هنر قاجار

With privileged status and mystical powers, lion has constantly played a major role in human societies and different civilizations. The earliest graphic representations feature lions as hunters with great strength, strategies, and skills. In the Iranian culture and art, images of the animal were used in various forms and with different concepts, sometimes decoratively and symbolically, and other times politically. Religious purposes were another occasion for the appearance and application of lion motif in the Iranian culture the most evident example of which would be the “Lion of God” as a metaphor for the first Shiite imam. Another manifestation of lion in visual arts is the one related to the subjugation of the animal by the men of God, i.e. prophets, imams and mystics. In Qajar era, as the site for the representation and the time of the development of visual arts, we encounter many related works in which lion has been depicted in various occasions with different subjects and themes. Accordingly, the present essay aims at the examination and evaluation of this subject matter in different art media, particularly during the Qajar epoch. The main questions proposed would be as: To what categories the Qajar lion motifs would fall into? What are the concepts and themes of such categories and representations? The results indicate that representation and illustration of the scenes related to such a motif would adopt different aspects and interpretations. Here the lion depictions range from an inactive or passive animal which is being hunted and killed in hunting grounds with the aim of entertainment or showing authority, to the one miraculously turning into the agent for the fulfillment of holy personages’ wills, or the one finding itself in the prophet’s Ascension. Each of these scenes represents a certain theme: political, narrative, religious, allegorical and decorative.

Humans have always been fascinated by animals. Animals usually provoke a strong reaction in people. Most mythologies feature animals in certain roles; some belief systems feature animals as guides, oracles, or totems representing certain qualities or certain characters. That is why animals have turned up as symbols in artistic media. The art of the ancient Near East includes some of the most vivid images of animals; the images of animals frequently appeared within compositions that evoked divinity, kingship, and the fertility of the natural world.Both naturalistic and abstracted animal portrayals are found throughout the history of the ancient Middle East and the selection of a stylized or exaggerated form is best understood as the artisan’s wish to emphasize a particular desirable or representative quality of the animal.Interest in wild animals and particularly in features like horns, wings, and claws that were considered especially dangerous or powerful is characteristic of ancient Middle Eastern art of all periods, dating back at least to the Neolithic period.During the Uruk period, the lion and bull became especially prominent in the art of the ancient Near and Middle East and first began to be used in images expressing the power of rulers. Images of lions were also used in protective contexts, and were set up in pairs to guard passageways into royal and ritual spaces. Conflict between two or more powerful creatures is a recurring theme in ancient Eastern art. Fierce animals shown in combat were perhaps meant to embody strong opposing forces in nature.Fierce animals, such as bulls and lions, as well as hawks, stags, and other powerful beasts, could be linked with certain gods whose qualities they shared. Horned headdresses were markers of divinity in the ancient Near East (a greater number of horns corresponded to a higher status in the world of the gods). However, the gods of the ancient Middle East did not commonly appear with animal features. Occasionally, gods appeared with wings and other birdlike elements, but they remained recognizably human. Thus, a depiction of a bull, for example, would be understood to refer to the storm god’s presence and powers, rather than to represent the god himself in animal form.With privileged status and mystical powers, lion has constantly played a major role in human societies and different civilizations. The lion has been an important symbol to humans for tens of thousands of years. The earliest graphic representations feature lions as hunters with great strength, strategies, and skills. In later depictions of human cultural ceremonies, lions were often used symbolically and may have played significant roles in magic, as deities or in close association with deities, and served as intermediaries and clan identities.In the Iranian culture and art, images of the animal were used in various forms and with different concepts, sometimes decoratively and symbolically, and other times politically. Religious purposes were another occasion for the appearance and application of lion motif in the Iranian culture; the most evident example of which would be the “Lion of God” as a metaphor for the first Shiite imam. Yet, another manifestation of lion in visual arts is the one related to the subjugation of the animal by the men of God, i.e. prophets, imams and mystics. This issue could be interpreted in the field of supernatural powers of such men and their inner control over physical phenomena, including wild animals.In Qajar era, as the site for the representation and the time of the development of folk religious arts, we encounter various related works in which docile lion has been subdued by the men of religion and mysticism through such supernatural powers, and consequently has become a tame animal without any fierceness or voracity. Accordingly, the present essay aims at the examination and evaluation of this subject matter both in textual and pictorial resources through analytical-descriptive method. The main questions proposed would be: (1) What is the relationship or connection between textual resources on the issue of animals’ subjugation and their visual representation in arts? (2) Into what categories, according to textual and visual evidence, such representations would fall? (3) What are the sources/ origins of the representations? (4) In which art media such representations have been reflected? The results indicate that representation and illustration of the scenes related to bringing lion under control before holy men was based on religious and in some cases on literary texts. Such an act could be interpreted in the realm of supernatural deeds and as a mark of honor. Further, there is a direct connection between written sources and visual, artistic manifestations. The visual representation of the mentioned issue in this essay was principally categorized under seven groups or narratives, and is reflected in different art media, namely oil painting, wall painting, reverse glass painting, lacquer painting, tilework, manuscripts, watercolor and in some cases, textiles.

