فصلنامه نگره
پیاپی 58 (تابستان 1400)

The construction of the Shushtar Mosque was completed in the year (512-529) AH. The construction began in 254 AH. The Kufic inscription (Surah Yasin) on the wall of Shushtar Grand Mosque’s altar is one of the successful examples of the Kufic script as architectural decoration. This inscription is thirty-two meters long and contains verses 8 to 23 of Surah Yasin. It is a combination of simple and barg-dar Kufic script with plastered Islamic motifs in the background. This study aims to discover the structure and visual features of Kuifc inscription (Surah Yasin) in Shushtar Grand Mosque. The questions are: what are the constituent structures in the written system of Kufic inscription (Surah Yasin) in Shushtar Grand Mosque? What visual features and capabilities does it have? The research method is descriptive-analytical and data are collected from library and field research. Data analysis is qualitative and based on logic and reasoning. This inscription is thirty two meters long and forty centimeters wide which shows the height of the vertical letters such as (الف). The letters (د), (ک), and (ط) and in some words the letters (ن), (ر), (ی) and (و) have the same height as vertical letters such as (الف), (ل) and (ط، ظ). The letters (د), (ک) and (ط) are designed similarly which lead to mistakes in reading. The artist also paid special attention to design of the letter (لام-الف) due to its semantic and symbolic values. The letter (لام-الف) consists of eight types which are similar in appearance, but different in details. The letter (لام-الف) in the Kufic inscription (Surah Yasin) of Shushtar Grand Mosque is very similar to the letter (لام-الف) in Kufic inscription of Golpayegan Grand Mosque’s altar (508 AH). Moreover, the whole form of the letters is schematically similar to the Kufic inscription (Surah Yasin), but Islamic motifs are not used in the background. This similarity can show the origin of the Kufic inscription of Shushtar Grand Mosque. The Kufic inscription (Surah Yasin) of Shushtar Grand Mosque follows a systematic structure of Kufic script including the written system and vegetal design system with the most various letters in the written system. Nine guidelines are used to design the letters and their connections in the words. Eight guidelines are used in the written system and ninth guidelines show the height of the vertical letters, two of which are background baselines and the letters’ connections are placed on them in the whole inscription. Six other guidelines determine the beginning and the end of the letters in the written system. Each letter starts on a guideline and ends on another guideline; the letters are designed so that they do not cross over the guidelines. The eight horizontal guidelines are placed with the same distance from each other, on which the letters’ structure in the inscription’s words is designed. The guideline (1):  all the arcs of the letters (ف), (ع), (ه), (ن), (و) and (ی) in the entirety of the thirty-two-meter long inscription end on this line. The guideline (2): the end of circles in letter (م) and the final line of letter (د) as well as the end of elongation in letter (و) in the whole length of the inscription end on this guideline. The guidelines (5), (6), (7) and (8): the beginning of the letters and the end of arcs in the whole length of the inscription are placed on these guidelines. To know about how the structure of the Kufic inscription (Surah Yasin) of Shushtar Grand Mosque is designed, we can say that the artist has used checkered pages with specific proportion of units, so that all the thickness of the horizontal and vertical letters as well as the guidelines for designing the horizontal letters follow a specific size. After systematically executing the text of the whole inscription and placing it on the tabulation of all horizontal and vertical letters on the lines of the checkered page, all the proportions regarded in this inscription led to a general appropriateness in the thirty-to-meter long inscription. About the whole space of the inscription, the space between the eighth to the ninth guideline is twice the space of the written system. The empty space between the elongations of the high letters such as (الف) is various in the whole inscription which is repeated over and over throughout the inscription, equally creating a rhythm of negative spaces. What is clear in the structure of this inscription is the rhythm of empty spaces throughout the inscription filled with designs of Islamic motifs that are related to the meaning of the verses (of Surah Yasin). Using Islamic motifs in the spaces helps balance the positive and negative spaces in the structure of the inscription.

