The Contras t of Light and Darkness in the Themes of Seljuk Pottery Motifs in Iran

Pottery has always been an immortal and enduring art throughout Iran’s ups and down his tory, reflecting the beliefs and thoughts of the communities in their designs. Among these, pottery of the Seljuk period is very important. These potteries have been much more diverse in terms of role and subject than their predecessors.The Seljuk period was a period during which Iranian civilization reached the peak of spiritual and material progress that other periods never reached. The pottery indus try underwent a tremendous transformation during the Seljuk period. Pottery left from this period can be considered among the bes t and mos t beautiful works available. Many of the designs and methods of previous periods have been completed by the pottery makers of this period. In the researches that have been done so far, the content aspect and special symbolism of Seljuk pottery patterns have been paid very little attention; Therefore, this research has s tudied these motifs and their themes in more detail.The motifs of these pottery are often depicted in an epic-mythical space. In the pottery motifs of the Seljuk period, while the mythical motifs and themes of previous periods have continued, in some motifs we see a kind of transition from myth to epic. One of the main reasons for this transition is the composition of the Shahnameh by the Hakim Abolghasem Ferdowsi in the fourth century AH And the effects that Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh has left on the pottery motifs of this period. Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is the manifes tation of Iranian myths and their symbolic reflection, which using the written and unwritten sources of previous myths, is a manifes tation of beliefs related to the mys terious and ambiguous pas t of Iran and Ferdowsi composed them in the form of poetry. Some of these motifs contain themes with a contras t between light and darkness, which is the fundamental principle of ancient Iran wisdom.Creation begins with this confrontation, and this initial battle becomes a model for the cons tant battle and confrontation of light (equivalent to good) and darkness (equivalent to evil) in Iranian thought. The originality and immortality of light and the contras t between light and darkness for the scholars of ancient Iran is a kind of mys tical view of the universe that continues in the Islamic period.In this qualitative article, the impact of this ancient Iranian monument on Seljuk pottery designs is examined. As a result of the research, it is clear that the continuation of the foundations of ancient Iranian wisdom, wherein the light is the pole of good and positive, and the darkness is the pole of evil and negativity, have been seen in Seljuk pottery, especially in motifs drawn in relation with Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Pottery has motifs that are either directly depicted as symbols of light and darkness or good or evil, or the content and themes of the motifs indicate the opposite of these two poles. The present article, using a descriptive-analytical method, is responsible for inves tigating the continuity of this ancient monument on Seljuk pottery designs.