Demons have been widely present in the culture of Iranian legends. They are also present in the Iranian version of religious legends. One of these is the story of Suleiman, in which Iranians narrate the presence of demons among the servants of that prophet. Although there is no specific and established form of these beings, but the summation of definitions in Iranian texts makes it conceivable with some dos and don'ts. Paintings flourished as an art industry in the Qajar period, and its body became an arena for performing art and expressing the feelings and thoughts of artists. Images of epic, romantic scenes, natural landscapes, Islamic geometric motifs, etc. were engraved on them. These works were often accessible to a wide range of age groups. Although the lower economic classes of society have had limited access to them.The important thing about some of these works was the existence of images of supernatural beings whose retelling in folklore or literary stories could create a feeling of extreme fear for the listener; How about displaying their images on decorative dishes. Although in the previous centuries, the use of these motifs was seen on metal containers or other items, but the use of those images on household utensils gained a significant boom in the Qajar period. Although in the religion of Islam, the word of revelation has spread to the other world and it is said that some jinns have heard the word of revelation and have accepted it. Or, in the unofficial literature of the Shia religion, there is talk of the jinn's sympathy with the martyrs of Karbala; But this point is much stronger in the case of Solomon. This prophet extended the scope of his spiritual rule to the intangible world, apart from humans and animals, and jinns and demons were devoted to his service and helped him in fulfilling his wishes. From this point of view, Prophet Suleiman's rule is an example of an ideal rule, where the spirit of the world calmed down, the beasts stopped enmity, and the terrifying creatures became tolerant of humans. The aim of the present study is to identify how to depict supernatural creatures in Solomon Nabi's court by Qajar lacquer artists, and the question arises that "on what principles did Qajar artists depict supernatural creatures in lacquer paintings?" From the qualitative method and their examination and measurement with 5 lacquer paintings of the Qajar period, they have come to the conclusion that in this period, Iranians' understanding of the divan has undergone major changes as follows: a large part of the demons with female characteristics, behavior and clothing painted and included in the ranks of harem women and the rest have lost their malevolent and demonic characteristics and are seen in a state of pure passivity, harmlessness and helplessness has redefined the traditional role of women, and in such an environment, the character roles, values and concepts of the previous boundaries have been lost, and they have dissolved into each other.

Naqqāli is one of the traditional performing arts that reached its peak during the Qajar period. Although the performance approaches in this art prevail over its educational approaches, its role in conveying religious, ritual, literary, religious and moral stories to the public in the form of narrative cannot be ignored. This research intends to deal with the educational and learning dimensions of this art in the transmission of moral teachings in the form of folk narratives. The main question of the research is that this art acts as an educational practice using which components? What kind of learning styles did Naqqāli art use? This research is of a qualitative research type and has been done in a descriptive-analytical way. This research used library sources and written documents in the method of collecting information and used the theoretical framework of David Allen Kolb's model to analyze learning styles. The results of the research show that the learning style in figurative art, due to the use of coffee-house painting, parallel narration of several stories at the same time, sequential performance duration, the use of melodious words and music, has caused the use of the audience's imagination. In this way, it has the greatest effect on divergent (Feeling-Watching), accommodate (Feeling-Doing) and assimilate (Watching-Thinking) learning, and has the least effect on audiences with a convergent (Thinking-Doing) learning.

Tiling is one of noble arts that is related to Iranian architecture. The first sample of tiles in the world was used in Iran. In the art of tiling, artists depicted beliefs, religious concepts, narrative, epic, and mythological themes. Tiling actually was a visual language of tile painters. Like other arts, tiling declined during Qajar era, but eventually found its own style. Tiling was used in decorating different buildings including gardens, palaces, holly places and houses during Qajar era. Tiling was used in different parts of these buildings including walls, dados, porches, rooms, pool houses, and the head of buildings. The use of tiling with fresh and lively colors became popular in various buildings which was unprecedented in Iranian tiling before that. In addition to having visual beauty, tiling was a resistant material that was suitable for different parts of the building.Shiraz had its own style in the field of tiling in Qajar era and outstanding tiling of Qajar era can be found in various buildings of this city. Tiling reached its peak in Shiraz houses during Qajar era. Shiraz Qajar houses have a valuable treasure of this era tiling. Although the artistic features of these tiles follow the artistic schools of Qajar era, their themes were formed under the influence of various social factors. These tiling have been used in different parts of Shiraz Qajar houses including the head of building, yard, dados, pool house, porch, and rooms. Some of these tiling is being destroyed. Therefore, analysing the social factors influencing on the formation of these tiling motifs is very important to keep them alive and recreate them. So, the aim of the present research is to analyse the social factors influencing on the formation of Haft-Rang tiling motifs in Qajar houses of Shiraz. Since the thematic focus of this research is on Qajar houses of Shiraz and it examines a specific geographical area, therefore, it has been tried to consider all social factors influencing the artistic features of the works. The research question is as follows: What Social factors have influenced the formation of tiling motifs in Qajar houses of Shiraz? Research method is descriptive-analytical, data collection method is library-based and data analysis method is qualitative. To do the research, the tiles of seven Qajar houses in Shiraz (Atrvash house, Zinat-al-molk house, Qavam-al-molk house, Dokhanchi house, Salehi house, Saadat house, and Mohtasham house) were examined. Research findings demonstrated that the motifs of these tiling are a reflection of the set of social factors of Qajar era such as the structure of society, beliefs, cultural events, market, jobs and social attentions between traditionalism and foreignism in Qajar society. This result shows that tile maker artists of Qajar era paid special attention to social beliefs and concepts for the design and construction of their works.

From the Safavid era to the end of the Qajar era, Shiraz has been one of the most important cities in terms of tile development. Shiraz statesmen and wealthy families played a significant role in developing the art of decorative tiling for their houses, and in this sense Shiraz houses have a special place compared to houses in other cities. Among these beautiful tiling practices, the tiling that was done by the local tile painters at the request of families such as Qawam al-Mulk, Mushir al-Mulk can be mentioned. Undoubtedly, the good taste of Shirazi people, the works of two great Iranian poets, Hafez and Sa’adi, religious beliefs, the existence of historical gardens, and the proximity to historical and ancient monuments such as Persepolis reliefs have been effective in the variety of motifs. Among Haft-Rang tiling of Shiraz’s Qajar houses, the tiling of Atrvash House, Narenjestan Qawam, Zinat al-Mulk House, Dokhanchi House, Mohtasham House, Sa’adat House, and Salehi House can be mentioned.

In Shiraz, among Qajar houses with tiling, Atrvash House has represented various and important examples of Haft-Rang tiling, some of which have been destroyed. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to study and analyze the motifs of Haft-Rang tiling of Atrvash House to explore the variety of motifs and their forms in the Qajar era and, thus, to provide linear images of those motifs to help recreate tiling being destroyed in Atrvash House. The research focuses on this question: Which motifs and in which forms have been used in Haft-Rang tiling of Atrvash house in Shiraz? The method of research is descriptive-analytical; the method of data collection is library-based, and the method of analysis is qualitative. The statistical population of this research is 10 Haft-Rang tiling (5 tiling in the yard and 5 tiling in the pool house) from Atrvash House in Shiraz.

