فصلنامه نگره
پیاپی 64 (زمستان 1401)

The art of decoration and illumination of holy books has ancient origin, and history of the use of decoration in holy books can be attributed to the illuminated (gilded) religious manuscripts of pre-Islamic Manichaeans. Due to their religious and ritual function, this method of book decoration was transferred to the later cultures and religions, and in those religions and beliefs, it was transformed in accordance with their religious and intellectual principles and foundations. In other words, in some cases, they have remained as before one or have become more complete and complex, and in other cases, these patterns and motifs have been removed or refined. Islam and Christianity, for example, have used this method to express their prominent and sublime concepts. Some manuscripts of these holy books contain the pages known as the decoration or carpet pages (the term is common, especially in Christian and Jewish holy books); pages without text and filled completely by decorative (inhuman) motifs. The decoration of these pages is such that no empty space can be found in it. These pages are usually placed at the beginning of each four sections of the Gospel as well as at the first and the last pages of the Qur'an; like a brilliant gate that is a catharsis for the mind and spirit before entering and reading the sacred text. The earliest examples of these pages can be found in the Qur'ans belonging to the third century AH in Islamic realm (9th century AD) and the triple Insular Gospels in Ireland (7th to 9th century).As the same way, the purpose of this fundamental study was to elucidate the commonalities and differentiations between the arrays and motifs of the decorative pages in the Qur'anic manuscripts in the first centuries of Islam and the first gilded gospels in Insular art. The main query of this research focused on the degree of matching and differentiation between the motifs used in decorating these pages in the early gilded manuscripts of the Qur'ans and the Insular Gospels. In addition to the main research question, we can elaborate on the types of motifs and the way they are represented, as well as the roots and causes for using these motifs in the two books of Qur'an and Gospel. Since the first examples are usually effective to identifying the origins and causes of formation and development, the necessity and importance of research is determined in knowing more about causes of formation of patterns and its development and evolution. In fact, the comparison and description of these motifs in the first gilded Qur'ans and Gospels can also help to further clarify the patterns that evolved in later eras. For example, why in the illuminated manuscripts of Gospels, the arrays and motifs are more mature than in the first gilded Qur'ans?In the background of the research, we can only point to two comparative studies in Islamic and Christian manuscripts that were not related to the study of the designs and motifs of the Carpet pages of the holy books. One is the research by Shayestehfar (Shayestehfar, 2006) in which the decorative motifs of the Qur'ans of the Ilkhanid period and the illustrated Gospels of the contemporary Gothic period have been studied. Another is Shirazi's article (Shirazi, 2016) that studies the miniatures of scientific and literary books in the Islamic world (Seljuk period and the Abbasid school) and the art of book of Christianity (the third period of Byzantium and Romanesque style).By relying on a descriptive-analytical method and a formalistic approach, the present study compares the patterns and decorative elements in these pages. The method of data gathering in this study is searching the resources available in libraries and use of archives available at the European museums. Also, the procedure of data analysis in this qualitative study is inferential. The sampling of the works is based on the antiquity of the decoration pages in the Qur'an and the Gospel manuscripts. In the case of the Gospels, samples from manuscripts of Insular art (3 samples of the Bible) and in the case of the Qur'an, samples from manuscripts belonging to the third century AH (4 samples of the Qur'an) were selected and all their decorations and arrays were studied. As a result of this study, it was found that plant motifs as well as intertwined and geometric patterns (with the predominance of curved lines on broken ones) were used in the decoration of both Islamic and Christian manuscripts. Animal motifs, however, were found only in the Gospel versions. In terms of the amount of commonalities, it was found that in both manuscripts, lattice geometric patterns and intertwinements were very similar. The clear differences between decorative pages in the Qur'ans and the Gospels include the circular Celtic symbols, the Celtic knots, and twisted animal forms in the Insular Gospel manuscripts.

Throughout history and among various ethnic groups, there have been different beliefs about traveling to other worlds (the afterlife) that always draw the minds and beliefs of believers to religion. One of these journeys is the ascent to the kingdom of the heavens, which includes a wide range of mythological stories and has special stages and preparations. "Ascension" literally means "ladder", and in religious terminology of the Muslims, it is called "passing through earthly life and traveling to the heavens" by the Prophet of Islam (PBUH); like the Prophet's night journey to the seven heavens, the themes of which have always inspired artists and writers over time. The surviving images of the Illkhanate’s MirajNameh (ascension letter) (762-772 AH), and the Timurid MirajNameh (840 AH) have recounted and displayed the subject. Also, the images are illustrated separately with the subject of ascension among other manuscripts such as Khamsa of Nizami in the early tenth century. The images of the Illkhanate’s MirajNameh, which were probably ordered by the last ruler of the Illkhanate (Abu Sa'id), have been separated from their original text and the sequence of calligraphy and painting albums collected in eight leaves from Bahram Mirza Album (Muraqqa‘), which is kept in the Topkapi Library of Istanbul, has been added respectively. The Timurid MirajNameh, which was translated by the poet Mir Haydarand written by Malik Bakhshi of Herat in the Uyghur script, contains 61 images of the stages of the ascension of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) into the seven heavens and observation of the wonders of the unseen world, and the kingdoms of heaven and hell. Since in the first centuries of Islam, the ascension of the Prophet provided a chance for the storytellers to perform, to the extent that they used wonderful legends to enliven it, it can be argued that the narration of the ascension of the Prophet (PBUH) is through pretexts (source and reference texts) and resulting texts (texts created based on source texts) that are associated with ancient archetypal and mythological concepts and elements, in such a way that through accurate and objective recording of some events and places, it tries to face the audience with the universal facts contained in the myths to express the events and happenings that have taken place outside the custom and habit of the real world. Therefore, in this article, in order to recognize and examine the archetypal symbol and its meanings in the images of the above-mentioned MirajNamehs, following