فصلنامه نگره
پیاپی 43 (پاییز 1396)

Shahanshahname is one of the Qajar-age illustrated manuscripts composed by Fath Ali Khan Saba in the first half of 13th century. This text is composed for explaining the Qajar king Fath Ali Shah’s conquests and the history of this dynasty. There are many version of the Shahanshahname in different libraries. In this research, the version 15234 of the Parliament library will be investigated. The mentioned version has 24 pictures without any signature or identification. The main goal of this research is to introduce the Saba’s Shahanshahname and to identify its illustrator. This research tries to answer this question that whether the illustration of the Shahanshahname version 15234 in parliament library was done by Mohammad Hassan Afshar? This research is analytic-descriptive and comparative in terms of the methodology. The data were collected through library sources and the images and pictures available in parliament library. The results obtained, imply that the illustrations were done by Mohammad Hassan Afshar, which is concluded based on the comparative analyses of designs and the composition of illustrations in the mentioned book and the Mosaja’e version 5998 in the Malek museum.

Iran is a manifestation of deep thoughts which sometimes appears in visual form. Farrah, as one of these thoughts, has been a superhuman force with religious concept which is visually represented in Sassanid artwork. This study with the aim of analyzing the origins and visual characteristics of Farrah’s beast motifs, has answered to the research questions: what place Farrah has in the Sassanid art? What kinds of beasts are manifested in this thought? What is the particular tradition in depicting the symbols for visual link? The research method is descriptive- analytical and data were collected from library sources and field studies. The results of this study are as follows: Farrah, as a factor in the consolidation of royal power, is represented in three beast symbols of the Simurgh, the eagle and the ram. According to visual studies, these symbols follow a common drawing pattern which can be considered as certain features of Farrah. According to this description, wings as essential elements on the body of those beasts, ornate decorative motifs of these factors, and also their royal dignity, represent their semantic link with the concept of power.

Bringing together the remaining works of our ancestors in thesauruses, that we call museums today, is our tribute to their efforts, works that are thought-provoking and pleasing to the eye, and achievements of Iranian taste and thought which bear a rich and fertile culture. The sites of some of these collected works in thesauruses are unknown since they are confiscated from traffickers of historical objects, or suchlike, and finding these sites seems necessary. Several works in the thesaurus of the Naranjestan of Qavam in Shiraz, some of which are Islamic era potteries, are among these examples. Therefore the surveys conducted showed that no research has been done in this field to find the original location of these works and the place of their production still remains unknown. This study is intended to respond to this question: Pottery objects on public display in the thesaurus of the Naranjestan of Qavam represent which pottery center? This study is conducted in regard to the historical and cultural significances of this issue and with the aim of identifying the manufacturing places of several potteries in the thesaurus which is in fact a step towards clarification of the history of pottery in this land. The statistical population included 10 samples of pottery objects in the thesaurus which production place has been identified based on library sources by using a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach to the similar cases in various museums around the world. In studies conducted on the similar samples with respect to the common time of their making, the study considered the most similarities in potteries; at the end of the research and following the studies, it was concluded that based on library research, as well as the similar examples in museums, production time and places of the pottery objects can be estimated and the uncertainties surrounding some of the museum objects may be considerably clarified. Four pottery objects from statistical population belong to the Nishapur pottery center, one belongs to Turkey, another object to Iraq, one object possibly belongs to Kerman pottery center, and three objects belong to pottery centers in Sultan Abad, Ray and Mashhad.

Among the traditional designs used in various arts, sometimes there are motifs that have not been seen, but they have their own particular value. One of these motifs is the Abry-mary (Cloud-snake) arabesque that is of great visual values. Studies show that these motifs came to be used in abundance on the Safavid era book covers, so that they became one of the commonest motifs of this period. However, few studies have been dedicated to introduction of its types, variety of forms and its compositions with other motifs. The authors have attempted to pursue composition and geometrical structure of the motifs in the context of decorations of the Safavid period book covers. Accordingly, the research questions have been as follows: 1- Where did the Abry-Mary arabesque motifs stand with regard to the composition in decoration of the Safavid period book covers? 2- How was the structural diversity of these motifs? The research method has been descriptive-analytical based on library sources and qualitative analysis.
The results show that these motifs followed two symmetrical and asymmetrical systems in form, and were used to decorate the covers depending on pattern’s location, and to fill the space in the composition. At the same time due to their free and wavelike movements rendered the monotonous and closed compositions of the traditional motifs, more active and dynamic. Abry-Mary motifs were most commonly used as symmetrical structures in repetitive designs on the margins or in the form of or on the center of the book cover. Motifs with asymmetrical structure were used more freely among other elements of design and in composition. They were also used for filling the empty spaces which attests to the more complexity in the relationships of motifs in the Safavid period.