The story of Noah's Ark has been a topic of interest among illustrators since ancient times due to its marvelous and unique features. The theme can be seen in works of art from the Ilkhanate and Timurid eras among others, which show the emergence of different visual elements in illustrations with the same theme, but from different times. It seems that the stylistic rules of each period and the views of the authors and patrons of these works have influenced the illustration method of this Qur'anic story. During the Ilkhanate and the Timurid periods, the support of art and culture was mixed with religious contexts. There are many similarities in the religious contexts and conditions leading to the writing of the books Jami' al-Tawarikh and Majma' al-Tawarikh. Since these two books have common features, including a historical-religious section and illustrations that are influenced by the text, and also considering that they are the first examples of teamwork among Iranian artists, the comparison and analysis of Noah's Ark illustrations in these two books can offer useful information for identifying the first examples of Qur'anic illustrations created by the tradition of teamwork of Iranian artists. This study aims to find the most faithful illustration of the Qur'anic narrative of Noah's Ark in Jami' al-Tawarikh and Majma' al-Tawarikh. The main research questions are as follows: how are visual elements (line, color, and composition) used to express this Qur'anic story in the two illustrations and which is the most faithful to the Holy Qur'an's narrative of Noah in terms of visual features. Accordingly, first, the narratives of Noah's Ark in the Holy Quran, Jami' al-Tawarikh, and Majma' al-Tawarikh were reviewed. Then, the features of Tabriz I and Herat illustration schools and also the visual elements of two paintings, as the target population, were compared in detail. The research method used in this study was descriptive-analytical-comparative. The review and data collection method was secondary research through observation and a qualitative method was used for analysis. According to the findings, the use of visual elements, and visual arrangements in the Jami' al-Tawarikh illustration of Noah's Ark do not reflect the prominent details of the Qur'anic narrative. In this illustration, Noah's Ark is in fact a boat carrying only seven people with no sign of the animal pairs. The oar and the anchor are two of its key elements, suggesting that the vessel is being sailed by its passengers. This goes against the Qur'anic narrative that the movement of Noah's Ark was by God's will. Furthermore, the foamy waters—an element of Chinese illustration—fail to reflect the violent waves of the storm or the "waves like mountain" in the Qur'anic sense. All of these go to show that the illustrator was not completely faithful to the details of the story of Noah as expressed in the Holy Qur'an. In Majma' al-Tawarikh, the illustration of Noah's Ark features more details of the Qur'anic narrative than the previous illustration. At the first glance, the use of visual elements is such that it conveys the distress and anxiety caused by the storm to the viewers. In order to express the grandeur of Noah's Ark, the illustrator has painted it such that it protrudes from the three corners of the frame, and the ark's front and sails are on the frame whereas its back is drawn under the frame. This somehow conveys the movement of the ship to the audience. In this illustration, a series of animals are depicted individually and not in pairs, which is more in line with the Qur'anic narrative compared to that of the Jami' al-Tawarikh version. The illustration also depicts Noah's disobedient son, who is hanging on to the ark as if hoping for salvation, whereas in the Qur'anic narrative he escaped from the ark. Nevertheless, the existence of this element indicates that this illustration is more similar to the Qur'anic narrative comparatively. Overall, it can be concluded that the illustration of the narrative of Noah's Ark in Majma' al-Tawarikh is more in line with the Qur'anic narrative of the story of Noah.

This research aims at investigating the illustrated version of Nezami's Khamseh registered under No. 5/39 in the Malek National Library and Museum; to compensate for the fact that there are various pictured versions of the work in museums and libraries that, unfortunately, have not yet been researched. Generally speaking, Nezami's Khamseh is one of the masterpieces of Iranian literature and art and is amongst the versions always attracting the attention of artists because of its high illustrative aspects and type of stories. The version under investigation dates back to the 9th century AH; however, it was rewritten. The rewriting author tried to write new pages in the same style as of the main author. Also, some illustrations were added to the version concerned. After introducing the aforesaid version and unknown images, the formal details and artistic specifications of illustrations were also investigated and analyzed. The versions include 20 single-illustrations in Nastaʿlīq script and no information is available on the illustrators and the patron. The questions of this research are: 1-What are the visual, aesthetic and thematic features of the version of Nezami’s Khamseh registered under No. 5/39 in the Malek National Museum? 