Northrop Frye's views on the theory of archetypal meaning and the way of literary reading of sacred texts, we consider the narrations of the ascension as of literary-combined texts and, in terms of research questions, argue how the Frye approach can be effective in analyzing and examining ascension images, and what the archetypal meanings in the images are, and how they are represented, which includes the study of the images in three aspects: heaven, hell, and deduction. From Frye’s point of view, there are three organizations of myths and archetypal symbols in literature. First, there is an undisplaced myth, the second organization is romance (based on analogy) and finally, we can name realism. Undisplaced myths are always related to the world of gods and demons, and the images in them are desirable (heaven) or undesirable (hell) which are often identified with the existential heavens and hells of the religions. In romance, we are confronted with a world in which mythical patterns of God and the demons assume the human identity and are more closely associated with human experience, in which the principle of displacement is used. From Frye's point of view, the archetypal symbol is a natural object with human meaning and is the product of human civilization. Therefore, archetypes have familiar cryptic associations according to the culture of each society and are considered as typical symbols in literary works and refer to specific cryptic associations. The results of studies based on the descriptive-analytical method and adaptation of Frye’s theory of myths, using library sources and qualitative analysis, show that the metaphors organizing books and sacred texts, such as Grammar, have been used for the images in the narrations of ascension. The archetypal symbol in the ascension narration and its images as messenger images can be classified and examined in two axes. The first axis is the archetypal images of hell, heaven, and deduction, and the second axis is the great chain of the universe, which can be categorized into seven layers of existence, including a deity, human, animal, plant, solid, water, and fire. Reading these hidden patterns in the narration and the story of ascension brings the narration of the story from the historical category to the meta-historical and archetypal level. Most of the images in MirajNameh are very close to the undisplaced metaphorical and mythical aspects of the sacred texts in terms of the analogy of innocence.

As a hypothesis is presented in this article: The motion of "Structure of Structures" is a factor that affected the movement of both sub-structures and arrays such as architectural ornaments. In the Abbasid era, philosophy was a macro-structure that penetrated other structures. In this epoch, some structures like literature, philosophy, Fiqh, and Kalam were flourished. Subsequently, Philosophy as a flourished structure had some effects on the motion of arrays. The "Nature of Faith" is an array in Islamic philosophy from a Hellenistic root that was activated by the movement of philosophy. The "Nature of Faith" was welcomed in Muslim societies, because it had similarities to Islamic principles. Jan Mukařovský as a theorist has believed that the motion of structure has affected the moving of other structures. Undoubtedly, the movement of philosophy had involved different arrays in early Islam. This idea has interoperated on ornaments of architectural space in the Abbasid era. Arabesque is an Islamic ornament that has two patterns; vegetative and geometrical. The article focuses on the vegetative pattern of arabesque that has been used in architectural space as a wall ornament. The paper aims to explain "Nature of Faith" as a reason for re-finding arabesque. The article's necessity is cognition of both theoretical and practical framework of re-finding arabesque in the Abbasid epoch. The research method is historical-interpretive, with three layers: description, analysis, interpretation in the argument part. The first layer narrates the theoretical subjects related to this issue. The second layer analyzes the received information in two phases. The primary phase illustrated the framework of the Nature of Faith in a pattern. The advanced phase set the analogical pattern for testing the hypothesis of this article. As proof for applying this method, the paper used the approach of Saussure in the Linguistics paradigm. The Linguistics paradigm has three patterns. The Semiotics pattern is one of these. The Semiotics pattern is organized of both Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic frames. This article paraphrases the Semiotics frames according to the form of arabesque as form analysis. The third layer interprets both form patterns and the structural framework of arabesque. The question of this research is: is there a relation between the "Nature of Faith" and the form of arabesque?In conclusion, when the structure of structures is moved, other structures will be moved. Islamic civilization in the third and the fourth centuries AH had faced a fact that had changed the structure of both philosophy and science. This change has had been based on variable changes that their effects in other subjects like arts are illustrated. Architectural arrays got impact from it as well. Undoubtedly, arabesque had declined until the Abbasid era. At this time, arabesque as a microstructure, like art was affected by other structures and motion. Re-finding the arabesque had two roots. The first root was influenced by Greece civilization (palmette). Another root was related to Iranian architecture, especially the Sassanid architecture. The structure of the theory of arabesque is like the "Nature of Faith" in terms of three points of the "nature", "motion" and "exportation". Thus arabesque's motion in this period would have been the face of the motion of the "Nature of Faith" as structure. The hypothesis of this paper is related to the following facts. First, the "Nature of Faith" is similar to the arabesque as structure and motion. Second, the movement of structures had affected the re-finding of the arabesque in the Abbasid epoch. Third, the essential sources of "Nature of Faith" that are "nature", "motion", and "exportation" had influenced the theoretical structure of the arabesque. Significantly, the fact of the export of "multitude from the monad" in the foundation of the "Nature of Faith" is the most similar to a theoretical form of the arabesque. A reason for confirming the hypothesis of this paper is a form translation of the arabesque to the theoretical base from philosophy in three objects. The Point, Line, and Surface are three essential parts of the arabesque that can have a similar reason to the "multitude from the monad". In arabesque, movement starts from a point, and the point is the first unit. This movement from the point eventually turns into a line, which is also composed of the same components of the point, but has a different structure. The line moves upwards in a twisting motion and shows a sign of growth and excellence. The line moves in the opposite dimension and forms the surface that is the ultimate arabesque form. This surface also consists of the components of the exact first point and it is a manifestation of the same character in another form. Finally, the article illustrated three patterns, and three forms for the effect of the Nature of Faith on the moving of arabesque.

