Comparative Study in Decorative Motifs of Achaemenid Architecture and Handicraft Motifs of That Era

The Achaemenids established one of the most influential empires in history that resided in the plateau of Iran, with politics and art given due consideration. The art of this period was a combination of local art and the art of other client nations, being widely in the service of the government. Most articles and books about Achaemenid motifs have studied motifs separately or compared them to similar motifs in other nations or eras. However, this research has investigated and compared widely used motifs of this period from a different perspective by putting them into two categories due to belonging to architecture or handicrafts. This study aims to investigate the degree of compatibility and relationship between the themes of architecture and handicrafts in the Achaemenid civilization and to find the formal and content-based relation between the handicrafts of the Achaemenid period and architectural motifs. The results of this study indicate the existence of commonalities and differences in the motifs used in these two groups of works and show that the art of this period was formed being influenced by factors such as ruling power, beliefs, climate, and even feelings and fears governing society. Also, having a similar client, i.e., the ruling authority, for most of the works and the connection between architect artists and handicraft artists are other factors of having common motifs in this period. The current research is descriptive and comparative in terms of method. Library research method was used to read and study the opinions of other researchers; the common patterns between Achaemenid architecture and handicrafts were compared by their appearance; and their source was found and pointed out.