The findings of the research showed that in the pool house of Atrvash House, plant motifs (flowers, leaves, and trees), human motifs (men, women, and children), animal motifs (horses and dogs), a mythological motif (winged angels), motifs with religious-narrative themes (Holy Mary, Christ, Joseph, and bergamot), motifs with literary-narrative themes (Shirin taking a bath), motifs expressing daily-narrative themes (feasts, the meeting of clergymen and house holders), and a military motif (soldier) can be seen. The dimensions of pool house tiling are 80×100 cm. In the yard of Atrvash House, plant motifs (flowers, leaves, vases, and trees), a human motif (man), a mythological motif (lion, sword, and sun), motifs expressing religious-narrative themes (throwing Joseph into the well and Joseph’s kingdom), a motif expressing literary-narrative theme (the battle of Rostam and China's Khan), motifs expressing daily-narrative themes (hunting and washing), and animal motifs (horses, elephants, dogs, lions, gazelles, peacocks, and ringdoves) can be seen. The dimensions of yard tiling are 90×200 cm. The colors used in the tiling of the pool house and of the yard include fresh and lively colors. In all tiling, the faces are completely Qajar like, with wide and elongated eyebrows, and their clothes are also partly influenced by the fashion common to the Qajar era. Religious motifs represent the beliefs of the house holder and the people in the Qajar era. These motifs have been partly influenced by what people heard in mosques and the sermons of clergymen. The literary-narrative motif of Shirin taking a bath dates back to the end of the Sassanid era. Ferdowsi and, then, Nizami turned this narrative into poetry. This motif, along with the motif of Rostam and China's Khan are influenced by the lithographic books in the Qajar era. The military image of the soldier is influenced by the political conditions in the Qajar period and the paintings that the Qajar kings having made of their soldiers and military equipment. The motifs of hunting and horsemen are among the favorite Iranian scenes and can be seen in the works belonging to the Sassanid era. The presence of guns and hounds in the hunting scenes has been influenced by the European hunting patterns. The motif of lion and sun has existed in Iranian visual culture for a long time, and the sword added to this motif is a symbol of the sword of Imam Ali (peace upon him) and his courage. The motifs such as clergymen, house holders, and servants in tiling are influenced by the professions and the serf-lord society of the Qajar era. Flower and vase motifs are among the decorations of Iranian art and architecture, which were more elegant and detailed in the Qajar era. Winged angels are depicted inspired by the Sassanid era and are linked to European examples.

The motifs of tiling in the Qajar era had a great variety. The tile painters of the Qajar era portrayed realistically or abstractly what they saw in nature along with the beliefs and stories that were passed down from generations to generations. There is a wide variety of motifs such as plants, animals, mythological motifs, motifs expressing narrative themes, and motifs expressing military themes in tiles of Atrvash House. The variety of plant motifs is in the form of flowers, leaves, plant stems, trees, and vases. The variety of human motifs includes the female, the male, and children. Human motifs have been depicted either along with other humans and animals or alone in different scenes including those of nature, hunting, feast gatherings. Human motifs have been depicted unskillfully. A variety of mythological motifs is in the form of a pair of winged angels, and a lion, a sword, and the sun. The motifs expressing religious-narrative themes are in the form of references to the Quranic stories and include different periods in the life of Prophet Joseph and Holy Mary and Christ. The motifs expressing literary-narrative themes are in the form of references to the stories of Shahnameh and Nizami’s Panj Ganj, including Rostam and China's khan or Shirin’s taking a bath respectively. The variety of motifs expressing daily-narrative themes are in the form of feasting, hunting, the meeting of clergymen and house holders, and washing. Hunting tiling show the lion and gazelle huntings. In these types of tiling, hunters are depicted individually or in pairs with dogs, and they have put on Qajari clothes. The variety of animal motifs include birds, quadrupeds, and wild animals. The military motif is the soldier. In tiling of Atrvash House, liveliness, vitality, and innovation can be seen. In some tiling, the name of orderer has also been written.

One of the significant elements of architectural decoration after Islam is the inscription. After the emergence of various types of scripts in Islamic calligraphy, many ways of writing and applying inscriptions emerged. There are numerous definitions for the term inscription. However, the most tangible definition is any written piece on any surface or object other than paper. The term specifically refers to written words on selected areas of a building. Therefore, it is better to distinguish between writings on pottery, metallic ornaments, carpets, etc., and architectural inscriptions. It is also important to note that if the former and more general definitions of inscriptions are used, the dating and history of inscriptions should be reconsidered. The focus of this article is inscriptions in architecture, specifically inscriptions written in Nastaliq, and the principal question of the article is how the inscriptions written in Nastaliq in Iranian architecture evolve in form, content, material, and its combinational structure, from the beginning of its emergence until the Qajar period. This investigation is limited to examples where the inscriptions were created purposefully and based on the principles of calligraphy and fused organically into the architecture of the building.Among the scripts that became widely used in inscriptions is the Nastaliq script. The oldest Nastaliq inscription was written in the 9th century AH (840 AH) on the Shah Nimatullah Wali Shrine. After that, at the end of the 9th century and especially in the first half of the 10th century, inscriptions in Nastaliq became popular in Qazvin and Isfahan. However, the Nastaliq inscription in this period was of secondary value and was mostly used for inscribing Persian poetry or foundation plaques. The most significant period in the history of Nastaliq inscriptions is the period of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. The major developments in the inscriptions of this period can be analyzed in three categories: inscription composition, location, and material. In this period, the Nastaliq script was the most important script for inscriptions. Unlike the previous periods, the foremost inscriptions were written using the Nastaliq script in the Qajar period. In this period, the materials and methods of inscriptions have also transformed, and inscriptions using enameling on gold tiles, painting on the back of glass, and paper cutting indicate the use of new materials and methods in the inscriptions of the Qajar period. This research is a fundamental descriptive and analytical study of the evolution of Nastaliq inscriptions from the 9th century to the end of the Qajar period.