All the Esmailid castles in Alborz highlands are divided into two main groups, i.e. the castles whose footstone had been founded by Esmailids themselves and the ones that have been conquered by Fada'iyan and some other parts had been added to them. Alamut Castle is placed in the second group of castles, especially since the name of this castle can be observed alternately in historical sources up to the collapse of the Safavid dynasty. Alamut Castle was seized by the Mongol army in the middle of the seventh century AH. Consequently, the conquerors set off towards Baghdad and the losers who had given way to the Zaidiyyah Shiites of the Kiyaiyeh religion, continued their semi-independent life for two centuries. The areas under the control of Kia Family (780-1001 AH) also included Alamut and Taleghan except for Gilan. Indeed, Kia Family was founded by one of the students of Seyed Ghavam, namely Seyed Ali, under the influence of Mazandaran Marashian Movement (760-986 AH). The aforesaid government has been under the control of the Ajam Iraq since the time of Uzun Hassan, the fourth ruler of Aq Qoyunlu and was then overthrown by the Ghezelbash invasion (1001 AH) of the Safavid state. From that time onwards, the Safavids were the political decision-makers of Iran until the threshold of the industrial revolution. Thus, the conquest of Alamut Castle during the Mongol period did not mean the end of the castle's life. After that, it was used for a long time by the Esmailid survivors (New Government), Kiai Seyeds. Finally, it came under the control of the Safavid government and was used by this government as a place to keep the outcast (forgotten home). Alamut, as one of the homes of the northern coasts' trade route to the cities of Qazvin and Shahr-e-Rey and then toward Isfahan, has long played an important role in the transfer of Gilan silk to the central part of Iran. The Venetian merchants were the ones who first brought Chinese pottery made by the Ming to Iran from the east. Such type of pottery had a luxurious aspect at that time and later became very popular in the Safavid era. This claim is proven by the mass discovery of cultural artifacts from that period. For example, one can refer to a few blue and white pieces of porcelain made by the Ming empire with Chinese words (Kanji). In Japanese, Chinese script signs are referred to as Kanji. The current Kanji, as the conceptual logographic writing system, has been stabilized from the evolution of the first symbols and signs around 2000 to 2500 BC in the land of eastern China and then has entered the islands of Japan with the passage of time. In Iran, the blue-and-white pottery produced in the cities of Neyshabur during the Timurid empire and in Mashhad in the Safavid era has received the greatest influence from the contemporary motifs of the Ming dynasty in China. During this period, even the marks of the empire were sometimes imitated by Iranian potters. However, since these potters were not familiar with the Chinese script and writing system, the porcelains with Kanji, especially the ones obtained from various parts of Iran, including three pieces found during ancient archeological excavations at Alamut Castle should be considered as the imported ones. The purposes of this study are to re-read the Kanji text on porcelain potsherds and to date them, then, to determine their periods to analyze and understand the archaeological status of Alamut Castle after Mongols invasion. The research method in this study is descriptive-analytical. The material of this research comes from archaeological excavations and then translated into Persian by library method. The main question of the research is: these potsherds belong to which historical period and how must they be interpreted in archaeological and historical context? Some pieces of porcelain were discovered in Alamut Castle. These pieces in Chinese script (Kanji), representative of three emperors, namely " Chenghua (成化)", "Jiajing (嘉靖)", and "Wanli (萬曆帝)", are contemporary with Uzun Hassan (the ruler of Aq Qoyunlu), and two Safavid kings, i.e. Shah Tahmasp I, and Abbas the Great, respectively. The name of "Chenghua" can be observed in one of the pieces, while each of the other two pieces have four common auspicious words in the blue and white dishes of the "Jiajing" era and his grandchild, "Wanli". In addition, the crab relief is seen in the inner surface of one of the pieces as a common relief, favored by the artists of this period. Therefore, this finding, along with other cultural data obtained from Alamut Castle, indicates the continued resumption of political and social life in the region following the Mongol invasion, especially its trade relations during the reign of Aq Qoyunlu Turkmens and of the Safavids.

