National Identity Manifestation of Iranian Art in Conception of Dicorative Motifs in "Mazandaran Saqqa- talars"

This text is an attempt to show some motifs in saqqa - talars’ paintings, that have important role in Iranian identity. This paper describes a type of traditional architecture of Northern Iran, which the author believes to have originated from ancient Iranian culture. I find that this construction is mostly made of wood and is called "saqqa -talar" to natives. "Saqqa" means one who gives water to others. On the other hands, all Saqqa - talars are devoted to Abolfazl, the valorous brother of Imam Hossein, the third Shiite Islamic leader. The motifs are signs directly or indirectly related to water, such as serpants, dragons, horned serpent- dragons, the two guardian angles of water and greenery (Khordad and Mordad), the king of rain among others. These are dichotomized based on varieties of forms and content: a: Religious designs b: Secular designs Prophets, Imams, myths and epics, folklore and legends, ancient Farsi literary texts, astrology and constellations, fantastic creations and geometrical motifs are most decorative motive. Calligraphy also plays a very important role in defining the identity of Saqqa-talars. I attempt to show how this motifs can identify Iranian art and folklore specially in Mazandaran. In this study, Tools analysing motives are based on the concepts, myths, epics and religious symbols. Studying this decorative painting, can assist us to become more aware of reality, identity and content of motifs and the roles played in history art of Qajar period in Mazandaran.