Typology of seals of the early centuries of Islam in the National Museum of Iran

Our knowledge of the seals of the early centuries of Islamic Iran in Iran is very little. So far, limited traces of these seals have been found in archeological excavations in sites such as Neyshābūr, Siraf and Kangavar. Also, a small number of these seals are in museums and private collections. One of the valuable collections of seals of the early centuries of Islam is kept in the National Museum of Iran, which have not been studied so far. Therefore, studying the seals in the National Museum can partially compensate for the lack of information about the seals of this period. The purpose of this article is to identify the typology of these seals, and to find out the time of construction as well as the artistic style used in these seals. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this article is an attempt to introduce these stamps and to typologically investigate and analyze the writing style and decorations used in them. Finally, the information obtained from these stamps with similar stamps has been measured and evaluated. The results of this study show that the seals of the National Museum of Iran can be classified as ring seals and, in terms of shape, in two groups of quadrangular and oval with a flat surface. The seals are made of opal and hematite and their line is of the Kufic type, which is divided into five types. Apart from a seal that has a geometric pattern on the border, other seals have no decorations. In terms of the writing style, the collection of seals under study is dated in the period from the second to the sixth century AH. These stamps seem to have been used for personal use due to the short scripts on them. For engraving on seals, a shallow shaving method has been used. The lines of the seals are negatively engraved and, in their design, the dimensions of the seals are taken into account so that the height and length of the lines are in harmony with the dimensions of the seals. The sealings are simple phrases and, in terms of content, they can be categorized into two types of religious phrases and people’s names. The first type, which is seen in four of the seals in the collection (seals No. 1, 2, 4, 5), includes phrases that show aspects of Islamic beliefs in praising God, asking for help, and request forgiveness from God. The second type is seen only in one seal (Seal No. 3), in which the abbreviated name of the owner of the seal, whose identity is not known, is stated. Examination of the seals shows that both rectangular and oval shapes were used to engrave verses of the prayer and the name of the owner of the seal. Also, from a functional point of view, the introduced set of stamps should be considered as personal stamps because these stamps do not have official government titles or names related to the administrative geography of the Islamic era.