2-Which parts of the version belong to the Timurid period and which parts are related to the Qajar period? According to the results, illustrations of Nezami's Khamseh may be categorized in five classifications: romantic, feast, battle, hunting and meeting. Furthermore, amongst special visual properties of the version are irregular design of figures, hasty design of scenes, multitude of figures, use of warm, cold and shiny colors, balanced distribution of live colors in the composition as well as style affinity of Nezami's Khamseh images with aesthetic principles on the basis of Iranian and western painting traditions. The methodology and nature of the research are fundamental and descriptive-analytic, respectively. The library method was used to collect the data. The answer to the second question is that the cover of the work and all illustrations and a number of pages in which the title of the story is in a rectangular frame containing plant designs belong to the Qajar period, while the other part with no designs belongs to the Timurid period.The culture and history of Islamic art in Iran has always been linked to spiritual customs; customs that have been formed within the Islamic tradition and have established a set of relations and relationships on this basis. Therefore, in the traditional Islamic art of Iran, there is an inevitable link between different types of art and literature, and each of the arts, according to its capabilities, has sought to manifest an aspect of the eternal truth of the universe. In the field of visual arts, Iran as one of the most important centers of the art of Islamic civilization, has offered a kind of painting to the world that shows the spiritual link especially to the Islamic mysticism. This art has a close relationship with the illustration of mystical books and texts and has always portrayed the mystical manifestations of poets and mystics in a special way and exposed them to viewers. Examples include Haft Awrang of Jami, Divan of Hafiz, and Bustan of Sa’adi, but among all these, Nezami’s Khamseh has a special status.Khamseh is a collection of five books of poetry, also known as Panj Ganj (The Five Treasures). Whenever Nezami talks about Khamseh in his works, he calls it “treasure”. The book has five poetic Masnavis: Makhzan al-Asrar, Khosrow and Shirin, Leily and Majnoon, Haft Peykar, and Eskandarnameh (Sharafnameh and Eqbalnameh). Each of these five poems has been authored separately at different times. Generally, writing Khamseh has taken at least more than 45 years. This collection consists of about thirty-two thousand verses and was written from 571 to 599 AH relying on didactic literature. Khamseh illustration is one of the long-standing traditions of Persian art and it can be named as the most popular manuscript among artists and supporters in this regard after Shahnameh illustration. Throughout history, Iranian painting has always flourished, and valuable exemplars of it have remained. The study of Khamseh of Nezami in different schools is useful in the process of better evaluating the Iranian painting, since it is a single book that has been illustrated many times throughout the history of Iranian painting. Because this illustrated version was hidden in a private collection, no researcher was aware of it which has kept it away from interested people until today. Now, in this article, this precious work, belonging to two artistic eras of Iran in the 9th and the 13th centuries AH, is revealed that can provide new revised research on the artistic schools of the Timurid era as well as the art and artists of the Qajar period.

The origin of Armenian art in Iran dates back to the Median and Achaemenid eras. After the forced migration of the Armenians to Iran by Shah Abbas, the Armenian artistic heritage of Nizi was transferred to a new place. The lands of Armenia and Iran have been adjacent and have been culturally and politically connected for many centuries, so the Armenian people are among the Iranian tribes. In the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries AD, a large number of Armenian artists and scholars gathered in Julfa of Isfahan and engaged in artistic and cultural activities. Therefore, Julfa of Isfahan became the land of Armenian science and learning. The Armenians of Julfa founded the Higher School (Religious School) diligently. Graduates from this school were brilliant figures who presented valuable services throughout the history of Armenian civilization and culture. Also, the works created in the field of murals and miniatures by Armenian artists are worthy and admirable. In this research, 5 examples of drawings of the Julfa school of New Isfahan on the subject of the birth of Jesus Christ (PBUH) that exist in this museum have been studied. The research question is: on what basis have images of birth been depicted in the Bibles? The research method is descriptive-analytical and the method of collecting information is library research and online sources. The method of data analysis is qualitative. The statistical population is the Bibles that are kept in the Vank Church Museum. Numerous articles on the birth of Jesus Christ (PBUH) along with other topics such as evangelism, resurrection, etc have been done. The present study follows a methodical and deeper reading of the drawings of the Armenians of Isfahan with a focus on portrayals of the birth of Jesus Christ which concludes that these works are created as essential. In this research, first, the apparent meaning and stylistic features of the selected drawings and their place of writing and preservation have been determined, and in the second stage the relationship between drawings, stories and narratives on which the meaning of drawings depends. In the interpretation section, we studied how to choose symbolic values for images, stories and allegories. Given that Armenian painting is at the service of instructing the teachings of the church, these images are a reflection of these teachings and the life of Christ. Interpretation of these paintings indicates that the themes and views of the artists regarding the tradition of Armenian painting are based on historical facts, and the drawings of the Armenian manuscripts are based on fidelity to the historical facts. The connection of the paintings with the themes of myth (the archetype of the birth of the mythical worms) is revealed as well. The childbearing of a virgin is seen in the beliefs of many nations. The childbearing of a virgin mother, who is also a holy prostitute, is also mentioned in the Mahabharata narrations about a hero named Karna. In this narration, Princess Prieta, who is called Conti, gives birth to a son in virginity, whose father was the god of the Syrian sun. In Zoroastrianism, it is believed that three saviors pave the way for the emergence of Zoroaster at the end of time. In Bundahishn, it is said about these three sons of Zoroaster: “Before Zoroaster had mated; then they handed over the glory (Khvarenah) of Zoroaster in the sea