Safavid art can be recognized from the magnificence of architectural works and decorative arts and paintings. Zarrinfam dishes of this era are part of the latest masterpieces of Zarrinfam of Iran, which were manifested in different fields in illustration. Unlike Safavid blue and white porcelain, Zarrinfams are designed without elements from the Far East. From about this period until the thirteenth century AH, the Zarrinfams were decorated with plant and animal motifs. Among the countless Zarrinfam pottery of the Safavid era, adorned with plant motifs, the image of the poppy flower increased. Plant motifs and especially the accompanying image of two plants, poppy and iris, can be seen in abundance in the Zarrinfam of this period. Iris or Irsa is one of the most frequently used designs on works or often with poppies on dishes. The iris was previously a symbol of Amesha Spenta Ameretat in ancient Iran. Ameretat was a symbol of immortality and protection of plants, guardian angel of foods and medicines to eliminate harm and diseases of plant origin. However, the repetition of the image of the poppy plant can be related to the situation of the Safavid society in the consumption of various sedatives that were widespread in the daily lives of ordinary people and of the court. These motifs are an allusion to the typical consumption of Kooknar and poppy, which was used with motives other than medicine, such as pleasure and euphoria. Widespread beliefs, such as the encouragement or increase of sexual potency among the upper class, seem to have been among the causes of drug overdoses in this period. However, religious rites and religious rulings could not prevent the overuse of drugs, because there was no definite ruling on the prohibition of drugs in Islamic jurisprudential discussions, and therefore they had become very popular among the rules of the Safavid Shiite rulers.On the other hand, the ban on the consumption of wine among religious people led them to resort to other entertainments, such as various drinks and delightful snacks in coffee houses and poppy houses. The prevalence of opium use in this era caused physicians and perfumers to think of a medicinal solution to reduce the harm. Therefore, treatment strategies such as remedies or antidotes were used to reduce its side effects based on medical sources.The purpose of this article is to obtain the conceptual references of the image of poppy and iris concerning social phenomena and to explain the reason for the accompanying image of these two plants on Zarrinfam dishes. With the aim of a different approach to reading medical history, this study re-reads the works and explores the causes and effects of medical history behind social currents. Accordingly, the research answers the following questions; which social event has been related to the illustration of these two paintings on Safavid Zarrinfam dishes? How is the image of two irises and poppies in the medical history of the Safavid era explained?The present study was performed in a descriptive-analytical manner on the image of two irises and poppies on Safavid Zarrinfam dishes. Collecting information has been done through library studies and observation. The study's statistical population includes Zarrinfam vessels preserved in the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and ten samples presented in a selective manner of Safavid Zarrinfam vessels have images of poppies and irises.In this research, we have first tried to compare the images of poppies and irises in nature with the reference images of medicinal plants and the images painted on Zarrinfam pottery to prove the validity of the designs. Then, by introducing sample images and describing the physical and therapeutic properties of ancient medical sources, each in the history of medicine is discussed. Finally, using the contents of encyclopedic medical sources and the impact of social phenomena, the relationship between the image of these two plants and the reason for the association of these two images is explained. The method of analyzing research data is based on qualitative studies.The general results of the study indicate the dependence of two images of poppy and iris related to social behaviors such as the prevalence of Safavid drugs. Due to the widespread prevalence of Safavid narcotics, therapeutic strategies to eliminate their harms and toxins were considered logical and rational. Therefore, the connection between these two images can be considered a crystallization of medical history. According to reliable ancient medical sources in the Islamic period and pre-Islamic sources, the iris plant has been used for its opium-repellent properties. As a result, the proximity of these two images is not in terms of aesthetics, but in the manifestation of medical communication that has arisen from a social structure.

One of the artistic features of Islamic arts is geometric patterns in decorative elements of Muslim artworks. These geometric patterns are one of the most widely used patterns in Islamic art and architecture, created by the combination of geometric forms such as triangles, squares, rectangles and circles. Geometric patterns existed before Islam, but they get a lot of attention during of Islamic period. On the other hand, the development of these patterns in architecture and handicrafts can be considered as the achievement of the Seljuks. This period is considered as one of the brilliant periods of Islamic civilization in historical, cultural, artistic, and scientific developments. That not only has vastly developed in the field of artistic decorations, also accounted as the golden age of technological and industrial progress. One of the industries that has reached its peak of prosperity in this period is the art of metalworking, which is evidenced by the metal vessels remaining from this period. The metal works of the Seljuk period show the change and evolution of metalworking art from the Sassanid period onwards. They express the special features of the Khorasan school, which included the cities of Great Khorasan, Neishabour, Herat, Balkh, and Merv. There is significant variation in the metalwork patterns of the Seljuk period, such as geometrical patterns. These motifs are sometimes spread over the field of work and are sometimes enclosed within a circular framework. But, most of them include rosettes. Since it resembles a flower or rosette we call this pattern a geometric rosette with an outer ring that forms a central star by a variable number of "petals" that are encircled. Their geometric structure shows that these patterns have a special drawing method. The purpose of this study was achieving the geometric patterns and proportions and drawing methods of these patterns. According to that, studies on rosette patterns in this period were very few. Recognition of available patterns on the metal vessels of this period and drawing patterns can be effective in expanding them. This research is exploring to answer these questions that what geometric patterns and geometric proportions have been used in the geometric patterns of metal works in the Seljuk period? And how can that geometric pattern be achieved? According to that, in this article, an attempt has been made to use descriptive-analytical methods, and by using library studies and providing step-by-step models, the drawing methods of geometric patterns be presented in the four Seljuk metal works in the Hermitage Museum. Hermitage Museum is one of the largest museums in the world and there are many Islamic works in it that part of them belongs to the Seljuk period. Its metal works include geometric patterns, especially rosettes that the knowledge of them can lead to more variety and newer geometric pattern drawing. According to that, four samples of Seljuk metal works in the Hermitage Museum were analyzed in this study. It includes a bronze plate from the 11th century, an expanse of silver in the late 11th and the early 12th centuries, a bronze pot from the 12th century, and a bronze pottery dating back to the late 12th and the early 13th centuries. The proposed drawing method of this research is based on six-pointed star divisions that are written in the book "Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art (Illustrated collections of the International Islamic Festival) by Assam Al-Saeed and Aisha Parman. In this book, two methods of dividing six-pointed stars are explained. There are different divisions in six-pointed stars; one, concentric stars drawn from hexagonal hemispheres, and the other from hexagonal corners. In this research, the desired geometrical design has been drawn according to the points derived from those divisions. In this study by drawing the geometric patterns of four Seljuk metal works in the Hermitage Museum, it was concluded that discrete geometric patterns in these works are based on a six-pointed star that is combined with polygons and circles. The composition of these patterns is based on hexagons, and according to the hexagonal divisions based on the six-pointed star, it can be understood how the existing geometric patterns on these four Seljuk metal works can be drawn. This analysis indicated that despite its simplicity, the practical geometry applied to designing such geometric patterns in the four Seljuk works in the Hermitage Museum can be interpreted according to the divisions of the six-pointed star. Based on this study, it was found that these designs have a circular shape that can be seen in the decoration space independently of other designs, and angular and curved forms were used in drawing them. These patterns are sometimes seen independently and sometimes in combination with Islamic patterns.