One of the most fundamental cultural characteristics of a country is its educational system and public education. With the beginning of the modern era, following the change in the position of man in the world, the need for changes became more apparent. According to many experts, the Qajar era is the beginning of an era of transformation in Iranian society. According to social innovations in this period, there was an increasing need to expand the public education system and establish new schools. The interesting point is that in this period of history, the importance and necessity of public education was not only the concern of Iranian intellectuals and elites, but gradually the common people also realized its role and showed interest in acquiring it. In the new Qajar era educational system, teaching painting was a discipline that received special attention from the outset. The first students sent to the West to learn this art form were given particular consideration, as were the establishment of schools. While early painting instruction often emphasized non-artistic uses such as military, science, medicine, and geography, it later became acknowledged as a fine art within the educational system, even leading to the establishment of specialized schools. One of the branches provided in the program of the new schools of the Qajar period was the teaching of painting, taught both in a school such as Dar al-Funun, which had the mission of teaching innovative sciences and crafts, and in Majma-ul-Sana’i, which was established with the aim of training and promoting various industries and techniques. There are scattered reports about the teaching of painting in the mentioned schools, as well as the activities of the first painting teachers, and this scattering has caused some mistakes and contradictions in this matter. The present article has been carried out to clarify some of these ambiguities and resolve contradictions with the descriptive-analytical research method. Data collection has been conducted with a library-documentary method, and the information has been analyzed using inductive reasoning. By referring to the main documents of the Qajar period, including travelogues, newspapers, diaries, and maps, and then by comparing their information, the difference between the performance of the two Dar al-Funun schools and Majam al-Sana’i and the different approaches to teaching painting in these two institutions becomes clear. Also, the distinction between the activities in the first and second industrial assemblies and the confusion of these two schools with the same name in some sources, which has led to historical mistakes, are discussed. Regarding the first new teachers of painting, according to a large number of modern sources, Mirza Malkam Khan is mentioned as the first teacher of painting. Thus, based on the comparison of historical documents and existing reports, the present essay explains Malkam Khan’s activities. Malkam Khan cannot be considered the first painting teacher in new schools. In this article, after comparing newspaper reports, it was clarified that the intent of teaching Malkam’s painting was to instruct in the principles of drawing geometry and geographical mapping, rather than the fine art of painting. Therefore, attributing the position of the first painting teacher to him is incorrect. On the other hand, the establishment of laws and the provision of national education guidelines and the place of painting education in it, by Malek Khan, also mentioned in the article, shows that Iran’s society teaches painting at high levels of education and under the program. Fazliyeh schools, at a higher level than Tarbiyah schools, have been positioned. In addition, according to the fifth paragraph of the mentioned laws, it was decided that special schools should be established for some techniques, including painting, in each of the three schools (Tarbiyah, Fazliyah, and Aliyah). Another important point was the universalization of education up to the level of high schools, which was achieved through modern schools and removed art learning from the monopoly of private individuals. Finally, the establishment of the Sani-ul-Molk State Painting Gallery provided the opportunity for art education for people of different classes, breaking the government’s monopoly on education. This significance can be viewed as the basis of the State Painting Institute, as well as comparable schools that followed, such as Sanai-e Mustazrafeh. Therefore, it can be said that during the Qajar era, with the entry of modern culture into Iran, the traditional structures were transformed, leading to the need for changes in the education system becoming one of the main concerns. Following the expansion of educational institutions and modern schools in Iran, a kind of decentralization occurred in the field of national education, which caused a plurality of opinions and diversity of approaches in the discussion of education, as the main platform for scientific growth and social innovation.

The Qajar Dynasty is very important in the architectural art history, because in this period, western architectural techniques entered the architectural styles and decorations with their numerous features for the first time. The obvious manifestations of this, are the changes in Tehran's garden houses styles, which have different architectural styles and spaces, despite belonging to the same historical period. Masoudieh Garden House is a historical mansion which is in a better condition than other garden houses, and contains more comprehensive historical documents. Masoudieh garden was built in Baharestan Square (Tehran), by Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan’s order, and is decorated with brickwork, plasterwork, tiling, mirror work, sculpture, decorations. The research’s aim is to answer the question: What is the form and pattern used in the historical architectural decorates of Masoudieh Mansion in Tehran and what are the influential factors in its formation? The general approach in this research is qualitative, is applied in terms of purpose, and descriptive-analytical and historical based on nature, which used the iconology approach in the analysis, and the documentary collecting method was library and field information. In the analysis of the architectural decorations in MasoudiehMasoudieh Mansion, three important principles have been examined: the influence of Farang on Qajar art, nationalism, and Iranian-Islamic national arts. The indicators’ influential level on formation and performance of each decoration is expressed. The architectural decorations used in the old buildings are often combined with western designs and motifs that are inspired by nature and combined with Iranian-Islamic techniques. In the tiling decorations of the mentioned group, traditional motifs (Slimi motifs and Khatai flowers and leaves) can be seen, which are often combined with western motifs used in form of decorative unit frames or above the windows in the building’s basements. Another type of motifs used in the tiling, are the human figure designs such as princes, slaves and servants ready to serve, which are taken from western postcard motifs, in the single vertical frames. Wall decorations and plaster decorative frames, small and large vases decorated with different plants motifs can be seen, in addition to bands, buds, flowers, small and large leaves of Khatai and Farangi. These are imported from western motifs, which have been used and considered. plaster columns have been performed in the main front porches of Moshirolmolk The dining room and the eastern porch of the mansion, as well as the second floor balcony. Another type of plaster is the naked winged angels in human figures, which were generally seen in a similar and completely prominent form, at a very high height of some of the buildings. Regarding nationalism, it is worth mentioning that the first court architecture of Qajar era is a manifestation of the ancient history heritage. In Qajar era, a kind of reconstruction of the royal majesty and the power appeared in ancient Iran imitation. For this purpose, inspiration from ancient Iran during the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires was taken into consideration. Ancient Iranian motifs have been used in most of the architectural decorations used in Masoudieh garden house to a significant extent, and they are often performed with Iranian-Islamic methods and techniques. The tiling decorations have been used with ancient Iranian forms and motifs. The double and triple stone columns in Divan-khane mansion’s main entrance, are a symbol of the stone columns in Persepolis’s central palace. What can be seen as Iranian-Islamic national art in Masoudieh garden house decorations, is in the form of brickwork, tilework, plastering, woodwork, sculpting and metalwork, which are often performed with traditional motifs (Khatai and Slimi), geometric motifs, human motifs, Nastaliq calligraphy and ancient Iranian motifs in the mansion’s old buildings.The mentioned decorations are generally different in type and usage in various parts of the old buildings, and each has been made with a special technique and method in Qajar Dynasty. All the forms and motifs are in different and regular frames except the inscriptions. They have balance and has been performed with 1/2 relation. The main colours, yellow, red, blue and complementary colours (yellow and purple), (red and green) and (blue and orange) as well as black, white and grey are used in various decorations of mansion. The social, cultural, and political conditions in Qajar era, relationship with Europe and western countries, and the remarkable interest of Qajar kings in European culture and art caused a very significant influence in national art and culture. In addition to the European neoclassical patterns, Islamic patterns and also some ancient Iranian motifs have been used in Masoudieh historical buildings’ decoration.

