Analysis of Thematic, Visual and Structural Characteristics of the Gilded Mihrābs During Ilkhanate Era

Throughout the history of pottery and among all the styles of pottery decoration, gilded glaze has always fascinated people for its glow and reflection. The golden or gilded tiles began to be used for decorating mihrābs at the beginning of the 7th century. These masterpieces remaining from the Khārazmshāhi, Mongol, Ilkhanate, and even Timurid periods represent the epitome of decorative techniques utilized for the construction of mihrābs, but among the monuments remaining from various historical periods, gilded mihrābs built in the Ilkhanate period are of particular importance due to their abundance and diversity. Therefore, this research sets out to study the physical components and the application of visual elements in the gilded mihrābs built in the Ilkhanate era from an aesthetic approach. The main question of the present article is “What are the characteristics of physical components used in gilded mihrābs of the Ilkhanate period?” In order to answer this question, in the first step, all the gilded mihrābs remaining from the Ilkhanate period are investigated. Then, to analyze the quality of the physical components of these works, the thematic, visual and structural characteristics of gilded mihrābs in this historical period are analyzed. The results highlight the fact that the gilded mihrābs built during the Ilkhanate period are of desirable quality in the physical components, but this quality has deteriorated near the end of the Ilkhanate era, and many of the bright and luminous features of these works have been lost.