Inscriptions of Early Islamic Buildings in Iran from a Historical Perspective, Based on Sheila Blair's Viewpoints

Problem Definition:

There are different approaches in the study of Islamic art, each of which offers different interpretations of Islamic art. Among these, the historical approach emphasizes the two components of contextualization and interpretation and seeks the genealogy of Islamic art by referring to the characteristics of the historical sequence. Influenced by this point of view, «Sheila Blair» investigates Islamic studies, and the most important orientation of her thought, when dealing with Islamic art, is to pay attention to the historical context in which the work is formed. Therefore, the current research seeks to answer the following question: «How can Sheila Blair's method and perspective reveal the understanding and acceptance of Islamic artworks»?

This research aims to pinpoint the historical perspective of Sheila Blair in the identification and reading of inscriptions in Islamic architecture.

The current research was carried out using a descriptive-analytical method and qualitatively analyzed library information and documents.

The results show that by using this type of study, it is possible to achieve a specific pattern of establishing the structure of the inscriptions, which is effective in identifying the date of anonymous works. Based on the historicist method, Blair considers Islamic art and architecture as a phenomenon that is the product of historical truth. Based on this, what is important in the first stage of his research method, including in the book entitled «The first inscriptions in the architecture of the Islamic period of Iran», are material and mostly tangible evidence, and mystical, spiritual, and transcendental interpretations have no place in her attitude. Blair considers the main reasons for the presence of religious inscriptions to be their preaching message and, in examining the content of religious inscriptions with an emphasis on historical aspects and a formalistic view, she obtains comprehensive information in this regard. Her research, including the book under review, besides providing a list of the most important inscriptions of the Islamic era of Iran, is a very useful reference for learning how to deal with inscriptions. In general, Blair records the inscriptions with a historical perspective and provides researchers with detailed information on the description of each inscription in terms of content, history, and geography, as well as formal and calligraphic analysis, which reveals a wide range of Islamic artworks for researchers in this field.