One of the most important eras in the development of Iran’s art and architecture, especially in the format of murals, is the Qajar era. The dominant attributes of this period are relations with the West and adopting its culture and art. Qajar’s mural art was represented in different buildings, including houses. Nasir al-Mulk House of Shiraz is one of the buildings of the Qajar era, and in its Shahneshin Hall, there are prominent and diverse ceiling paintings. Given that the existing paintings on the ceilings of this building provide a combination of Iranian and Western concepts and contents, the comparative study of their motifs becomes significant both for a better understanding of the visual and topical approaches of the ceiling painting art of the Qajar and also to fill the gap of the comparative information in this field.The ceiling painting of the aforementioned building was studied to answer the following question: What contents and representations do these paintings imply based on the iconographical comparative analysis?This research aims to identify, study, and carry out a comparative evaluation of the motifs in the ceiling of the Nasir al-Mulk House based on the iconography method.In addition to the library studies, this research was supplemented by data from field investigations, including in-site examination, documenting the paintings, and also describing and explaining them.The results of this research provoke the readers’ attention not only to the existing motifs in each mural but also to their latent concepts. The semantic perspective of the art of this era discloses the fact that despite the imitation and separation from originality, this art reached an individual identity that could be named as Qajar style. In the end, this research was an endeavor to provide a deep understanding of the existing concepts in the murals of this era in Shiraz and to discover the ontological viewpoints of individuals in this period.

Royal Portraiture is one of the last Iranian miniature styles which more or less can be considered a Synthesis Style of Iranian and European elements. This style was inspired by Westernization, but underwent important changes during the Qajar era. In this research, one tries to analyze and interpret one of its ruptures that occurred in the era of Mohammad Shah. The main issue of the present project is to study the ways this rupture and its consequences were occurred in Qajar visual culture. For this purpose, first, the main features of Royal Portraiture before and after the Fath-Ali Shah era were identified and then, the ways of the occurrence of this rupture were described. After that, based on Michel Foucault’s thoughts on the concept of the technique of power, the consequences of this rupture were examined. In this project, which was based on qualitative and analytical research method, after conducting studies, the result obtained from this study shows that the rupture of the Royal Portraiture was taken place in representation of body figure and in the discourse of chronology. The consequence was that, this rupture as a technique of power-record, in addition to reproducing this discourse, replaced metaphorical logic with realistic language in visual culture.

Zomoudgari is considered one of the prominent arts in the history of Iranian arts. It refers to all kinds of metal connections made on traditional and old doors and windows. These metal extensions have their own uses. In addition to an aesthetic value, these metal extensions reflect unique visual and symbolic elements. The city of Kashan during the Qajar era was known as one of the most prominent centers of Zomoudgari in Iran. The excellent quality of Qajarid Zomudgari works in Kashan and the lack of sufficient studies to identify and study their qualitative characteristics have justified this study and its aim at analyzing the practical and visual features of a selection of the most prominent Zomudgari works manifested in the entrance doors of Qajar historical buildings in Kashan. Following the expansion of tourism industry and the necessity of reviving historical textures as well as the restoration of old buildings, as the legacy of Iranian home culture, it seems necessary to take a step, even if a small one, in the direction of preserving and reviving less-known handicraft arts such as Zomoudgari. What has been studied in this research includes the works of Zomudgari belonging to doors of Qajarid buildings in Kashan such as those of residential houses, timchehs, and serahs, mosques and baths. The general results indicated that in the Qajar period, the fittings installed on the doors of buildings in Kashan were made of steel, brass, and copper. Also, a variety of forms is mostly seen in the sequins under the drums, the sequins under the studs, and the sequins on the nose; but in the meantime, there is a difference in the overall form of male and female drums.

In this article, we examined the impact of the constitutional movement on the formation of the painting production field in Iran from a sociological perspective. in the meantime, by examining the effect of this movement on the formation of an independent painting field, emphasizing the role of treatises influencing the emergence of the constitutional movement, including the treatises "Speech in Method" by René Descartes translated by Afzal-ol-Molk Kermani, "Yek kalameh" by Mirza Yousef Khan Mostashar-ol-Dowleh, "Majdiyeh (Kashf-ol-Qarayeb)" by Mirza Mohammad Khan Majd-ol-molk Sinaki, "Madaniyeh (Asrar-ol-Qeybeh Alasbab-ol-Madaniyeh)" by Mirza Abbas Effendi Abd-ol-Baha و and "Farman Mashrouteh" addressed by Mozaffar-ol-Din Shah Qajar addressed to Mirza Nasrollah Khan Moshir-ol-Dowleh The Prime Minister has issued, from the theories of the sociology of art of Pierre Bourdieu, the late French sociologist, we sought to find appropriate answers to the following questions: what were the conditions of the field of power and the field of art production (painting) in the Qajar period? what effect did the reformist treatises published in the Nasserite era have on the emergence of the constitutional movement? what activists have indirectly played a role in the formation of the independent painting field in the Qajar period? has the emergence of the constitutional movement changed the attitude of the perfectionist and his transition from an "affiliated pole artist" to an "independent pole artist"? for this purpose, we used Pierre Bourdieu's formative formative structuralist method, which follows an integrated approach, and finally, after analyzing it, we came to the conclusion Kamal-ol-Molk, influenced by the constitutional revolution and in response to the resulting social changes, by passing through affiliated "has become an" independent pole artist "and this fundamental and important development can be considered the beginning of the formation of the independent painting field in Iran.

