Patterns and Motifs of Applied (Non-Clothing) Textiles in the Early Nasseri Era in light of Sani-al-Molk’s Illustrations in One Thousand and One Nights

Sani-al-Molk’s One thousand and One Nights is consideredan ethnographic source that can give the readers an insightinto the cultural delicacies of the era of Nasser al-Din ShahQajar. Yet, there is little research on the common nonclothing textiles of the Qajar era. This study explores thepatterns and motifs of these textiles based on the illustrationsof One Thousand and One Nights, which certainly provideclues as to how the textiles were made. With this in mind,the question is: “Based on the illustrations of One Thousandand One Nights, what patterns and motifs were used in thenon-clothing textiles of the Nasseri era? It is hypothesizedthat the Vagirei (repeated in length and width) and Paisleypatterns were the most widely used patterns in the textiles ofthe Early Nasseri Era. However, the results of a descriptiveanalytical desk-based study conducted using the stratifiedprobability sampling method based on eighteen illustrationsof One Thousand and One Nights reveal that : non-clothingand applied in household consumption textiles such ascurtains, furniture, cushions, underlays, quilts, tablecloths,wall coverings, etc. were used in a variety of patterns andmotifs including the simple pattern and Vagirei, Ghabi(frame-based), Moharramat (striped), Afshan (scatteredflowers), Mehrabi (praying cloth) and Toranjdar (Bergamot)with natural and abstract plant-based motifs such as Paisleyand arabesque patterns during the early Nasseri era. Thus,contrary to the first hypothesis, the patterns and motifsused during this era had a broader range than the inducedpatterns. Among the patterns, simple fabrics were used morefor curtains and furniture. However, the Vagirei pattern withthe plant-based design was also rarely used in these textilesas well, but the Vagirei and Ghabi designs with natural andabstract plant-based motifs (especially the Paisley) wereused more often in the production of bed covers. SimpleGhabi patterns in checkered forms were also sometimesused in bed-clothes wrappers. The illustrations show thatthe Moharramat pattern was a common pattern duringthe early Nasseri period. The Afshan pattern with smallflowers was rarely used on tablecloths, cushions and bedcovers. Regarding the Mehrabi patterns with the abstractmotif of cypress as well as the Toranjdar patterns witharabesque motifs, they have been used on wall coveringsand curtains, types that are formally reminiscent of ikat andGhalamkar fabrics. The illustrations not only give us cluesas to patterns and motifs, but also convey the message thatthe simple fabrics were something like velvet or satin, andthe Moharramat types were woven with the simplest textilemachines or the ikat technique were made of cotton andsilk depending on their use. Termeh fabrics used to makebed covers had a woolen material and were of the ikat,silk or cotton types. It seems that Mehrabi and Toranjdarfabrics were also produced using the Ikat weaving methodor by additional operations such as printing and embroideryon cotton fabrics. Finally, regardless of the material andproduction method, Moharramat types such as Termehwere the most widely used types of all.