of Kianseh to be taken care of to Aban Khvarenah, who is Nahid the goddess. It is now said that three lights shine on the seabed, to be seen at night. One by one, when the time comes, it becomes so that a maid shall go into Kianseh’s water to wash her head and Khvarenah shall entangle with her body and she shall get pregnant. Thus they one by one will be born in their own time”. In Jung’s view, Buddha, like Christ, is a symbol of his archetype. The birth of Jesus Christ (PBUH) from the Virgin Mary is the only example of the childbearing of a virgin that is true and the best evidence that childbearing of a virgin in myths and legends illuminates the fate of becoming a hero. Since Jung's approach to Christ is a psychological one, he considers Christ to be the full symbol of the archetype of self and mental wholeness: Premature evolution, miracles, death, the voice of angels, shepherds, etc. So, it is these attributes of Christ that make him the embodiment of himself. Undoubtedly, the results obtained in this research are the definitive and complete meaning of this painting and can be examined from other aspects as well, which shows the high capacity of Armenian painting for analysis and study as well as the requirement for further research regarding its various aspects.

Rereading first-hand texts on contemporary Iranian art and identifying the type of logical connection between contemporary art and thought in Iran can be considered as a key issue in the evaluation of contemporary Iranian culture and art. Simultaneous with the decline of the authority of traditional art and the rise of Western art in Iran, this art was not able to communicate with the Iranian audience as traditional art was. From this date on, a dilemma arose in Iranian art; more commonly referred to as the "identity crisis" and then a part of contemporary thought in Iran attempted to evaluate this crisis of identity and separation between society and contemporary art based on its identity-oriented perspective. Perhaps it can be expressed that identity is a set of individual or collective characteristics as well as cultural, psychological, philosophical, biological and historical characteristics which signifies unity or similarity, and distinguishes a particular person or community from other individuals or groups in a specific time and place. In this study, in order to compare the viewpoints of Jalal Al-e Ahmad and Dariush Shayegan on Iranian contemporary art, the process of how Iranian intellectuals are treated in a concise way has first been studied, and then, Jalal Al-e Ahmad’s and Dariush Shayegan's views on the Iranian contemporary art are considered separately. These views are directly influenced by their approaches to the issue of identity and their analyses and interpretations of the kind of exposure of Iranians to the new world. Mostly dispersed articles and cases have been published, through which one can, on the one hand, explore and identify the genre of their thinking about the type of contemporary art and contemporary world in the cultural and social layers of Iran. On the other hand, some kind of connection between some contemporary artists and contemporary scholars have been found, in order to finally identify the intellectual roots of Jalal Al-e Ahmad and Dariush Shayegan, with an emphasis on their type of approach, and the influence of these roots on the formation of the readings that led to the writing of articles in the field of theoretical studies of contemporary Iranian art, as well as the approach regarding these two thinkers’ thoughts about the Iranian contemporary art and the impact of these approaches on their writings in this case.According to the studies presented in this paper, the thinking of Jalal Al-e Ahmad and Dariush Shayegan has been formed on the subject of identity, which can be clearly traced back to the common roots of the formation of these ideas in "Fardidiyeh" meetings held at the house of "Amir Hossein Jahanbegloo". This kind of identity thinking pays more attention to dimensions and axes such as Iranianness, Islamism and modernity in analyzing and interpreting the socio-cultural actions of contemporary Iran and evaluates them from this perspective. However, the type of approach of these thinkers to analyzing and interpreting issues and consequently their orientation towards issues such as Iranianism, Islamism and modernity are different. Iranianness has a key impact on the identity of Jalal Al-e Ahmad and his views on contemporary Iranian art, and the issue of nationalism as well as the search for Iranian behavior and the emphasis on self-improvement or localization of imported concepts are issues that lead us to call Al-Ahmad's identity thinking a native one, because it tries to extend the culture and to keep the rich Iranian art in its national context and to maintain its independent expression in the global dialogue; an expression which in his interpretation is either not exotic or just as new and different for the exotic Iranian audience as for the non-Iranian audiences. Al-Ahmad began writing about contemporary Iranian art in the second period of his life; the period of separation from religion. But in the third period of life and the period of conversion, continuation of this religious approach is quite evident in the writings of the mentioned period. In contrast, Dariush Shayegan's writings on contemporary Iranian art are more expressive of his identity-oriented view in the third period of his thought. This identity-oriented view tends to explain the intermediate spaces in different cultural and social layers by using the terms “mobile identity” and “forty pieces”. It tries to introduce identity in a dynamic and fluid form and not a rigid and static one; an identity in which the concept of originality has different definitions than in the past, including the 1940s and the ideas of Jalal Al-e Ahmad. In other words, Shayegan considers Iranianism, Islam and modernity as intertwined and intertwined, and considers their relationship in contemporary socio-cultural issues as complex and inseparable in many respects. Therefore, here we call Shayegan’s identity thinking the planetary identity thinking.