The verbal or written explanation of a picture is called Ekphrasis. Ekphrasis is also imagining with words and text.  In other words, all poems, stories and interpretive articles that deal in different methods with artwork like architecture, graphics, sculpture and photography are Ekphrasis. Ekphrasis as a way for describing and interpreting artwork, could be the start of identifying and expressing a painting board, metal structure recreation in field of music and cinema.  Accompaniment of writing and other art genres is a matter that although has roots in the past but has been a center of attention and thinking in recent years. Ekphrasic texts have had a significant role in artistic revolutions. Through Ekphrasis, one can look at visual works from a different point of view and understand the truth of the work. Additionally, if an artwork gets lost, people can remember the lost work of art through an Ekphrasis text and recreate it. Awareness of the mechanism of efrasis can justify artists ‘efforts to describe their own or others’ artistic creations. Sometimes an artist working in two fields of art uses the power of a work of art in one area to interpret a work of art in another, and vice versa. This two-way relationship can be observed and identified in the works of some of the poets or painters of the world and Iran. Examination of poetry and painting by the poet The painter or poet-painter shows that the themes and concepts mentioned in the poem have a tangible and notable value in the painting and the poetry of these artists as an ecstatic text explains and explains their painting. One of these artists is Mahmoud Khan Malek al-Shoara, (poet laureate)one of the artists of the Qajar period who has been prominent in several artistic fields. His name has been mentioned in many literary memoirs and along with a poet, his mastery in painting has also been mentioned.He has created works in both poetry and painting. He is known and remembered as one of the most important painters of Qajar era. In addition to painting, he was one of the most significant individuals of poetry in his own time. Common contents in Mahmoud Khan Saba’s poetry and painting were of Ekphrasis expressions; And this article seeks to review it and in the end, answer the question of how Ekphrasis appears to be mental or real in this artist’s works. Some of the studies related to this matter are as follows: “Blind Butterfly and Absolute Sighted” (2018); Deals with the 4 major territories of Ekphrasis: Describing people, describing occurrences, Describing times and place. They added that Ekphrasis included describing tools as well as describing the way every one of them was built and used.  “Arjmandi” (2015) has shown interest in bonding of literature with painting and in his thesis with the title, “ Painting with literature:  Ekphrasis and visual culture in my red name”, he deals with “my red name”, a novel from Orhan Pamuk, Turkish writer and has reviewed it from Ekphrasic aspect. Azhand (2010) has focused not only on “Colligation and modernity” in Mahmoud Khan Saba’s works, but also his poetry and painting of this artist in Qajar era. But he does not deal with this subject in his research. As mentioned in the previous topics, the existing contents deal with what Ekphrasis is, case studying Ekphrasis in a novel, and also investigating Mahmoud Khan Saba ‘s works without any reference to Ecfrasis.  In writers’ opinions, this research in its context opens another doorway to Mahmoud Khan Saba ‘s works.   This article is from the class of qualitative approach of cultural studies, the results of which have been obtained in an analytical and descriptive way with examples of written and visual evidence. Libraries are the main sources of this research and it is derived from public and scientific databases. In a number of artists’ works, who have dealt with both painting and poetry, there is some form of coordination and accompaniment in expressing the texture of the two genres.  This phenomenon could help us understand artworks or in some cases, recreate, rehabilitate and restore them. Accordingly, what has been seen in Mahmoud Khan Saba ‘s poem, usage of Ekphrasis could help us understand and identify the paintings of this Qajar artist. As we saw, Mahmoud Khan was both a poet and a painter; This colligation and coordination was not accidental and Ekphrasis has shown itself in two real and mental forms.  Real Ekphrasis is in two forms in Mahmoud Khan’s poem: Sometimes his paintings are artistic and coordinated with painted pictures take pictures and sometimes this poem serves as a report to explain an architectural building, like Sultanabad mansion or a garden. Real Ekphrasis exists in both forms. Because the poem has targeted a reality. An object that is displayed either in painting or in architecture. In the second case, without seeing, its architectural work is drawn and visualized in the mind through reading the poem.

Due to the connection of the Islamic world with the West and entrance of Western elementsa change in mural painting art happened. The mural that was in the possession of the court before the 18th century by fading out of its court aspect it appeared in houses of nobles. Murals had in the historical houses two cities of Tabriz and Tokat of the Qajar and Ottoman periods  can be a good source for studying and investigating designs. research according to descriptive-analytical method with library studies trying to answer the questions that renovations in Qajar and Ottoman society, caused what of changes in the murals? what are the commonalities and differences between Qajar and Ottoman murals in terms of visual themes characteristics?
The present study, identifies, categorizes and compares by surveying the murals of houses in the cities of Tabrizand Tokatbased visual and written documents. The results showed that murals can be studied from two perspectives topics and methods of execution. According to the topic the themes in the murals were divided into three main categories (human-animal, nature-architectural and decorative). After investigating, it was found that images have similarities and differences in themes and techniques.
Despite the commonalities such as the nature of the image and the principles and rules the lack of mastery of the rules is clearly seen in the examples. Distinctions have been made due to the locative coordinates of Tabriz and Tokat. One of the main differences is the variety of patterns and colors, higher quality and better execution of Qajar motifs due to adherence to the principles of Iranian painting compared to Ottoman motifs. also the closeness and connection of the Ottomans with the West world, eclecticism and greater influence is the most important reason of the distinction between the murals of the Qajar and Ottoman periods.

