Comparative - Analytical Comparison between the Pottery Motifs of the Safavid Wall paintings and the Pottery of the Same Period with Focus on Chehel Sotun Palace in Isfahan

Artwork is considered as visual means of communication and representative of facts that have undergone dramatic changes in each era, influenced by social, economic, political, religious, and social conditions. In this regard, wall decoration is an important context for gaining insight into these changes. This study aims to analyze the form and role of pottery in Safavid wall paintings through comparative study with pottery of this period, focusing on the wall paintings of the Chehel Sotun palace. Chehel Sotun palace in Isfahan has always been regarded as one of the most important historic and cultural monuments of the Safavid period during the reign of King Abbas I and II. The murals of the palace reflect the thoughts and culture of the kings and perhaps the people of that time (Safavid era) and are in fact an expression of this period. The most important question in this article is what are the reasons of using pottery figures on the murals and wall their relation with the Safavid pottery can be investigated? Data have been gathered using both field and Documentary method methods and were analyzed by descriptive-analytic method. Accordingly, after classification and typology of pottery forms in the Safavid period, the comparison with the Paintings in the wall decorations of the Chehelston Palace of the Safavid period has been carried out. Initial results from this study show that the use of pottery figures in the Safavid wall paintings, especially the Chehelston Palace, is ceremonial.