Lost Paradise: A Study of Peacock Motifs in the Exterior of Monuments in Isfahan

Peacock motifs with various visual features have appeared in the exterior of some religious and non-religious monuments of Isfahan in various or repetitive patterns. The appearance of these icons with various mythological implications, ancient meanings, and Islamic beliefs in the context of a few hundred years reveal the skills of Iranian artists and architects. This study first examines the background of the peacock and its positive and negative position in the art and literature of ancient Iran and, then, the Islamic period. afterwards, for the first time it studies the characteristics and visual structures of peacock motifs used in the exterior of Isfahan monuments, In this study, field study and library study have been undertaken, and descriptive-analytical method has been deployed. A total of eighteen peacock-motif specimens were selected, from the oldest surviving specimen (Jorjir Mosque belonging to Dailami era) to the contemporary period which mainly belong to the Safavid, Qajar, and Pahlavi eras. The present study intends to evaluate the morphology, the execution method, the color, and the framing of peacock motifs along with an evolution of its use in the facade of the building. Based on the studies performed and analysis done on the visual structure of the peacock motifs in the exterior of Isfahan monuments, it has been found out that certain shapes and color features in peacock motifs have varied or repeated over centuries, mainly from Safavid to Pahlavi eras. Different forms of peacocks have often been a combination of iconic and abstract methods. Most peacocks are paired, and in a small number of specimens they are just one with an open fan-like tail. In all of these peacock motifs, the designing is two-dimensional and profiled. Peacock motifs are mostly presented in the form of triangles (body, wings and tail of paired peacocks) and circles (fan-like trailheads and feathers of individual peacocks) which are framed in geometric shapes, round arces, and pointed arches. The most commonly used colors are green, azure, turquoise, green, and ochre imitating somewhat the natural colors of the peacock. Also, in some samples from Qajar and Pahlavi, new colors such as pink and red have been used in tiles. The colors in the background of these tiles are mainly seven colors-mosaics and the technique of execution and sometimes the technique of patterns are discreet and simple in non-religious buildings (residential and shops) and magnificent and outstanding in religious buildings.