The Colors of a Safavid Tomb-Cover A Phenomenological Reading Based on the Theory of Ala ud-Daula Simnani

Moving from color to meaning is a process that has been discussed by many thinkers with different intellectual backgrounds. This article seeks to answer the question that in a semantic triangle consisting of audience, author, and work of art and regardless of author's intention, if an audience is aware of Ala ud-Daula Simnani's views on the manifestations of colored lights, how will he/she analyze a work of art? By using the method of hermeneutic phenomenology of Henry Carbon, it is attempted to analyze the theory of Ala ud-Daula Simnani, and then, to examine the colors of a work of art based on the descriptive-analytical method. The results show that when a work of art is judged on the basis of Simnani's ideas, we can go beyond mere observation and obtain a kind of personal intuition. As a case study, the colors and design of a tomb-cover, were examined. This work of art represents, allegorically, a part of the spiritual journey of man to Lord that is already underway, as if he/she has been interrupted for some time by his/her physical life and has begun to pass through the body.