study about Handycraft arts manifested in Chahar Bagh mosque-school

Chahar Bagh mosque-school is of significant importance in the art and architecture of the Safavid era because of its superb ornamentations and inscriptions. The present study attempts to examine the existing Handycraft arts and their position using a typological perspective. The mentioned procedures help to answer the two underlying questions of this paper which are: 1) what role do the Handycraft arts play? And 2) In what types can we categorize them? This developmental study is descriptive-analytical and data was collected through field and desk study. Through detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data, it was realized that in addition to outstanding architectural structure, the monument also includes several types of arts that are related to architecture of which Handycraft arts is but one. In the performance technique dimension, they include tiling, stone engraving, fantastic metal working and scolding and in the typology of design we can see the most eminent examples of geometric patterns, plant designs and calligraphy. Alongside these ornamentations, the building is adorned with various inscriptions on metal, wood, stone and even Hand-woven carpet. These inscriptions were written by famous calligraphers of the Safavid era among whom are such masters as Mohammad Saleh and Abdolrahim Jazayeri who wrote in Kufi (Banai and moalaghi), Nastaliq and Tholth. As far as content is concerned, the inscriptions include subjects like Quran verses, Hadiths, praising the Imams, specially Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and praising the supporters of the monument. Considering all the afore mentioned factors, the Chahar Bagh mosque-school can be considered as a treasury of handy crafts in terms of content and physical structure.