Effect of Christian Missionaries Activities on the Paintings of Pen Cases in Naseri Era

One of the ways for Western culture influence based on Christianity perspective by Western governments was sending religious missionaries in line with their desired policies in Qajar dynasty and especially Naseri era (1847-1895). These interactions have had directly or indirectly significant effects on the intellectual foundations of different classes of society, especially artists. This descriptive and analytical research was aimed to determine the position and role of missionaries at the time of Naseri era and the level of their thoughts distribution based on religious propaganda in the field of lacquer painting on pen cases. In addition, the impact of these missionaries on the visual attitude of the artists of that period was assessed. According to the results, a new school influenced by the religious teachings of Christian missionaries was formed during the Qajar era in Iran, which led to the creation of different types of works by artists. In this regard, a variety of works was created based on the foundations of modernity in the methods and expressing of topics. Therefore, the topics in the religious dimension were illustrated in the spatialization and typology of Mary and Jesus and the church saints, especially on pen-cases, which was an important education appliance of that time. In terms of intellectual content, these images are merely created to obtain visual satisfaction of the supporters and customers. Subsequently, painters created different images from their previous era based on the rules governing the socio-artistic atmosphere of that period and regard to the direct interactions with educational and religious issues presented by missionaries and their personal interpretation of these concepts.