Although the concept of demon has faced ups and downs throughout the history of Persian culture, but it has gradually become a symbol of the devil and the force of evil that stands against the front of goodness. In various literary sources and socio-cultural roots, we see that the demon on the one hand has a divine status and on the other hand has gradually acquired human qualities. One of the goals of this research is to find out what qualities have been created for the demon in Iranian literature and art in this evolutionary process. But, what is the main motivation of the researcher is to survey the drawings and literature to achieve the qualities that the demon deserves as a creature that, along with power, has intelligence and ingenuity; a creature that the Iranians once considered worthy of worship and had a godly status and then in a complete rotation has become a symbol of the devil. However, it is still so great that the defeat of the demon at the end of Haft Khan Rostam is the cause of his evolution. Shahnameh, as the greatest epic work of Iran, has always been the source of artistic creations, and throughout history, painters have chosen the stories of Shahnameh as the subject of the work. Demons not only play roles as the evil creatures in Shahnameh stories, but also they have key roles in many of them. And according to this, the analysis of demon illustrations over time can provide insights into the cultural and artistic conditions of various historical periods and Iranian painting schools. This article aims to understand the analytical historical course of the concept and the role of demon in literature and Shahnameh and its consequences in Shahnameh illustration in the following questions: 1) in the historical course, what are the changes to demon illustration in contrast to its role in literature? 2) What are the formal and visual features of demons image in Shahnameh pictures?The research method has been descriptive and analytical, using library sources to collect data. In fact, by examining the historical course of the demon image in the Shahnameh, we want to list the formal and apparent elements that can be found as repetitive patterns. It is also an attempt to approach the view and imagination of the Iranian painter when creating the role of the demon by analyzing the historical analysis of the demon in Iranian culture, which is mostly through literary narrations and specifically the Shahnameh. To this aim, the famous Shahnameh manuscripts of Iranian art history from the rule of the Mongols and specifically the Injus until the end of the Qajar period were studied.  The statistical population of the study consisted of 5 Shahnamehs, 733 AH, Baysunghuri, Joki, Tahmasebi and Shahnameh Davari, and 8 paintings containing demons image, which have 4 White demons, 2 Akwans, 1 Arjang and 18 other demons. The results of the study show that demon illustration became a special identity by repeating the visual traditions of the painters. Apparent traits such as the shape of the limbs, the manner of covering the demon, the type of jewelry, and the use of semi-human semi-animal compounds in the shape of the skull and the appearance of the demon have become recurring common factors, and over time have brought the demons’ features in the Shahnameh paintings closer together. Also, visual details such as the material of loincloth, shape of the jewelry, and texturing of the skin of demons’ bodies can be observed among other features in the course of historical development of demon illustration; initially we find them to be considerably simpler which in more recent Shahnamehs have changed and became more pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, while adhering to the demons’ characteristics of the Shahnameh as well as the oral traditions, the painters have prioritized the tradition of painting and artistic creativity in some cases. Negative traits such as violence and mischief have also been created by utilizing predatory animal components such as lions or cats and dogs, while the use of human traits in demons can be attributed to the demons’ positive traits, such as being a teacher, being a musician, and commanding. In parallel, the creative minds of some painters caused the demons to escape the trap of monotony; this means that besides the commonalities of the demons in the illustrations of the analyzed Shahnamehs, we do not see any two demons that look like copies. Creating a mythical and unreal creature like a demon is not possible only through the attributes mentioned in literature and requires creativity and innovation, and the results showed that artists in different historical periods paid attention to this point.