In the first half of the eighth century AH, in three illustrated Shahnamehs of Shiraz from the Injuid time, we are faced with a particular representation of "Bahram the Gur and Azadeh in the hunting ground" which is different from the Seljuk "comma" Shahnameh, and the 833 AH Shahnameh of the Timurid period. This difference is the depiction of "Dying Azadeh" in Shahnamehs of the 731, 733 and 753 AH in Shiraz; while in the Seljuk and Timurid Shahnamehs in Shiraz, we see Bahram and his slave girl, Azadeh, riding a camel.
Until now, no research has examined the relationship between intellectual, political and social contexts of the Ilkhanid period with the motif of the dead Azadeh in the Injuid illustrations, thus this research, which is based on Panofsky's approach, tries to achieve a different interpretation of the scene in the Injuid Shahnamehs with a descriptive-analytical method, and to answer these questions: why the motif of "the slave girl and Bahram riding a camel" did not continue in the Injuid period, and instead of that the motif of "Bahram and the dead slave girl" was painted? And is there a relationship between the characteristics of the ancient Bahram god with the actual characters of the Injuid and Ilkhanid kings, which has led to the transformation of the motif?
This study aims to find out a relationship between the motif of "the dead slave girl" and "the ideas of the Injuid court and the changes in the Iranian thought", as well as to study the relationship between the ancient Bahram god and rulers of the Injuid and Ilkhanid courts.
The results suggest that the motif of "the dead slave girl" in three Injuid Shahnamehs, is rooted in the beliefs and attitudes, culture and social contexts of the Ilkhanid society, and the Injuids with Mongol origin. Historical evidences indicate the existence of "punitive way" of Abu Said Ilkhani and his violent behavior in Tabriz, to punish Kvnjak Khatun, because she had accompanied her husband in the war against the Sultan. This woman, like “the slave girl of Bahram the Gur", was killed under animals’ hoofs by the order of Abu Said, and it seems that the injuid painters have reproduced this scene of the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh in the three Injuid Shahnamehs. It also seems that the painter tries to approximate the character of the Sassanid Bahram – embodied as the contemporaneous king (Abu Said and the Injuid kings) - to the Bahram god, by emphasizing solely on Bahram’s action, and thus he exercises the utmost efforts to underscore the meaning of the ancient myth of Iran.

Miniature painting has a particular position among Iranian arts. This art has long been involved in various changes, including the regime changes and varying prominence of the art of miniature painting in cities of Iran and cultural artistic changes. The motive of this research is evaluation and comparison of the existential elements in Timurid and Safavid gardens, and elements like water, trees and plants, palaces and edifices, and other architectural and decorative elements in the miniature painting of the Shiraz school, which is itself comprised of different eras such as the Injuid, Muzaffarid, and Timurid. So in this essay we proceed to describe and analyze the historical events in regard to the Shiraz school and the influence of gardens on miniature paintings, as well as studying a selection of images from the literary masterpieces of that century regarding the meaningful relationship of these miniature paintings and the development of the garden to reveal the logic in forming this type of painting and the meaningful relation of the elements of the paintings and gardens in this school. Surveying these miniature paintings lead to the following questions: 1) To what extent are these miniature paintings the realistic reflections of the garden? 2) On which occasions are the depicted elements comparable with the gardens of the selected periods? This research is conducted using descriptive- analytical method, library sources, and analytical studies on the era’s miniature paintings. The result of this research explains this subject that to what extent the space of the gardens and their elements have affected the miniatures of the Shiraz school, and the surveys show that there are some common elements in both the gardens and landscapes depicted in miniature paintings such as Andaruni and edifice, plants and trees, the system of water and geometry, and decorative elements such as murals and inscriptions. Also the effects of the Timurid era gardens on Safavid gardens are revealed following the explanation of the exclusive characteristics of each era.

Nastaliq is the most significant script invented by the Iranians which beauties have appeared in various forms. This script has partly evolved in the context of the transcription. In regard to this, transcription became a particular format among others which understanding its characteristics are essential to recognize the basics of the calligraphy. Thus the aim of this research is to understand the factors which affected the transcription styles of Jafar Baysonghory, Mir Emad and Mirza Mohammad Reza Kalhor who played a significant role in formularizing and developing of the Nastaliq script in three important eras of Persian history, including the Timurid, Safavid and Qajar dynasties. The main research question is; what are the visual characteristics of the transcription style of each of these calligraphers? Which factors can be described as influential elements on them? This research is conducted using descriptive-analytical method based on library sources and observation of the collected works. Comparison of the works indicates that factors such as the pen putting angle, manner of setting dots, and arranging the letters and long letters (keshide) have led to formation of the unique styles in transcription by these three calligraphers. Consequently, it can be said that due to the combination of the above mentioned factors in the calligraphy style of Jafar Baysonghory, the lines are inclined toward the horizontal axis, while they are inclined toward the vertical axis in Kalhor's transcription, and there is a favorable balance in both horizontal and vertical axes of line in Mir Emad's transcription.

