The Motif of Cedar Tree in Qajar and Safavid Rugs

The motif of cedar tree, rooted in Persian culture, customs and rituals, is commonly seen in Persian rugs. Representation of this motif is especially noticeable in Qajar and Safavid Rugs. With respect to the history of art in Iran, Qajar and Safavid eras are two key periods. Application of the motif of cedar tree in the Persian rugs since very long time ago shows the special place of this motif for the Iranians. On this basis, the objective of the present research was to identify the conceptual function of this motif in the Persian rugs during Qajar and Safavid eras in order to have a better understanding of the meanings of such mythical motifs. In this respect, different species of cedars were identified and how they have been accompanied with other (guard) animals, was examined. So far, different studies have been conducted on the role of cedar tree and the its cultural, symbolic and mythical value in Iran. For example, in her MA dissertation entitled the trend of evolution and analysis of the role of cedar in Sfavid textiles, Fatemeh Bazi (2015) addressed the role of cedar and paisley design (boteh-jegheh in Persian) in textiles of Safavid era. Similarly, in a study entitled the role of cedar tree and its symbolic meanings in certain images of Tahmasbi’s Shahnamih, Saba Al-e-Ibrahim (2015) dealt with symbolic and esoteric concepts of trees in the images of Tahmasbi’s Shahnamih pointing out the relation of the images with literature and prominent characters.