The Kufic script is one of the first scripts of the Islamic era, which was the most widely used script in writing religious texts, coins, pottery, and inscriptions and building decorations in the first centuries. This script evolved in the middle of the second century AH and the styles derived from it were used in some applications such as inscriptions and some Qurans from the fourth century to the early seventh century. After that, with the further prosperity of the cursive scripts, its use was very limited and it wouldn’t be written except for amusement. The Qajar era was a period of widespread prevalence of Nasta`liq, Naskh, and Shikasta Nastaʿlīq scripts in Iranian manuscripts. However, there are few manuscripts and lithographic books that were written in Kufic script by someone named Zayn al-Ābidīn Sharīf Safavī (1282-1333 AH), an Iranian writer, proofreader and author. In addition to writing these works, Zayn al-Ābidīn has taught the Kufic script in a treatise entitled “Risāli ihyā` al-khat” and has explained his method of work in it. The tendency to revive the Kufic script might be assessed in terms of antiquity and a return to the past in this period. This was an applied research in terms of purpose and qualitative in terms of data analysis and sought to find an answer to the question of how Zayn al-Ābidīn Safavī used the Kufic script in writing his three printed works, i.e. Duʿā Sabāḥ 1317 AH, Qur`an 1312-1322 AH, and another version of Duʿā Sabāḥ 1322 AH, and what innovations he resorted to overcome the limitations of this script.Results of this research in the section on the elements indicate that the writer’s use of the method of early Kufic writing (in all three books) and Eastern Kufi, in some pages of the Qur’an 1312-1322 AH. He was bound to the rules of the original Kufic script in combining lines in Duʿā Sabāḥ 1317 AH, but in combining the calligraphy of the other two versions, he used innovative methods such as italicizing, vertical writing, and overwriting at the end of the lines to overcome the limitations of the Kufic script. Although it was common in other scripts, it was unparalleled in writing Kufic script. He sometimes used ingenious combinations by overwriting words within the text of the Qur’an for stunt, which is noteworthy.Examining the script and the sayings of Zayn al-Ābidīn, we find that he had at least three visual sources: a page from a Kufi Qur’an mentioned at the end of the Duʿā Sabāḥ, possibly a page from the Eastern Kufi Qur’an (Sackler Museum), or a copy of Sifāt al-Shīʿa (dated 391 AH, Amini collection), and stone inscriptions and rings.The manuscript, which was considered a novelty, contained additional texts that were not common in Qur’an writing tradition: from the addition of Muzaffar al-din Shāh’s permission to the text of the “Risāle-ye ihyā` al-khat” and the flow of Qur’anic writing. In general, the Qur’an and Duʿā Sabāḥ of Zayn al-Ābidīn were based on a research. He referred to his available works to know the Kufic script, and was able to extract the singular forms and composition of the original Kufic and the eastern and decorative Kufic. He gathered information about the types of readings and talked about it at the beginning of his book. He also paid attention to the difference between the numbering of verses by people of Basra and Kufa and has adjusted the text of the version based on both methods. Following the tradition of the time, he has also included various interpretations in the margins of the version and has provided a comprehensive version to the readers in general.The Qur’anic script has a relatively different structure compared to the two books of Duʿā Sabāḥ. While the writer in writing the Qur’an tried to be committed to the early Kufic script, according to himself, Ali ibn abī Ṭālib script, in writing the Qur’an he not only explicitly used the two methods of Kufic writing, i.e. the early Kufic and the Eastern Kufic, but also tried to innovate and somehow showed off his art.The method of writing the Kufic script in the printed books under discussion, which is inspired by early and Eastern Kufic and some of the writer’s innovations based on the structure of Naskh and Nastaʿliq scripts, caused this script to be known among the people in a short period of Qajar rule. However, perhaps the turmoil of the cultural situation in the late Qajar era or perhaps Zayn al-Ābidīn’s prediction in the introduction to the Qur’an, this method of writing did not find any follower in later years and was forgotten after the death of Zayn al-Ābidīn.

Dining table is not only a place to gather for food and drink, but it also the art and culture of people throughout time. Related cultural traditions and rituals pass from generation to generation. Through the utensil use as significantly as the victuals. Persian lifestyle and culture has long played a major role in shaping the dining table utensil. The contemporary designs, however, are not much indicative of the Persian heritage particularly in case of dishes for drinks. Crystal and porcelain dishes modelled on Chinese, Japanese and Czech designs clutter in the market. In addition, most people show little willingness to include dishes with old design on their table. This study deals with the question of how to model modern design characterized with Persian- Islamic art. In so doing, it is attempted to design drinking utensils based on Qajar goblet and decanter which can be considered as then successful product and a reminiscent of past culture. The research methodology is descriptive- analytic and the required data was collected through archive as well as the analysis of the paintings of Isfahan places and the decanters of Safavid and Qajar eras. Tracing back the Qajar model to its Safavid precursor certain characteristic features of Persian design were extracted. The model was then investigated from an aesthetic perspective to drive the key design based on Persian art. Focusing on design principles such as order, rhythm, point of commonality and axis definition, the proposed model based on Qajar design creates Persian identity and cultural base for contemporary products. Emotional design approach consiste of three levels. Considering the visceral level, the study focused on form design, weigh, color and the touch of the product to impress people. Ergonomic rules and the catch of the product were taken in to consideration at the behavioral level. The reflective level was consolidated through following Isfahan artistic style as well as the pattern and form of Qajar decanter and goblets.

Two common trends in the arts of different cultures and civilizations have principally been, first, preserving and developing native accomplishments, and second, adopting from foreign and imported elements. This dual function existed in Persian civilization from the pre-Islamic to the middle and late Islamic periods, wherein non-native elements found their way into the culture and were adopted or transformed over the course of time. Cornucopia or Horn of Plenty is among such non-native designs, the origin of which dates back to ancient Greek mythology. Cornucopia first appeared in the art of successors of Alexander in Iran, i.e., the Seleucids and the Parthians. After a long absence, it reappeared in the art and architecture of the Qajar period as a result of Europeanization. The present research studies the probable continuation of this decorative motif from pre-Islamic Persian art to the architecture of the late Qajar era, employing a historical method and descriptive-analytical approach. Investigating the visual characteristics of cornucopia, its juxtaposition with native and non-native elements, as well as the contributory factors in motivating artists and artisans of the Qajar period in applying this motif are among the aims to be pursued. The results demonstrate that the use of cornucopia in Qajar architectural decoration (stuccowork, tilework, wall painting) was the outcome of a trend of farangi-sazi (Europeanization), the extreme manifestation of which could be seen from the second half of the Qajar period (Nasserid reign) in all aspects of the social, cultural, and artistic life in Iran. This motif appeared in architectural decorations following the commercial and cultural interactions Iran established with European countries, which led to an acquaintance with western visual motifs. However, this motif was integrated into indigenous decorative artwork in the atmosphere of Persian deep-rooted traditions. The result of this native transformation appears in a harmonious composition with other Persian decorative elements. Persianized cornucopia never appears singularly, but as an element of stylized floral motifs or arabesques as are the defining characteristic of Persian art and architecture.