During the Safavid period, Iran underwent great political and social changes. King Ismail, the first Safavid king, declared Shi'ism the official religion of Iranian society and in addition to establishing a unified dynasty, prevented its dissolution in face of the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks. Inside the country, Safavid kings maintained a balance between different political groups, which led to the establishment of complex social, political, and economic relations, as well as between the people and the government. Since in any political and social system, the relations that lead to its stability and strength can be predicted, the impact of these relations on the various pillars of society can be predicted. It seems that these conditions also exist in the social systems of art. Researchers who have used sociological studies in the field of art rely on theoretical assumptions with different implications. On the other hand, this relationship has affected artists in the Safavid period. Painting workshops have always been in the shadow of the support of the Shah and the influential supporters of the court throughout the history of Iranian painting. This support also existed traditionally during the reign of the Safavid Shah Tahmasb. With the support of the court, the painters have illustrated books such as Shahnameh and Khamseh Nezami. However, since the middle of the tenth century AH, due to the escalation of political wars between Iran and the Ottomans in the northwest and the Uzbeks in the northeast, as well as the upheavals in internal affairs, attention to art decreased. The purpose of this article is to obtain the factors and reasons that have changed the political and cultural developments during the reign of the Safavid Shah Tahmasb and its effect on the painting of this period according to the theory of reflection. Accordingly, this study seeks to answer the question of how Iranian painters during the reign of Shah Tahmasb I showed social changes in their paintings. In fact, this theory has shown us how socio-political influences affect social activities, including art. This theory holds that art is the mirror of society (or is conditioned or determined by society). This approach focuses on researching works of art to enhance our knowledge and understanding of society. The reflection approach in the sociology of art includes a wide variety of research, which is the common ground of all of them (art is the mirror of society). Due to its diversity of social reflections and the views of sociologists such as Plekhanov, Max Weber, Panofsky, Hauser, and Wolf, this approach examines the various conditions of society associated with political, cultural, social, and ideological life. The research method is descriptive-analytical and has been used to collect materials from library sources. The Safavid government has gradually reduced its authority over Ghezelbash and increased the authority of Shiite clerics. At the same time, the court system, and the sufficient skill of the Iranians in that regard, had dominated the general structure of the administrative system of government. These changes took place during Shah Tahmaseb's dominance and after a period of turmoil and chaos caused by the power that Ghezelbashs considered to be both a right and a responsibility in the court. However, the pressure exerted on the Shah from all sides, as the center of political and religious movements, caused his influence on members of society, including artists, to disperse from the court. This dispersion, along with the support of wealthy newcomers and the Indian court, led painters to experiment with a variety of subjects and paintings, which gradually changed the previous way and indicated independence in the type of commission and dealing with everyday subjects. Therefore, the following results can be enumerated:- The court's support for the royal workshops and its reflection in the colorful works have shown the importance of the painted manuscripts in the court.- The influence of the Shiite religion that led to Shah Tahmasb's attention to religious affairs has shown a pervasive spirit in the culture and society of that time. Producing and illustrating religious issues in works such as Shahnameh and Khamseh Nezami, in continuation of books of divination, have all been performed with religious themes.- Independence of artists from the court led to a change in the choice of painting subjects.- Changes in the economic pace of society and the emergence of the low-income wealthy as the new social stratum led to the production of works that were weaker in terms of pride and less colorful in terms of color.- Changing the themes of the paintings drew the painting towards more social and popular themes.

