A Comparative Study on Motif of Khorasanian School’s and Mosul School’s Metal Works in Terms of Visual Elements

The Seljuk period was considered the peak of growth and development of various arts, particularly the art of metalworking in the fifth to seventh centuries A.H. The two great schools of metalworking in this period included the Khorasanian School and Mosul School, which became grandees of Islamic metalworking employing quality materials as well as developing innovative techniques for decoration design and production. Their reputations led to production of charming, variously formed and sized objects and containers. This research aimed to identify and analyze production and decoration methods, analyze metal work motifs, to determine the degree of mutual interactivity of Khorasan and Mosul metalworking schools. This was carried out through describing, analyzing and comparing the motifs of the identified works. This research attempted to answer the following questions: What are the characteristics of Khorasan Metal School and Mosul Metal School’s works? Which decorations and motifs are seen in their work? How do motifs and designs of these two schools differ? Are there any similarities? This research was motivated to study the motifs of Khorasan and Mosul Schools. Based on historical facts and using a comparative style, this paper, descriptively and analytically, analyzed metalworking motifs of the two schools. With a brief comparison between the motifs used in the metal works of Khorasanian and Mosul schools, we found that the motifs in both schools could be divided into six main categories using the differences and similarities in terms of appearance and concept.