The main problem of this research is the quality of influencing some traditions as parda, glass gilding, tea-house painting, wall paintings in sacred monuments as well as the lithograph books on the emergence of the Saqātālār paintings in Qajar period, Māzandarān, Iran; Saqātālār is a wooden building found exclusively in this area of the country. The research purpose is finding the historical relationships between these artistic genres more accurately. They have been not profoundly referred as the origin and the root of the Saqātālār paintings. The Peter Chelkowski's theories on the narrative paintings and painting recitation, their roots and origins, the challenges existed about the exact date of making the first sample of narrative religious wall paintings in Iran would be helpful in this regard. Two significant groups of religious and non-religious themes have been represented simultaneously in the context of Saqātālār paintings. This synthesis seems to be slightly incongruent at first glance so that we cannot remember any similar examples of being gathered these different motives in their introduced origins. It is why the synthesis is considered to be a unique and unprecedented case. For this reason an extensive study on all these artistic genres, their background, their first samples, contents and themes and also their relations with the Saqātālār building would be necessary. The research hypothesis is the possibility of the exact representation of the lithograph illustrations in the Saqātālār paintings. At first glance, we can see a lot of similarities between the illustrations of lithograph books and the motives on the Saqātālār building, in terms of both the visual features and themes . The authors assess the seventeen painted and dated Saqātālār in addition to the above said origins, in terms of their dates, their involved people as well as their themes through an historical approach. The research method is the qualitative content analysis of historical resources along with the field work in Māzandarān province and its villages. The certain result of the study indicates the significant similarity between the most of Saqātālār paintings and the illustrations of Qajar lithograph books as well as the presence of a considerable extent of Saqātālār themes in them; however, the absence of colour in lithograph books is the only difference between the two. Also, with regard to Saqātālār buildings, their location, their certain relations with the religion and the other religious buildings around them, the specific paintings, the particular colors and their specific techniques of drawing these motives, one might observe a set of the unique features here which have been continuously invariant among all the influences mentioned above. In addition, they are belonged to a certain period of time and have been constructed and painted by a specific group of people; All these issues might give a unique identity to Saqātālārs we can name them an artistic "Style". Finally, the historical data indicates a kind of relationship between the founders of these buildings and the Qajar capital and court which might make doubt about the authenticity of some presumptions.

Visual art of the Qajar era was inspired by both the new technical developments such as photography and printing as well as the tradition of Persian painting of the previous schools that had developed new visual features. Along with this visual quality, the exposure of the artists to western traditions and the popularity of modernity caused the Iranian society to experience changes in its artistic identity and thus, new types of visual features emerged. These features depict a series of particular changes which distinguish them from the dominant worldview of the Persian painting in terms of appearance. This type of visual art creates different visual forms in comparison to previous instances of Persian painting by using different designs, new techniques and tools. Illustrated manuscripts of the Qajar era are a collection of unique documents that incorporate the art and culture of this period of time and are the readings of an authentic artistic statement of aesthetic aspects and identity layers. This paper mainly aims at classifying aesthetic features prevailing in the illustrations of the lithographed manuscripts as well as recognition and retrieving of the identity layers and presenting the priority of the identities in these illustrations. Considering the features of Iranian-Islamic art as well as the Western artistic characteristics prevalent through the Qajar era painting, it could be hypothesized that due to exposure to modernism, the visual art styles of the Qajar era are different in lots of visual and technical aspects as compared to the Persian painting tradition; however, due to the presence of some aesthetic features of Iranian-Islamic art, they might be considered the continuation of the same visual tradition. Study of the visual qualities and aesthetic aspects of a selection of Qajar-era individual documents and manuscripts which are considered as original artistic statements in this essay leads to the reading of the identity layers of this era which could be found both in art and culture of this period. In all cultures and countries, the definition of the concept of identity is associated with religion, ideology, political and social relations and history. In artworks, the identity has different layers and each layer has different aspects. Such identity might be examined in a different manner for each work of art which, in its own turn, might have several layers: one of them being stronger and more obvious than the others. Nonetheless, all the hidden layers of identity leave their trace on the outward manifestation of the identity layer in the artworks. Due to the specific social and political ambience of the country, popularity of Archaism (approaches to ancient Iran periods) as well as widespread relations with the west (through business, education, politics and etc.), Qajar reign is considered as one of the important eras of Iranian art; therefore, we can find several identity layers in the artworks of this Era. This paper chiefly intends to categorize the main aesthetic features in the illustrations of the lithographed manuscripts of Qajar era and also recognize and retrieve the identity layers therein. Subsequently, the priority of the identity layers of these illustrations shall be studied.  The study makes effort to answer these questions: What are identity layers in the visual art of Qajar Era and which identity layers appeared more frequently than others in Qajar Lithographed Folklore Manuscripts? The research has been conducted using descriptive-analytical method through the desk study of library sources as well as other valid ones such as the manuscripts. The statistical population includes 7 Lithographed Folklore Manuscripts created during the Qajar Era using a selective procedure (11 pictures were selected). The analyzed results indicate that the identity layers of the artworks of this era might be categorized into four: archaic, Persian-Islamic,westernization and Islamic-Shiite. Moreover, in each type of artworks created during the Qajar Era, some layers play a more important or a special role. In this case study (Folklore Manuscripts), the first and the most important layer is westernization to be followed by Persian-Islamic. The other layers (Islamic-Shiite and archaic) are less important and thus, imperceptible.