Visual structure of Choghamish painted potteries

Visual art has been the most important mankind’s earliest art and recognizing its formation history and changes is vital for all nations. The vast range of pure and practical majors in visual art in the current society, importance of visual art. In order to reach this goal we have to study painted documents from the earliest imaging in Iran plateau. Most studies on numerous potteries found in archaeological excavations are aimed at understanding people s mentality and beliefs in that era, in case that these images are externally and naturally roots of our visual art. In recent decades, along with the development of archaeology and increase of experts inside the borders, the primary data for these researches is provided. Pottery is the reflection of many aspects of any culture.  It reflects technology, organization of production, and, often, food and cooking preferences.  By design, it can also reflect mental aspects like identity and ideology. It is one of the earliest forms of art. Potteries-in comparison- are the most frequent prehistory documents available in Iran plateau.These potteries have been studied more or less in a context based attitude .Therefore, their visual structure has been rarely investigated. The current study will review the visual language of the designs on potteries from the Iranian plateau in the third millennium B.C. This paper provides a case study of ChoghaMish Plate in south west of Iran based on 354 painted potteries in that era in an analytical-comparative method and asks how the visual elements and patterns in the aforementioned era were. Analyzing painted art in terms of design was done through use of library and museum sources in a form based attitude. This led to a general recognition of structure of images on painted potteries in Neolithic and Chalcolithic ages. These periods have been divided into archaic, early, middle and late Susiana in this area. The paper also clarifies the special features of each period as well as the similarities of all. Density of designs, structure of elements in composition, components of structure, types and number of motifs and how motifs are repeated, margins and visual elements and qualities are the criteria used in categorizing and distinguishing images on painted potteries in ChoghaMish with respect to priority. The structure of composition can be divided in three methods. These methods are either band based, circular or singular. And they had been performed by different characteristics and details in each period. Different geometrics, abstract plants and animal motifs were seen in all periods of Chogha Mish and real animal and human motifs were seen in Middle ChoghaMish. Finally, variety in composition structure and innovation in creating new motifs was increased from the beginning of Chalcolithic period in Middle ChoghaMish.