Themes and Elements in the Safavid Art Looking at the Art of Carpet Weaving, Painting and Metalworking

History of Iran all over the Islamic period before the rullling of the Safavid dynasty, and for a short period in the time of Buwayhid dynasty didn’t experience a Shiite government. In fact, it can be said that after nine centuries since the arrival of Islam in Iran and the ruling of the Safavid, the revival of national identity and traditional values as well as Shi’a ruling and its association with Sufism and politics could be observed. The relationship between the Shiite and Iranian culture was very strong. During the Safavid, religion had an important role in the study of culture and art. Actually, ideological changes and social developments in the Safavid era influenced art too. therefore, in addition to people, Shiite artists tried to reflect Shiite elements, thought, and their devotion to the family of the Prophet, and especially to Imam Ali (peace be upon him) as well as issues in their arts such as Quranic verses, the divine names, prophetic traditions and narratives, the ascension of the Prophet, Shia Declaration of Faith, the fourteen innocents, poems about praising of Imams, specially Imam Ali and the loyalty and devotion to Him, the loneliness, thirst and innocence of Imam Hossein (peace be upon him) in verse, in prose or in metallic symbols of Ashura. The important point is that the relationship between art and religious laws at the time of Safavid was well founded. Literature, architecture and art in this era all represented Shiite elements which were the features of this age. This paper tried to reveal the aforementioned concepts and elements of the Shiite Safavid period with the approach to the art of carpet weaving, Persian painting (painting) and metal processing reflected in the art of this era.