Safavieh era, as the longest and the most effective era of post-Islamic history, was the flourishing age of industrial arts and handicrafts. Throughout this period, areas of society, religion, economy, and politics gained distinguishable structures; the need for distinction from other countries by officializing the Shi’a religion and defending Safavieh dynasty against other rivals/competitors, reinforced some preliminaries that their outcomes were alterations in the approaches and procedures of craftsmen, artists, and industries in Iran. Despite the gradual development of industry after the rule of king Abbas Safavi, establishing and renewing the industrial workshops in Safavieh era, provided the art with some opportunities to enjoy innovative and creative elements in line with religious, political, social evolutions and commercial relationships with eastern and western territories. In addition, coincidence of this long period of time with the rising of some prominent Persian artists and literary and Iranian Muslim scientists and philosophers, as well as paying attention to and influencing on cultural and commercial relationships with Europeans provided excellent occasions for a significant historical transmission from middle century to a new Iran. Metalworking is reckoned as an important branch of industrial arts that underwent many considerable changes due to its long background in manufacturing and producing through the different historical periods. Clearly, during the Safavieh era, these changes due to effective factors on structures of government and society became more solid and distinctive. It seems that industrial arts in the Safavieh era had a direct relationship with the condition of unions and social-religious conditions of society. Different classes of society, from market to mosque, Saqakhaneh and Zurkhaneh, from palace and seraglio to fortune tellers’ astrolabes, all contributed to forming metalworking art and its revolutions. These revolutions emerged from the heart of social, religious, economic, and political structures and in this study two of them- social and religious approaches- will be analyzed. The purpose of the present study is to identify underpinnings of evolutions in the structure of form and function of metalworking arts on the flow of two important approaches throughout the Safavieh era, that are religious and social ones, as well as verification of significant and unified content of metalworking art in this era in metallic bowls and cups. The proposed research questions are as follows: 1. How are the effects of religious and social approaches on metalworking in the Safavieh era defined? 2. What are the contents of the form and function of evolutions in metallic objects throughout the Safavieh era? Research design is descriptive-analytic with a qualitative approach. The data collection method is libertarian and field study. Case studies are metallic bowls and cups and the sampling method was studying private collections, museum samples, and field research. Analysis was performed on details of form, function, and symbols of Safavieh-era bowls and cups, and comparative analogy with other samples would define them. The results of the present study show that defining evolution affected by a religious factor during the Safavieh era appears like Shi’a concepts in epigraphs and images. At once, a social indicator that exhibits those ancient Iranian concepts evolves in both form and meaning among unions and craftsmen. However, what leads these results to a different direction regarding the metallic objects of this era is the similarity with the meaning of objects’ role that apparently has different forms and functions. Deeper layers of meaningful content in different historical sections especially in the Safavieh era can be investigated. To respond to the first research question, it is noteworthy that both social and religious approaches had some impact on each other and on metalworking art during the Safavieh era as well. Analyzing indicators of both approaches identifies a kind of evolution that refers to diversity in the metallic bowls. That means throughout an age when artists are ritualistic and myth-centered, they utilize metallic bowls for magic and hex, ancient medicinal sorcery, or evoking evil spirits from the human body. When we reach an era in which they do not believe in myths, and ritualistic and religious beliefs have been replaced, the form of the bowls and their type change. The second research question has been responded in such a way that in the Safavieh era old beliefs existed in lower layers of the implications of bowls and there was the belief that metal and incantation could eliminate evil and wickedness and conflict with them. Simultaneously, a number of ayahs of holly Quran and some prayers written in Arabic-numerical letters (Abjad) along with some particular symbols were inscribed on bowls in order to conflict with evil and spiritual forces; such as the bowls that were supposed to help people to get married, to eliminate illness from sick people, or to be used to drink water in shrines. Therefore, pictorial elements have a symbolic nature and determine the manner of connecting to an immaterial world.

The beginning of the expansion and prosperity of inscriptions in Islamic territory has coincided with the era of Shi'a governments, especially Al-e Buya’s and the Fatimids’ governance. Considering the change in the religious and political structure of the governments and the domination of the Shi'a governments over the Islamic territory from the third century (AH), it is necessary to pay attention to the effect of these developments on the inscription of the buildings. Looking at the history of the formation of Shi'a institutions and the beginning of their organized activities, along with the impact of those activities on the establishment of Shi'a governments in the third to fifth centuries (AH), raises the challenge that there may be a connection between the activities and goals of these groups and institutions and the prosperity of inscriptions during the Shi'a governance in Iran and other parts of the Islamic realm. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the role of Shi'a governments in the evolution of inscriptions in order to provide a category to reread the position of early Islamic art studies and in this regard, it has addressed the basic question that: What are the reasons for the spreading of the inscriptions in the Shi'a governments of the third to fifth centuries (AD)? This research is a fundamental one in terms of purpose, historical and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The required information has been collected using library and field methods. Here, in this research, quantitative information is presented by tables and graphs, and then, they are analyzed qualitatively. The results show that the Shi'a governments in these centuries, which they themselves had gained power through a stream of invitation and propaganda, felt its importance more than ever to expand and deepen Islamic and Shi'a knowledge through the use of all the existing potentials; so, in this regard, they used inscriptions in the buildings. Contrary to the Sunni governments, which had absolute political and military power and did not find any need to use religious propaganda by other methods, inscriptions were a tool for the Shi'a to propagate, and in this way, they had strengthened their belief in the legitimacy of Shi'a and also had encouraged other Muslims to become Shi'a. Therefore, a massive stream was formed in the production and construction of religious and Qur'anic inscriptions in this period, and this trend also brought changes with it. The number of survived inscriptions from Shi'a governments in the third to the fifth centuries (AH) compared to previous governments increased, which may indicate their special interest in using the inscription in the buildings. Also, the number of inscriptions in each building increased; this means that the Shi'a governments during those centuries have used more inscriptions in the buildings which have been most exposed to people and have tried to use the maximum capacity of them in this field. Inscriptions were used in equal numbers and in almost equal proportions in Iran and other parts of the Islamic realm; this shows that the effort to use religious and Qur'anic inscriptions in the building was not a local and regional movement, but a movement originating from the Shi'a religious motion. Shi'a expressions are used extensively in the inscriptions, which distinctively showed the Shi'a content in them. Using the name of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) next to the name of the Prophet (PBUH) and using phrases such as "Al at Taherin" at the end of Salawat and etc., all are to emphasize the connection of the Ahl al-Bayt with the Prophet (PBUH) and the need to obey them. And finally, Qur'anic verses with Shi'a content, which according to the most authoritative Shi'a theologians and thinkers, and based on the words of the Shi'a Imams (AS) and the dignity of the revelation of the verses, emphasize on the legitimacy of Imam Ali (AS) and the high position of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), were also widely used. According to what was stated, finally, it can be concluded that the formation of a systematic flow of propaganda and the prosperity of theological debates in the realm of Shi'a governments are the main reasons for the widespread growth of inscription and the unprecedented variety of its themes and the prevalence of Shi'a religious themes in inscriptions during the third to the fifth centuries (AH); and in this way, the Shi'as used inscriptions in addition to the development of Islamic and Shi'a knowledge to propagate ideas and beliefs, so they used it as a propaganda tool.

