مجله هنر و تمدن شرق
پیاپی 26 (زمستان 1398)

The study of the synagogue is the exploration of the history of Israel. There are no periods of life imaginable without this place of public praying and religious teaching. Synagogue was very soon transformed into the main center of Judaism and, due to the same reason, long after Jews’ scattering, Jews’ beliefs and rites were preserved. The synagogue was the center of the Jewish society’s activities the same way that Jerusalem Temple was the center of all Jews. In fact, the synagogue was a small sacred place for the compensation and lack of the main temple for the scattered Jewish community. Therefore, disregarding the idea that how can the details of synagogues’ construction differ in various countries, the building of the synagogue and the praying and rituals in them are the most important visible manifestations of Judaism; the main goal of their construction was the unification of the Jews who were scatrtred all around the globe. The main purpose of the current study is to introduce the method of the Jewish ideas’ formation regarding the construction of the synagogue. Assuming the effect that the Jewish mindset has on the construction of the synagogue in Isfahan, Juybareh Neighborhood, the present study presents historical-interpretive research to find answers to the following questions: how can the Jewish mindset influence the architectural design of the synagogues in Isfahan? How can the survey and observation of the synagogues in Juybareh Neighborhood in Isfahan help to figure out the formation of the synagogue in Iran?This article initially deals with the formation of the Judaism, history of Judaism in Iran, including Isfahan, and Jewish thoughts in the construction of synagogue; then, using survey observations and records in Juybareh Neighborhood, several samples of synagogues are analyzed and investigated. The recognition and classification of the architecture in Isfahan’s synagogue enables a better perception of the synagogues’ spaces.

Iranian art is a symbolic and mystical reflection of realities and truths. Mythological-symbolic culture of Iran is closely related to the nature and earthly and heavenly elements of it. Since time immemorial, the agricultural life conditions across Iran have always forced people to be dependent on water and as a result this has led to the consecration of this sacred element. Presence of the elements related to water, like plants and birds, and particularly ducks, in various eras of the history of art in Iran, bespeaks of the colorfulness of the nature-grounded beliefs by Iranians. Since the motif of this bird has become manifested in arts in the Sassanid era and in the heydays of worship of Anahita (Goddess of World Waters), one can raise the hypothesis that duck is a symbol of Anahita, the goddess of fertility and pure waters. On the other hand, given the historical past, duck could have been used as a motif representing a bird that was found in countless numbers in Iran’s canebrakes and considered to be an indigenous species in the region. The motif of duck can be seen on containers and objects in decorative and applied arts of Iranians and its continuation in the Islamic era to Safavid era is visible. This motif has been repeated in the history for several times but no independent study has yet undertaken the explanation of its continuous presence. In this article, after a short review and identification of the motif of duck in each era we have sought to answer the question what changes have been made to the meaning and form of motif of duck in the art of Iranian people from the ancient times up to the Islamic era. This study is of theoretical and exploratory type and it drew upon a descriptive and analytic method to analyze the data collected through library and electronic sources which contain the pictures of ducks in decorative and applied arts of various historical eras. It seems that artists have had a realistic view of the ducks in the beginning and they would picture what they saw in their surrounding environment and in the course of time the motif of ducks has turned to a symbol with a spiritual and royal content insofar as at the climax of this process the duck has been pictured as a goddess. Finally, after a while and following the developments occurred in the beliefs of people, it has declined to a mere decorative motif.

