The Appearance of lion Design in Safavid's Carpets

Lion design has always been one of the most important elements in the scenes of hunting,battles and animal designs in the carpets.It also carries deep mythical implications and has become the symbol of human's prominent characteristics.This design in Safavid's carpet,which was one of themost brilliant periods of carpet-weaving in Iran and is full of diverse animal and plant designs,was paid a considerable attention and its abundance in different positions raised these questions:''What is the reason of repeated application of this design?'','' How many kinds of lion designs are portrayed in these carpets and in which positions?''To answer these questions, lion design is investigated in four main groups:1-lion as a separate design2-lion design in hunting grounds3-lion design in the scenes of conflict4-the design of lion's head,front viewThis article is alibrary research that has used an analytical descriptive method for gathering data.The results of analyzing pictorial patterns were shown in tables and diagrams.The purpose of this investigation is to clarify another dimension of symbolic art of designs in Iran which can introduce different lion designs and its symbols to the Art and History researchers and designers.Besides,it can help to revive traditional designs and their applications.Also,compared with other designs,the abundance of the designs of conflict,especially between lion and cow,shows that its use in carpets is basedon historical precedent, and its inspiration is drawn from the designs of pre-Islam,especially Achaemenian and Sassanid periods. They found new meanings besides their previous Islamic and mystical meanings.