One of the most important and fundamental secrets of the universe is death; explained in different ideas and worldviews in various forms and methods. On one hand, the representation of this theme, in the form of art media, is taken from the same ideas and worldviews explaining it; on the other hand, it is derived from its worth as well as its stylistic and media limitations. Literature, in the field of Persian miniature in a relatively long historical context, has also had a great effect on forming different themes. The narrative literature in Iran had always been one of the most prominent sources of inspiration to manifest artists of the other media; among which visual and performing arts have more contributions. The Iranian miniature had depended on the literature to a great extent. So, by the middle of the Safavid era, the Iranian miniature was categorized as a subset of the “calligraphy” art which its major function had been the visualization of literary narratives.Reviewing miniature works of the Herat and the Second Tabriz Schools showed that nearly one hundred and fifty images refer directly and indirectly to the theme of death – their notable examples are seen in the Shahnamehs of Baysonghor and Shah Tahmasp. The main problem in this research, regarding the theme of death in Iranian images, is responding to the question of how one can get to one knowledge about the representation of this theme in the images. The ultimate aim of the research is to gain the full and profound knowledge about the features of forms, themes, and contents of the Iranian miniature; the most superior form of art in this land. Its functional purpose is to study semiologically the images with the theme of death in two illustrated Shahnamehs of Baysonghor and Shah Tahmasp. Based on the patterns of layered semiology, the research aim is achieved through analyzing the linguistic, visual, and cognitive semiotics. The research will respond to the following questions: How linguistic and visual symbols, related to the theme of death, are matched with each other in the studied images? Can anyone reach one knowledge about the representation of the theme of death in the studied works? Iranian paintings have been studied by many methods and models. Some researchers have tried to provide an aesthetic and formal reading of the painting, while others have re-examined the overt or covert meaning of these works, and in these studies, some have considered themselves bound to align with new study methods and patterns. Researchers, on the other hand, have not bound themselves to any cognitive pattern and have left their minds, hearts, and senses free for intuitive cognition. The researches of the first group are formulated and minimalist studies that have not been able to fully identify and discover some of the basic features of these works. On the other hand, the results and interpretations of the research of the second group cannot be repeated and proven. Therefore, it is necessary to find a solution or model that can eliminate the listed shortcomings in the field of painting research. “Layered semiotics” is a theoretical and efficient approach that provides the basis for extensive analysis of texts in the context of the interactive relationship between sign systems and textual layers that creates a complex network of semantic relationships. “Layered semiotics” is an approach in the process of which the researcher or the audience, by entering from the outer layer of the work to the semantic layers, goes through the outer meaning to its inner meaning. The result of this journey is neither minimalist nor unprovable, and the choice of this method and pattern in the study and selection of selected works of Iranian painting, reveals the importance of this research. This descriptive-analytic study has a poststructural semiology approach. The data collecting uses the library and documentary method. Furthermore, the Delphi method has been used to analyze the research qualitatively – experts in miniature and semiology have done it in the form of an open and exploratory interview. The samples studied in this study have been purposefully selected, which include two images with a common narrative and related to the theme of death. It should be emphasized that the criterion for selecting these two paintings was their common theme which is portrayal of the narration of "Siyâvash's death".  The linguistic and visual features and the type of adaptation of the signs are different from each other in the studied images. But, the results suggest that the common knowledge of the two images should be considered in the study of the cognitive layer of images. It seems that though the works have been pictured in two separate periods with different stylistic knowledge and skills, both of the artists had been successful in the tragic, yet the eternal and mythical representation of death.

