A Hyper-Textual Interpretation of the Seven Planets` Motif Design in Seljuk Art (Case study «Enamel bowl» and book of «Aja'ib al-Makhluqat» by Zakariya al-Qazwini)

The Seljuk era, was a prosperous time in case of dealing with art; during this time art reached to higher level, as numerous and diverse artworks with cosmological concepts were created, which represents the significance of cosmology in this time. The artists in this era, by considering the position of astronomy and cosmological issues, frequently reflected the relevant concepts and contents as practical decorations and motifs in their works. This study aims to comprehend the concepts of cosmological motifs to target the mutual influence of Seljuk artists on each other while designing these patterns; Therefore, the manner these artists influence each other in designing the planet motifs and their meanings has been addressed in two artworks related to Seljuk era; in this regard, the following questions arises: Which kind of hypertextuality is more likely to be influenced by the design of the target motifs of the planets? And what changes have been made in these motifs while influencing each other? The research aims to understand the manner the design of planets' motifs influence each other and the alterations in the two target works by focusing on the hypertextuality theory of Gerard Genette.Research

A descriptive-analytical method has been adopted and the data was collected by using library sources; The results were analyzed relying on a qualitative method.

According to the research findings, the cosmological motifs that appeared in the Seljuk manuscripts are rather compatible with other built-in arts, in the case of decoration, besides considering the cosmological criteria; however, some changes have been made according to the artist's priorities. The artists in the Seljuk era were completely aware of the art developments of their own time and also the previous eras, as they tried their best to improve the art of their time by benefiting from the experiences of other artists.

the research finding showed that the planet motifs in «Ajaib al-Makhluqat» (hypertext) which is inspired by the planet motifs in the enamel bowl (pre-text or hypotext) have a transposition or transformation with serious function according to the hypertextuality of Genette. The created transformation in hypertext includes a variety of changes (gender, form, composition, and color). The miniature painter of «Ajaib-ul-Makhluqat» has not simply adopted an imitation attitude in creating a new and independent hypertext, as it has been designed differently.