After the advent of Islam in Iran, the Islamic rulings imposed some restrictions on men's use of jewelry, while in various Islamic periods, especially in the Safavid period, based on records and texts, the dazzling glory of jewelry used by men of the high classes of society indicates the continuity, dynamism and flourishing of men's jewelry industry during this period. On the other hand, the mutually beneficial relations between the Safavid rulers and the Mughals of India had a great impact on the cultural and artistic fields at the courts of both countries. The production and consumption of jewelry and ornaments was no exception for sure. Since nowadays the use of jewelry in the public mind is more common among women, most of the research in this area is limited to studies on jewelry of women. So, men's jewelry and its types are less known or introduced among these two civilizations. Therefore, this article has been written with the aim of studying the types of jewelry of male courtiers in the Safavid period, and as a comparative study to determine the commonalities and differences between the jewelry used by men of this period and the jewelry of male courtiers at the court of the Mughals in India. In order to achieve this goal, a case study of these works in the Safavid period has been done based on the samples and texts or jewelry depicted in the paintings and its comparison with contemporary works in India (the Mughals of India). These works and artifacts have been mainly selected from remaining texts, especially travelogues, or from works and artifacts of Islamic Republic of Iran’s museums or abroad museums. The main questions of the present study are, based on the surviving works and artworks, what jewelry did the men at the two courts of the Safavids and the Mughals of India use? And what are the differences and similarities between the jewelry of the male courtiers of the Safavid period and the Mughals of India? It should be noted that due to the importance and multiplicity of diverse works of art in these historical periods, this research can be considered as an introduction to the wide range of jewelry, as one of the types of industrial arts and its various applications, and can illuminate an important part of the history. Due to the close political, cultural and artistic commonalities and proportions that existed between Iran and India in the period between the tenth and the early eleventh centuries AH, the influence and effectiveness of themes, forms, structure or even the technologies available in various fields of art in these two countries occur more than ever. The cultural and artistic momentum of this period is especially about jewelry making and the use of jewelry among men. The ornaments and Jewelry left from this period from the courts of both governments reflect the general commonalities in the shape and types of jewelry, and the styles of construction and decoration in this industry and art. Also, based on the evidence, it can be concluded that in the use of some types of jewelry in the Safavid court, along with decorative function, religious, talismanic, and amulet-wise functions had also been considered in manufacturing of all kinds of bracelets, rings, and sometimes necklaces, while in the court of the Mughals in India, the decorative feature of ornaments was clearly preferred over other aspects. The quantity of works engraved with religious themes, the mass of precious stones used, as well as the use of gold in men's jewelry, despite the prohibition of Islamic rulings, are among the reasons for this claim. Overall, jewelry in both countries seems to be a symbol of people's social status and rank which shows power, wealth and beauty. In this regard, it is suggested that in order to fully understand this part of industry and art in both countries, studies of gemology, carving and various types of jewelry decoration should be considered in future research. The descriptive-comparative research method and the information used have been obtained by the method of acquisition and through library resources and field study in museums inside or outside the country. The results of the research indicate that jewelry was used as a symbol to represent the social status of individuals in both the Safavid and Mughal states of India, and the close relationship between these governments, caused many commonalities in the types of jewelry, materials and methods of decoration. Despite minor differences such as the use of gemstones or greater diversity in the types and forms of jewelry in India during the Mughal period, many of the forms, materials, metals, and jewelry used for decoration by these two groups, such as collars, rings, earrings, belts, and armbands, were common.

