Analysis of material folklore of the color in Safavid cultureCase Study: Mashhad book designing school in Safavid Period, the paintings of Ibrahim Mirza’s Haft Awrang Manuscript

In each society, according to its beliefs and culture, the use of color in different aspects of life and daily activities of people is used with a different approach and reflects the spirit of that period. As the master Iranian writers and painters who used color as an effective tool in illustration, imagination and transmission of concepts and created unique works of literature and art in the history of Iran, their elements provide readability and understanding of the popular culture of that time. One of them is Jami’s HaftAwrang, which was illustrated in Mashhad book designing school during Safavid period and is known as Sultan Ibrahim Mirza’s HaftAwrang. Despite the importance of recognizing Iranian popular culture from literary and artistic remnants, it seems, so far, there isn’t any study has examined the use of color in the context of Iranian culture in these paintings. The question is: Which colors and elements in the paintings of Ibrahim Mirza’s HaftAwrang reflects the culture, public life and daily life of Iranians in the mid-seventeenth century in Safavid period? And what’s the relation between the use of color in paintings and the popular culture and daily life of courtiers, citizens, villagers, caravans and nomads at that time? The method of this research is historical-anthropological analysis and the method of collecting information is library-documentary.Findings show the use of color in these paintings, in addition to showing the quality of material elements such as clothing, tools (tools and handicrafts) and buildings, consistent with the popular culture and daily life of the Safavid period, it also expresses some of the behavioral and speech traditions of Iranian culture, in the court, urban, rural and nomadic classes in accordance with the space of the painting, but there is no distinction in the use of the color of the caravans.