Persian painting has been well known as a traditional art with a deep-rooted history, evolving consistently in accordance with traditions and the context of cultural changes of the society of its respective age. Therefore, compared to the previous ones, each historical period observes some modernity. As with other arts in today's Iranian society, Persian painting is not simply encountered with describing an integrated image of the sovereignty of thought; thus, with the purpose of analyzing the effects of discourse changes on creating modernity in contemporary Persian painting, the present article addresses the question that, in the context of political and social changes, what distinctive reading of modernity has emerged in contemporary Persian painting. “Ernesto Laclau’s and Chantal Mouffe’s" discourse analysis approach was used to show how some of the central signifiers are highlighted while others are marginalized in this argument; finally, discourse formulation is presented.Comparative methodology and descriptive-analytical research method were used for data collection which was implemented by examining library and field documents using fiche and imaging tool. The observed samples of contemporary Persian paintings were selected randomly from the works painted after the constitutional period (1385-1285 AH). After the Constitutional Revolution and following the political, economic, and cultural reformations that began in the late Qajar dynasty and culminated in the Pahlavi period in Iran, there was a tendency towards traditionalism and modernism. Modernizations in contemporary Persian painting can be analyzed based on four social discourses: “modern traditionalism”, “traditional modernity”, “ideological traditionalism”, and “divergence of tradition”. The results indicate that the generating forces associated with the central signifier lead to modernity in contemporary Persian painting.Persian painting in modern traditionalism discourse, beginning with the Constitutional Revolution and culminating in the first Pahlavi period and, more or less, present in both second Pahlavi and the Islamic Revolution periods, becomes hegemonic via nodal point of continuation of tradition. In this discourse, painting is reflected in the equivalence chain of historicism and nationalism and tries to hegemonize the tendency towards myth, Persian poetry and the literature of ancient Persian art by creating a chain of equivalence between the floating signifiers of historicism and archaism. Therefore, Persian painting in the ancient traditionalism discourse was engaged in competition and dispute between the naturalist method and returning to the traditional Persian painting schools. Although continuation of tradition is hegemonic in this discourse, it could achieve some innovations through using some generating forces such as court modernists (Qajar period) and the middle class as new supporters and applicants, new educational institutions, and the audience of Khayyam's quatrains. Persian painting in the discourse of traditionalist modernity was mainly formed in the first Pahlavi period with the Saqqa-Khaneh movement and in the reformation period of the Islamic Republic with post-revolutionary modernism and articulation of returning to tradition as a nodal point and elements such as decorativism, formalism, localism, and modernism. In this discourse, the art of Persian painting entered into a competition between formalism and narrativism, and finally won the battle by integrating tradition and modernism. The new middle class as well as the intellectuals of the Pahlavi government, in addition to the reformists of the Islamic Republic in 1990s, educational institutions, and art exhibitions and festivals can be considered as the most influential factors in the modernity of this discourse. In ideological traditionalism discourse, Persian painting was established by articulating the ideological reading of tradition as a nodal point and floating signifiers such as Shiite Islamism, historical Islamism, and Islamic mysticism. Moreover, here, Persian painting is identified against artistic formalism – its rival – and is located in the chain of equivalence of integrating ideological expressiveness and traditional Persian painting. Modernity in the Persian painting of this discourse can be related to the influence of revolutionary fundamentalists and art-supporting revolutionary institutions which directed national and international festivals. In the discourse of divergence of tradition, Persia painting was developed through articulating traditionalism outside of the context of tradition as the nodal point and floating signifiers such as a critical attitude towards of tradition, the heterogeneous coexistence of traditional symbols with contemporary life and multiple identities. In this discourse, Persian painting is in the chain of equivalence of challenges of traditional life in the postmodern era and traditional Persian painting is opposed to its rival, traditionalism, in form and content. Meanwhile, new artistic tools and media as well as new world markets of art, and especially the migration of artists from their homeland, are among the most important areas of modernity in Persian painting in the discourse of world art.

The hunting motifs of Bahram Gur's painting are considered as the themes with "religious" and "mythical" essence in "Iranian painting". Despite numerous researches on paintings related to Bahram Gur's hunting, these works have so far been less studied in terms of the possibility of representing religious concepts and mythical beliefs. These works are mainly based on literary texts related to the Islamic period, especially "Ferdowsi's two narrations" in "Shahnameh" and Nezami in "Haft Peykar" and some lesser-known sources. These sources have narrated events related to "Bahram Gur" in the context of history, but not exactly in accordance with historical facts. The reason for this is the influence of the literary texts of the Islamic period on the literary features and Sassanid historiography, that is, "mixing with Iranian myths and legends and magnifying the heroism". This means that the efforts made in the historical and literary texts of this period can also include an indispensable part of life and events related to Bahram Gur. Therefore, it is expected that in illustrating the works of the "painting in question", in addition to historical narratives in related events, the manifestation of his religious aspects and myths in the structure (form and content) can be observed and followed in a more specific way. Therefore, the research has been done with the purpose of filling the gap of existing studies and giving insight into the relationship between the religion and myth with the selected paintings. The research questions are: 1.what is the relationship between "religious concepts and mythical beliefs" as a pretext, with "hunting motifs of Bahram Gur" in "Iranian painting" as the "final texts". 2. Which of the possible pretexts, religious or mythical, had a more important influence and place in the formation and richness of the theme of Bahram Gur's paintings? In this research, relying on the descriptive method using the "hypertextual" approach, the position of "religion and myth" in the content of selected works has been analyzed. Data collection was also done using library studies, documents and visual study of selected paintings. The combination of seven selected works in the present study includes: two works taken from Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, two works taken from "seven figures" by Nezami, one work from the history of Balami, one work from the collections of Amir Alishir Navai and one work from an unknown source. Results of the studies have shown that: Religion and myth have effective relationships in the formation of hunting motifs of Bahram Gur during the Sassanid period and then in the reproduction, and the continued presence of these motifs in Iranian painting. In the context of hypertextual and intertextual relations, the existing conditions have moved towards the transformation in religious pretexts and in mythical ones. Religion in concepts and generalities and myths in the form and descriptions of paintings, and in some cases with overlap, have provided the means to improve the quality of the works. According to the hypertext theory, the relationships towards transformation or homogeneity can never be considered as "absolute". For this reason, based on the studies conducted during this research, the general and "relative"  type of hypertextual relationships in the selected paintings  was determined, which were studied and summarized in the form of "tables and analyses". The divisions made in this table show that although religion and myth have each had approximately the same requirements for the effect (presence) on the examined final texts, in this case the transformations and effects of the presence of religion tend to decrease or even eliminate. This is the case, if the elements, concepts and beliefs related to myth, while expanding and increasing in the final texts, have shown a more noticeable and effective presence in the paintings. In addition, the study of visual elements and qualities in the selected works shows the attractiveness of the topic and the existence of repetitive elements and motifs related to this character. Repeatable patterns have formed a kind of uniform visual pattern by which the form and appearance of these works became closer to each other.  These features can provide the grounds for considering them in the form of generalities of thematic art in the forthcoming studies; that the religious and mythological foundation and essence should be sought in its components and elements.