According to the historical and geographical resources of the Islamic period, the city of Borujerd has always been regarded as an urban center since at least the first centuries of the Islamic era. The old mosque of “Atiq”, which is the oldest monument of the Borujerd city, has been identified by archaeological findings and architectural characteristics, to bear evidence of existence from the earliest Islamic centuries to the present time. In several stages of archaeological explorations in this mosque, which have mostly been carried out with the aim of renewal, many pieces of clay have been discovered in the campus of this ancient building which mainly date back to the middle-Islamic centuries. In recent years, with the implementation of some reconstruction projects and excavations in the old site of Borujerd city, some evidences of cultural and historical layers have been discovered which are indicators for the study of pottery in Islamic period. The present research, through applying classification and typology of pottery and studying the role of the carvings under the enamels of the excavated finds, aims at introducing the technical and artistic characteristics of pottery carvings under the Atiq mosque. Highlighting similarities and differences between the studied samples and the findings of pottery centers is another purpose of this study. The results of this study show that underglaze carving was the most widely applied method in pottery clay since 4-7 centuries AH in Islamic era. In terms of shape, the themes and techniques of glazed motifs are of considerable diversity and have many shared technical and artistic characteristics with other pottery areas of the same period, especially those of west of Iran.Borujerd, has been identified elsewhere as early as the second half of the third century in the Islamic era. Of the many names that Borujerd has been referred to during history, “Nahavand” and “Moon of Basreh” are the two most common ones. Since the fourth century and the formation of local governments, an increase of the role of western parts of Iran in the political-military developments could be seen. In the meantime, the city of Borujerd, took root and left a defining rule in the social and historical developments of that period due to being in the neighborhood of important cities such as Isfahan, Karaj Abodelf, Hamedan, and finally, Baghdad, which all flourished during the reigns of the Buyid and the Seljuk dynasties. The old texture of the Borujerd city has about 280 hectares of area. The central and primary core of the city is located in a range surrounded by the old Razan square, the Jameh Mosque of Soltani, Bazaar and the Jameh Mosque of Atiq. Despite the many works and signs of the existence of Islamic-period pottery in the area of study, including those in the old urban texture, layers and pottery, the area of Jameh Mosque has never been seriously and scientifically studied. In this regard, the present study was conducted with the aim of categorizing and classifying underglaze pottery carvings of the Jameh Mosque and the historical context of Borujerd, which count for a remarkable volume of glazed pottery and stained glass collection. It also intends to introduce the technical and artistic characteristics of this species in the study area. Therefore, this research is an attempt to answer questions such as: 1- What are the technical characteristics of the studied sgraffito pottery? 2. The artistic style of the studied samples is comparable to which well-known art patterns of this type of pottery? The present study was conducted by collecting information through library sources and field matching of field findings of this region with other regions.In the present research, the descriptive-analytical research method has been used. In this regard, after initial observation and through survey, the basis for sample classification was as follows: technical similarity, the subject of motifs, methods of glazing, and comparison with a variety of commonly studied species of this style in the first and the middle centuries which have been introduced, categorized and analyzed by researchers in the field and based on scientific research available in books and specialized publications. Therefore, the clay components of the index in terms of forms of dishes, diversity of enamels and the role of the classification and typology and their characteristics were analyzed.

There are unique masterpieces of wooden artworks from different periods after Islam, especially the Timurid and the Safavid eras, which in terms of technique and motifs significant similarities and differences can be seen between them. One of the special techniques used in these works is the Jovak technique. This technique is one of the techniques of wood industry, which has taken into account the track record of this work in conjunction with Khatam's technique, since no specific research has been carried out so far. Jovak is a unique technique applied in these works that has significant similarities to Khatam, yet at the same time, it remains an independent technique. One of the most important features of Jovak is the diversification of dyeing, as well as a technique that has a significant similarity to Khatam with differences in dimensions, and types of work. Two historical exemplars of this technique are the Jovak technique in the tomb of Sheikh Safi al-Din, located in the Porcelain House of this place, from the Safavid period, and the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi from the Timurid period. Khatam had been introduced before the Safavid dynasty, and in rare cases on wooden works such as the tomb of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardebili, in which the techniques of Khatam and Jouk are applied, can still be seen. Outside of present-day Iran, this technique can also be seen in various buildings, including the tomb of Sheikh Ahmad Yasawi. This research attempts to study the doors of these two complexes with the purpose of comparing the motifs of Jovak on them. The question of the research is regarding the kind of similarities and differences in used Jovak on the doors of these two complexes apropos the differences in time and location of works. The method of study is descriptive comparative, and has been conducted with a comparative approach and library and field studies. The statistical population of this study consists of two historical buildings of the tomb of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardebili and the tomb of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi, which is one of the valuable works of the Timurid period. The Porcelain House is the tomb of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardebili, ten of which doors have been omitted due to similarities and ten examples have been selected for study. Also, three doors of the burial hall in the inner part of the tomb of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi, have been selected for analysis. The analysis of the works is presented quantitatively and qualitatively. The analysis was carried out on the doors of the tomb of Yasawi, on which Jovak is mainly used in the most complex and at the same time the smallest motifs. The results show that in the Timurid period, and even before that, the technique of Jovak and Khatam were considered the same, but the research has shown that the Jovak technique has been much older than the Khatam technique. Therefore, in addition to the square and rectangular sections, triangles were used in Jovak as well as bone, brass, ebony, betel palm etc. as materials. However, the complete form of khatam and its peak were in the Safavid period, during which the technique of Jovak had been executed by previous methods in larger dimensions of Khatam and on different planes. According to the survey and the examined examples, it can be concluded that the technique of Jovak flourished in the Timurid period. The studies on these doors also show that during the Timurid period, the Jovak technique had been carried out with elegance and accuracy, and its diversity was more than that, but in the following period, the Safavid period, the motifs and the levels of Jovak grew larger. Furthermore, the type of materials used on these doors during the Timurid era include a wider scope than bone, brass wire, etc., though in the Safavid era, colored wood was used as well. In general, the method of work and tools are the same, and considering the Jovaks on these doors, it is quite obvious that there are a number of specific designs of Jovak on the doors of both sets, including the designs of Zalfak, a staircase, Janaki and a sample of Jovak that is made of colored woods, cut at different angles and placed next to each other, with the edges in the form of a narrow strip which are finally put together after being cut in layers. However, the differences between these doors are mainly evident in the Jovaks on the doors of the tomb of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi. They are placed in the margins of the frame and the page, but on the doors of the tomb of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardebili, the dimensions of the Jovaks have been executed identically in all parts of the door.

