مجله جلوه هنر
سال هفتم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1394)

There are many images with the subject of The Miraj of Prophet Muhammad in Persian miniature painting but these works are different from each other in terms of stylistic features of Persian miniature painting, technique; quality and narration. They were also impressed by the intellectual situation of their era and the ideas of their patrons. In this regard, there are two prominent and famous miniature painting with remarkable and unique features from Safavid era which are The Miraj miniature paintings of the Khamseh of Nizami and the Falnameh of Tahmasebi referred as Aghamirak. In both of these miniatures the mystic journey of Prophet Muhammad are depicted at the middle of the journey while the angles came to welcome him but in each work, different visual elements and measures had been practiced so that each miniature present different art narration and quality. The main questions are that, in each miniature based on which narration the visual elements and measures were arranged and presented? And what did they transfer in terms of meaning and quality? In order to answer these questions, first visual elements of two miniatures are compared in detail and then the intellectual and artistic situations of their production time are studied. The research method is descriptive – analytical and comparative one and the data are collected by library-based technique.
The results show that the application of visual elements and measures led to the creation of a symbolic, mystic and Hermeneutics narration in Khamseh’s miniature and a Shia, propagandistic and explicit narration in Falnameh’s miniature. In these two cases, quality, narration, intellectual, religious, artistic and patronage situations had important and notable impacts on the production.

Mythology in ancient Iran has always brought different meanings; however some of these myths such as lion and bull have a special position in beliefs of Iranians and they were well remembered by people of this land. The purpose of this paper is to study the specific position of these myths in illustrations of Kalila and Dimna manuscripts and their influences on miniature painting. This research attempts to provide some answers to this main question: what are the influences of lion and bull in ancient Iran on illustrations of lion and bull in Kalila and Dimna manuscripts? For this research, descriptive-analytical research method and library-based documents have been applied. The results of this research indicate that from ancient times, mythology had a significant role in creation of art works and artists of Islamic periods used these motifs in different arts especially in Iranian miniature painting. In fact mythological and ritualistic aspects of lion and bull can be observed clearly in illustrations of Kalila and Dimna manuscripts and therefore the meanings of these motifs can be generalized, interpreted and decoded.

There are many images throughout the holy Quran as the biggest written miracle. One of the reasons for Quran simplicity and understandability is that its subjective concepts are figurative and tangible. Since the holy Quran is in Arabic and Arabic language is an illustrative one in its nature, illustrative properties of Arabic language helped a lot in formation of Quran’s artistic images. In the theory of “artistic illustration of Quran verses”, Seyed Qotb believes that holy Quran has advantaged from "image" rule for expression of different meanings in best possible way. For him this rule is General and comprehensive and also the best means for Quran’s expression. By applying Descriptive-analytical research method and library-based data collection technique, the present research attempts to study the characteristics of this theory and its manifestations in artistic illustration of Quran verses in order to attract God-fearing men's attention to this ocean of art and thought and represent another aspect of the miraculous beauty of the holy Quran to enthusiastic people for understanding the revelation.

Among cultural Islamic edifices in India, TajMahal has obtained a considerable reputation and in spite of being placed on Islamic art category, it has been noticeably popular among non-Moslems as well. Due to some less discussed characteristics, this paper aimed to study these features through historical and descriptive research method in order to achieve more accurate meanings. Existing significant forms, in addition to the purpose of the building as a tribute to human grandeur, suggest the human representation as a microcosm that its quiddity and quality are the questions of this research. In order to understand these signs, first, the concept of microcosm has been studied comparatively among various cultures. Moreover the representations of relevant concepts, which are death and renaissance, have been assessed in visible and hidden forms and embellishments. The results showed that these significant forms on one hand have materialized the criteria of Hindu and Renaissance cultures, and also have observed Islamic rules through semi-hidden and abstract styles. It has led audiences to communicate with the building, having any taste, belief and interest, in modernity or tradition, and the role of this quality in TajMahal’s huge reputation cannot be overlooked.

Plants had a special importance in different ancient religions and cultures and due to different reasons some of them had sacred and mythological status which was derived from people’s religious beliefs. They also had significant impacts on people’s practical lives and based on these features they were manifested in art of each era. In ancient Iran, some plants had specific importance and were considered as sacred plants. In Achaemenid era when Iranian art achieved a coherent style, plant symbols were widely represented in this art which were according to Zarathustra’s teachings and beliefs. Sassanid who thought themselves as the heir of Achaemenian art, continued to use and keep these plant symbols and myths in their various art works. By applying descriptive-analytical research method and library-based documents, this paper attempts to provide recognition of mythological and Sacred Plants, determination of the origins of these mythological and their importance and roles in Sassanid art. The research results present that the use of motifs of mythological and Sacred Plants served decorative, symbolic and religious purposes. In another word, they were rooted in religious beliefs of that era and they symbolized blessing, mercifulness, fertility, immortality, and even the continuity of monarchy and authority.

Pictorial carpets form a relatively large part of Qajar carpets and significant numbers of them illustrate rich Persian poetry and literature. By using inscriptions, this concept had been manifested in many of Qajar pictorial rugs. This paper aims to introduce underlying and effective factors in process of illustration in Qajar carpets and to study a class of pictorial carpets which include the poetic themes related to stories of Bahram Gūr. In this regard the main question of this research is the relations between the themes of inscriptions, illustrations’ style, source of inspiration and the importance of subject matter (stories of Bahram Gūr). The main purpose of this research is to answer and investigate the above mentioned points. The conducted studies indicate that due to special status and thematic importance of these stories in that particular era, they reflect political, social and cultural situation of that time. The authors have a historical-descriptive approach to this subject. Moreover, the data has been collected by library-based method and the research method is descriptive –analytical one.

In the history of Islamic reign, Fifth Hijri century is contemporaneous with reign of the Seljuq dynasty that was supportive of arts and culture. On the other hand the time period of this dynasty is simultaneous with eleventh century A.D which is a part of medieval era in West. Unlike to the unprecedented developments in Islamic arts of Seljuqs era, in medieval era Western art did not enjoy a considerable level of progression due to the unstable and chaotic situation of that time. Nevertheless, this period had a considerably advantageous characteristic which is, indeed, the interrelations of East and West as a result of different factors such as the first Crusade. These relations led to some cultural and artistic exchanges and consequently some interactions of which the reflections could be seen in the artworks handed to us from that time. The present research studies the metalwork of Seljuqs and their western medieval peers, emphasizing on the impacts of former one on the latter. In order to do so, the written historical documents have been used as well as pictorial sources. The data has been worked on through theoretical- analytical method along with inference.