This study is an attempt to investigate the death landscape of the Iron Age in the Central Qaradagh Region of Eastern Azerbaijan. The mountainous zone of the Central Qaradagh has a semi-arid climate. It has been one of the main access passages of Eastern Urmia Lake to the Southern Caucasus in the prehistoric era. According to the evidence obtained from archaeological investigations, during the Iron Age, in this area, we are mostly faced with living systems that are not dependent on stable settlements. There are rarely much evidences left except graves and some evidence of temporary residence. The ecological features and the lack of soils suitable for agriculture have prevented the formation and development of settlements systems in this area. Based on the clay fragments and graves shape, the collection of the archaeological evidence obtained from this area is included under the Iron Age. The death landscape deals with the relation between the funerary evidence and the geographical landscape deals with the social and ideological aspects. What is the most important in the relation between the ancient graves and the environment is the non-arbitrariness of their location. In this regard, through the use of the GIS, the logic of the graves distribution can be clarified and they can be sociologically and ideologically interpreted. In order to do so, the environmental and cultural information of the graves and the areas enclosed in this region must be investigated and analyzed. The most important criterion for graves distribution in the death landscape of this region is the different types of these graves that can be marked in different ethno-sociological groups.

The minimalists who express their ideas and concepts using minimal elements have influenced the artists of the world, including the use of this feature in contemporary poster design is remarkable. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Iranian poster designer of minimalist methods. Minimalism, known as the end of modern art and the beginning of the new postmodern era, has had a major impact on the work of contemporary designers; and graphic designers are influenced by this trend around the world especially in the field of poster design, the pursuit and creation of works are as easy as possible that will have the most impact on the audience. Iranian artists have also been affected by this trend in recent decades. The research method of this study is descriptive-analytical and the results show that in poster design of Iran, fifth generation graphic designers are influenced by minimalism and have been applied in some works. Whereas in the next generation posters of Iranian graphic designers, the tendency towards minimalism and cultural-artistic symbols is directly influenced by the characteristics of western minimalism and the features of Iranian art are less used.

Studying and analyzing the findings of ancient times, in addition to gaining historical insights about that period, can alter human readings of the dual relationship between man and the environment. The ancient area of ​​Burnt City is one of the border civilizations of the Hirmand River Delta in present-day Sistan and Baluchistan province. The region has survived in four historical periods and is one of the most important civilization centers in the third millennium BC.This article is divided into two sections, Introduction and Analysis of Architectural and Urban Data, and seeks to answer the question of what architectural considerations and interventions have the members of ancient civilizations had in their urban environment? In the data analysis section, the way the residents of the burnt towns are treated with the issue of housing, architecture and urban planning has been examined with regard to archaeological evidence. In this section, more than any other documentation, it relies on the published images of this ancient area captured by UNESCO during the World Census of the World, and the maps of the ancient city have become understandable 3D images. By adapting the main features of the Sistan climate to architectural and city findings from archaeological excavations, the author attempts to show the type of inhabitants of the burned city with the bed.

Sangab is a large, stone container that was placed in the courtyard and at the entrance to sacred and public places and used to quench thirst. Sandstone eruption peaked in the Safavid era and is closely linked to Shiite thinking and the sanctity of water among Iranians. The rise of the Safavid state changed the social and cultural structure of Iran. During this period, Iran's political and religious worldview changed dramatically, and the national government was formed on the basis of Shiite ideas, which then shaped national-religious art. Many ancient Iranian symbols were re-used on the basis of new thinking. The motifs and ornaments of the Safavid era were inspired by such thinking. The present research is based on field and library data collection and using a descriptive-analytical method that while introducing water status in Iranian culture introduces Imamzadeh Shah Seyed Ali Isfahan. This article attempts to study its motifs and to trace these motifs in terms of concept and structure in Iranian art. This syllabus has some of the highest national and religious messages in symbolology. The symbolic use of the concept of water, the role of the lion and the sun, and the sacred tree (between two animals), as well as the face of the continuation of the tradition of Iranian pre-Safavid embroidery, especially pre-Islamic Iranian art, illustrates new concepts. Influenced by Shiite religion it is best stated that no other sangab or other work has been repeated with such beauty.This research is objective and fundamental in its development. It is analytic-descriptive. In the course of field study of Sangab, library and study of articles and documents, their symbolic motifs and origins are studied.