Akhavan-e- Haqiqi house has a number of similarities with other historical houses of this city, but it is among the most notable and outstanding examples of such houses which construction is ascribed to the Qajar period. Thus, considering the significance of this house with respect to architectural design, especially the notable aesthetic values of its various decorations, by focusing on mural paintings, especially the numerous small azure paintings in the butterfly cells (Shaparaki, in Farsi) of the murals and muqarnases of ceiling of the room, located at the western  side of the house, that are  similar to the series of fine landscapes on the geometric forms of the muqarnases in other rooms,  it is observed that they are among the paintings that, in addition to design, space, technique, and execution, are in contrast with other paintings of several adjacent levels in terms of subject matter; themes and designs that reflect the cultural context and the requirements of  the Qajar era.As mentioned, these paintings mostly consist of natural landscapes and events of everyday life, some of which are in the form of pure natural landscapes while others are the result of combination with various animal and human designs. With respect to subject and considering the environment, these paintings are prominently different from traditional painting and original symbolic art of Iran which is still present in neighboring surfaces, and this matter shows the eclectic nature of Qajar painting as well as modern naturalistic disposition of this art.These small paintings are called “Bedahenegari” or “Bedahesazi” due to their special and distinguished features so that these paintings are completely incongruent with conventional ornamentalism of neighboring surfaces. With respect to artistic method, these landscape paintings are naturalistic. Technique of performance is modeling and chiaroscuro method. Contrary to other paintings, these paintings have been drawn with a single color (azurite blue) and regarding their color value, they are complementing other neighboring warm-colored surfaces. Another feature of these paintings is the use of watercolor technique with transparent layers.It seems the painter has used a kind of impromptu and has abstained from the rule of symmetry, adjusting the motifs with the whole architectural space and use of sketch. He has often violated the rule of symmetry and painted with a kind of freedom of action and mind which somehow remind the viewer of children’s painting. Thus, he has used different motifs, subjects, themes and techniques on symmetrical surfaces.The present study has been conducted due to the lack of information regarding the literature review and to keenly bestow the proper attention which has not been paid to this subject yet. These are the artistic works which have been largely ignored, so the necessity of this research became evident. Accordingly, while referring to the significance and extraordinary and unique values of these paintings, the study seeks to answer the following question: What are the subjects and themes of the schemes used in these pictures? This research focuses on the typology of subject and themes of the azure mural paintings in the western room. This research aims to document, investigate, identify, classify, describe and explain the features of azure mural paintings via direct observation and descriptive-explanatory method.The type of sampling was purposeful and used the homogeneous sampling method. Furthermore, data analysis was performed based on the detailed classification and typology of the subject and theme. The statistical population consisted of 1358 azure paintings including: 436 human-centered landscapes, 330 animal-centered landscapes, 592 landscapes with a combination of humans, animals, buildings and etc. The painter’s use of certain literary themes (allegorical, historical, folk, mythological etc) is evident as well as attention to nature, natural themes and everyday events mixed with a kind of abstractionism and visualization of internal and personal worlds and states (simultaneous attention to internal and external worlds), and technique of free embossing. Also, lack of attention to details and Sadenegari (or stylization) with a kind of false perspective and dramatic chiaroscuro (simultaneous two-dimensional drawing and dramatic modeling), mostly symmetrical composition of works and displaying of humans and animals in a conventional balance (from opposite angle and at the center of plaque) are exhibited.The research results show that the topics and themes of azure landscape paintings have been drawn including various social, folk, historical, literary, imaginary, fantasy and mythical themes, especially natural themes, and it seems that they have been representative of the cultural values, folklore, beliefs, customs and traditions as well as conditions of life in the Qajar  period.