A Comparative Study of Discovered Stuccoe's Designs in Seymare Historical City with Samples of Jame Mosque in Nain

As the closest area in current Iran to Ctesiphon, the capital of Sassanids in Mesopotamia, Seymare city is considered as one of the most important cities of early Islam in the south-western region of Iran. According to historical texts and archaeological excavations, the life of this city was short. Amongst the most important archaeological findings of this city are stucco decorations as rare examples of this art in early Islamic period regarding visual aesthetics, composition of motifs, geometrical and plant designs. The necessity of considering this issue is justifiable with regard to the importance of these stuccoes in the context of transferring the artistic achievements of Sassanid period to Islamic period; especially in relation to decorative designs used in this art and also determining the more precise date of building this city which is one of the main aims of this study. This paper is based on library studies and accurate observation and investigation of discovered stuccoes from the so-called Seymare mosque and comparing them with stuccoes of Jame’ Mosque in Nain which has one of the most significant examples of stucco belonging to early centuries of Islam in Iran. This study raises the following question: how much have the designs of Seymare stucco been influenced quantitatively and qualitatively by the environment and the art of previous times? This study shows that the stuccoes of these two areas have many similarities in terms of motifs and composition of geometric and plant designs. Thus, regarding historical precedence of discovered samples in the city of Seymare, probably they have influenced other Iranian buildings like the Jame’ mosque of Nain.