Comparative Study of Motifs and Inscriptions in four Stucco Altar of Kerman Malek Mosque

Kerman Malek Mosque is one of the oldest mosques which was constructed in Turan-Shah l period who was a Seljuq dynasty Governor from 1084 to 1096 AD. In masque chamber of Imam Hassan, there are four Stucco altars while three of them are on the roof and they are related to Seljuq dynasty period and the other one is related to Buyid dynasty time and it is located inside the mentioned chamber and placed under those altars. Despite the great antiquity of these altars, their decorations have not been studied scientifically and specifically yet. Besides, there are questions about the structural- visual elements of the decorations and the type of them and the form of Inscription on every altar and the mutual influences between Inscriptions and Motifs and their dominant features. After the mentioned investigations, the altar Motifs can be categorized into three groups including the geometric Motifs, plant Motifs and plant intertwined geometric Motifs. In the Inscription of altars, there are different types of calligraphies such as Sols, Moshajar, Movaragh, Mozahar, Moaghad and Moshabak while in background of each, some plant Motifs even the brief ones can be seen. In general, when the altars are considered next to each other, some formal and structured relationships can be found between the altars while some of them show the symmetry between the four altars. But, others disturb this symmetry; therefore, the general layout and general appearance of the altars fluctuate between symmetry and asymmetry. These relationships can be defined in four titles of the commonalities and three to one relationships, commonalities and two to two relationships and also specific differences and unique features. In this study, to achieve accurate responses, descriptive- analytical and comparative methods were used. Data collection was done in the library by using authoritative sources such as books, theses, scientific papers, along with field research including imaging and measuring altars.