Comparative Study of Stucco Decorations of Seymareh Mosque, Noh Gonbad Mosque of Balkh, and Samarra from Abbasid Period

Iranian architecture and its related decorations including stucco, has maintained its dynamism and continuity from the Parthian and Sassanid periods to the present day. Meanwhile, Sassanid art of plastering and its main motifs is one of the main pillars of Islamic decorative arts and has been able to pave the way for the continuation and evolution of various types of decorative artifacts. Among the most important findings during the excavations of the historical city of Seymareh are its mosque and the adornments of this monument. Due to its history dating back to the end of Umayyad era and the early Abbasid period, as well as the richness of its adornment decorations based on the artifacts of the Sassanid era, this mosque is one of the most important and suitable case examples in terms of studies related to Iranian religious architecture such as stucco adornments. In terms of the decorative arrays, this mosque is very similar to the mosques of Noh Gonbad of Balkh and Samarra. The similarity of the decorative motifs of Seymareh mosque with the stucco patterns of Noh Gonbad and Samarra monuments led to take into account the position and importance of this building in archeological studies of the Islamic era and its decorative arts, in order to introduce more and better the decorations of this mosque. The other objectives of this study are: 1) to present the background of Noh Gonbad Mosque, and Seymareh Mosque 2: to illustrate the influence of Iranian art on the A and B styles of Samarra art from the Abbasid period, based on the case study of Seymareh stucco decorations. The main research questions are: 1) how much the decorations of mosques of Seymareh and Noh Gonbad are similar with each other? 2) how much distinguishable is the presence of decorative motifs of the Seymareh stucco in the stucco patterns found in Samarra (A and B styles)? As in stucco patterns of Noh Gonbad mosque, a move from realism to abstractionism is obvious in Seymareh mosque, too. Therefore, the first Islamic art trends toward abstractionism can be studied in Seymareh mosque. On the other hand, as Seymareh and Noh Gonbad mosques are very similar regarding decorative and composition arrays, background of the decorative patterns of the Noh Gonbad mosque can be searched and traced in Seymareh. Accordingly, in the study of Iranian art in the early Islamic centuries, the mosque of Seymareh is worth studying before the other mosques of early Islam period. Finally, in confirmation of the content of the historical texts regarding the use of Iranian artists in the construction of the Samarra building, the Seymareh Mosque is a clear example of the influence of Iranian art on the stucco art of Samarra. This research has been conducted through descriptive-analytical and comparative methods, based on field and library studies.