of which are human motifs. The present study aims to identify the proportions of human motifs in carpets to miniatures with hunting scenery in the second school of Tabriz. Therefore, the main question is “what are the visual and characterological relations between Safavid hunting carpets and paintings in terms of human motifs?” The descriptive-comparative method is used to achieve research objectives. Moreover, data are collected from library and online resources. From the visual perspective, the results demonstrate close similarities between human images in hunting carpets and miniatures from the Safavid period, which can be due to the impact of miniature on carpet design and motifs. From the characterological viewpoint, five human characters, including hunters, Qurchis (royal bodyguards), musicians, attendants, and spectators, were detected, three of which (hunters, spectators, and attendants) exist in both, carpets and miniatures.