Islamic Ornamental Textiles or Sassanid Designed Textiles, Christian Clavos-Tablion

Statement of the Problem:

 Islamic Ornamental Textiles or Sassanid Designed Textiles, Christian Clavos-Tablion are weavings that, in the past, belonged to certain spiritual and courtiers, especially Islamic caliphs, Sasanid kings, and Christian emperors, because of their social and political prestige. The design and making of the Islamic Ornamental Textiles show the influence and continuity of Sasanid and Christian art, which has not been researched for its historical attribution. The present research addresses two questions: “What are the points of similarity and difference between Islamic Ornamental Textiles or Sassanid Designed Textiles and Christian Clavos-Tablion?” and “Which design of the Sassanid style and Clavos-Tablion has influenced the Islamic Ornamental Textiles?”

This research aims to describe and recognize Sassanid Designed Textiles, Christian Clavos-Tablion, as evidence to influence the Islamic Ornamental Textiles.

The current research method is descriptive-historical. The data has been collected through library and museum websites. First, the Islamic, Sassanid, and Christian textiles are described based on historical and visual sources, and then according to the shapes, motifs, and designs, influence of the Islamic Ornamental Textiles has been determined and qualitatively analyzed in the evaluation section of the research.

 In terms of structure and decorative elements, the Islamic Ornamental Textile continues the tradition of Sassanid and Christian textile weaving. They first followed the Sassanid style in terms of the type of textile, production method, and design, and then, in the final path of their transformation and change, they modeled themselves on the Christian Clavos-Tablion forms, with the difference that the early Islamic scripts were placed in the Islamic Ornamental Textile instead of the Christian elements. Like Sassanid Designed Textiles and Tablion, the Islamic Ornamental Textile has a prime material and spiritual importance, and like the Christian Tablion, it is a modified form of the Christian Coptic Clavos decorative strips.