Iranian religious art has avoided any figurative representation following the expression of the exalted order. The religious topics and otherworldly affairs were restricted due to the necessity of the figurative representations and narrative atmosphere. Despite the frequent emphasis of Quran and Hadith in this field, the art of Iran is devoid of any visualization of otherworldly affairs - except rare cases relating to the prophet's visit to heaven and hell in the manuscripts of “Books of Ascension” (Mirajnama) - the culmination of this field is related to the folk art in the Qajar era. The studies show that the Islamic art has avoided the representation of otherworldly themes due to its viewpoint; yet, since the Qajar era, the large scale representation of these themes is observed independently and for the first time. This was made possible when the class of the artist and customer changed; in reality, the folk artist drew the figurative representation of otherworldly affairs according to the worldview of his class. The aim of this research is the figurative representations of otherworldly themes in the art of Iran to study one of the most crucial absent religious themes in the art of Iran. Two questions have been addressed in this article: 1. How did the works in regard to the otherworldly themes advanced in the Islamic art of Iran? 2. What characteristics does the representation of the otherworldly themes have in the Qajar era and what are its differences with the previous period? The research method is descriptive-analytical, based on library sources. In the Qajar folk art three categories of the Coffee House painting, holy shrines painting and Under Glass Painting have been studied, in which we encounter a new world in regard to the representation of otherworldly themes in various scales and extent; this art reflected the ideology exclusive to the common class in Iran for the first time, which is ardent religious beliefs and pious faiths.

The main objective of the present study was to explain proliferation features of Mo’aqali (masonry script) “rotating scripts" in accordance with examples of historical value. A type of Mo’aqali script made of repeated circular words (rotating scripts) was analyzed in this study. This is in fact a masonry script that was called Mo’aqali scripts by traditional architects. These scripts are found in many forms from triangular to polygonal shapes with a set of features such as: symmetry, interlocked letters, expansion and three-dimensional effects. This study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical and developmental method with a set of data collected through library methods and field observations. Visual analysis was performed using cognitive maps. The sample of rotating scripts was selected from two rotating scripts, one with four repetitions of the word Ali (AS) in Nim Avard School in Isfahan and the other with six repetitions of the word Ali (AS) in Yazd Congregational Mosque. The findings of the study suggest the design of these two scripts and other rotating scripts, including those found in Qavamoddin Shirazi buildings and constructions follow the same rules. Using these rules, it is possible to draw new scripts and images in different forms. If the number of sides of images and the number of words within them increase, the resulting letters and words become vague and illegible. To compensate for this shortcoming, the number of circles forming the image must be increased. In this process, the center of the image is extended and the letters placed in the central circle are drawn with a different shape and this is necessary for the formation of letters in central and peripheral circles. In addition, in four-sided images, by eliminating a quarter of the image, and connecting the second and third parts together, it is possible to form images with three-dimensional effects.

Kufic script is the first Islamic writing style which has elegance and firmness. The oldest version of Quran was in ancient Kufic style and it is ascribed to Imam Ali (AS).
Reading this writing style was so complicated that resulted in the invention of the sextet fonts. Finally with the graphic relations, the letters demonstrated a textual portrait of a language and the fonts were invented, which was one of the effective factors in graphic arts.
Among the well-known fonts in graphic domain, we can name the “Mola" font and since its designing was based on ancient Kufic Qurans ascribed to Imam Ali (AS), it is called Mola.
This font as a whole is similar to ancient Kufic writing style, but due to the obvious differences in form of its letters and their combinations, we understand that this font was formed according to the standardization of letters in it.
The main goal of this essay is to know the structure of this font and comparing that with the ancient Kufic style, pathology of the letters and the study of its similarities and differences with the ancient Kufic style, as well as editing this font for the correct use in graphic arts. For better comparison, the letters of these two fonts are put in tables, and there are also some axes to show the geometrical order of letters.
The questions of the research would be: 1. What are the rules and principles of the Mola font?
2. What are the differences and similarities of the Mola font with the ancient Kufic font?
The research is based on the descriptive-analytical method and the data collection was based on library sources and field observation.
Among the achievements of this research, the changes in designing the letters of Mola font, noncompliance in letter seats regarding the combinations in this font, and variable thickness in connections between the letters are observed.