نشریه رهپویه هنرهای صناعی
سال دوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 4، تابستان 1401)

At the beginning of the tenth century, the first Safavid ruler, Ismail I, captured Shiraz. We know Little about the history of Shiraz in the first century of Safavid rule. The transfer of the city from the Aq Quyunlu to the Safavid dynasty appears to have been relatively calm. The sources report that the Sunni Sufi orders suffered from the Safavid takeover. Shiraz, before the takeover, had been a city of learning (Dar al-Ilm) and a center of Sufism. The Qizilbash, who had a crucial role in the conquest of Shiraz, was rewarded with critical posts and continued to maintain a monopoly over influential military positions for almost a century, the region of Fars was assigned to the Turkman tribe called the Zolghadr immediately after the Safavid conquest. Shiraz was a prominent manuscript production center from at least the Al- Inju period, being a home for the most noteworthy manuscripts in the history of Iran. Artists of Shiraz continued practicing the established art of local traditions of the art of a book in the Safavid period. The early Safavid rule’s style was rooted in the Aq Qoyunlu style. In the succeeding years, this style was eliminated and the Qizilbash style was established. Two artists in this realm seriously worked. The illuminator Ruzbihan and the calligrapher Mun’im al-Din al-Auhadi. It is known that these two artists collaborated in the production of the manuscripts. Ruzbihan muzahhib (illuminator) was one of the most noteworthy Shiraz artists of the first half of the tenth century. A new style following the Tabriz style more closely, developed in Shiraz attesting to increasing connections between Shiraz and Safavid capital. It differs substantially from the style favored at Shiraz during the first two decades of the century. Shiraz artists abandoned the old style and adopted the new. The old style completely disappeared within a decade and was replaced by the new one. Significant changes are evident in the proportions of figures and their garments, hats, the use of patterns, landscape features, and architectural elements. We named this style Qizilbash style of Shiraz painting school. A group of associated Shiraz artists and artisans appears to have taken the lead in the new style of painting. The manuscripts signed by them contain the most innovative features in the new style. The characteristics that gave distinctive shape to the new style all appear in paintings signed by an artist named Qasim. The paintings that carry Qasim’s signature established the fundamental factors for the new style. Contemporary sources refer to a Shiraz artist named Qasim. Sam Miza mentions Malik Qasim the painter of Shiraz. Doost Muhammad writes he was an able calligrapher and painter. Mustafa Ali Afandi also mentions a painter Qasim and refers to him as Qasim Iraqi (Tabrizi). Qasim’s new and distinct figures reflect traits used in Tabriz’s paintings. Murshid al–katib, known as Attar, was another famous Shiraz artist. He was a calligrapher and painter. The illustrations of the manuscripts he copied show many similarities to Qasim,s work. The manuscripts of the Shiraz school of the Safavid period witnessed an increase in the Tabriz features used by Shiraz artists. This article digs into the impact of these two styles of the Safavid period.

The Achaemenids established one of the most influential empires in history that resided in the plateau of Iran, with politics and art given due consideration. The art of this period was a combination of local art and the art of other client nations, being widely in the service of the government. Most articles and books about Achaemenid motifs have studied motifs separately or compared them to similar motifs in other nations or eras. However, this research has investigated and compared widely used motifs of this period from a different perspective by putting them into two categories due to belonging to architecture or handicrafts. This study aims to investigate the degree of compatibility and relationship between the themes of architecture and handicrafts in the Achaemenid civilization and to find the formal and content-based relation between the handicrafts of the Achaemenid period and architectural motifs. The results of this study indicate the existence of commonalities and differences in the motifs used in these two groups of works and show that the art of this period was formed being influenced by factors such as ruling power, beliefs, climate, and even feelings and fears governing society. Also, having a similar client, i.e., the ruling authority, for most of the works and the connection between architect artists and handicraft artists are other factors of having common motifs in this period. The current research is descriptive and comparative in terms of method. Library research method was used to read and study the opinions of other researchers; the common patterns between Achaemenid architecture and handicrafts were compared by their appearance; and their source was found and pointed out.

Architecture is a dialectic and discursive space that carries the heritage of knowledge, culture, art, and expressive language and expresses dominant historical discourses. Landmark historic buildings are manifestations of current traditions and culture and represent the foundation of their creation. One of the most significant elements of Persian architecture is hidden and visible geometry in landmark historic buildings. As a form of sacred nature, geometry plays a fundamental role both in the creation of building structures and in the design of Iranian-Islamic architectural decorations. Considering the development and growth of technology in design tools, and the transformation of the way of thinking in digital design processes, it is necessary to examine the modes of representing traditions in general and re-creating geometry in particular from the perspective of structure and form. In this research, we are looking for the answer to how we can rely on traditionalist views, in the architectural design of today’s buildings, by applying computational and algorithmic design methods to represent the history and interact with tradition. And is it possible to give an identity to modern buildings by approaching to recreate the geometric motifs of Iranian-Islamic architecture based on digital design methods? In this regard, using the library method and analyzing significant examples of architecture with the approach of recreating the geometric motifs of the traditional art model, an effort is made to benefit from the views of traditionalists on the current geometry of Iranian-Islamic architecture. According to the research, the geometrical structure of the geometric motifs of Iranian-Islamic art and architecture, with the reliance of Muslim artist-mathematician, on Euclidean and Pythagorean geometry and scientific foundations, is a complete and harmonic coordination of form and meaning. Parametric and algorithmic design, with aesthetic features like the concepts of coordination of part and whole, proliferation, complexity, rhythm, and developed and evolved forms, is very compatible with the aesthetics of Iranian-Islamic geometric motifs based on the emphasis on the concepts of plurality in unity, complexity, repetition and systematic transformed geometric forms. The abstract nature and the formal and aesthetic features of the geometric motifs of Iranian-Islamic art and architecture are a rich and developable foundation and structure. And its recognition, analysis, development, and re-creation, which were difficult and complex tasks in the past, are now facilitated by the aid of new technology and tools to produce forms with algorithmic thinking and computer design.

With the importance of finding language in postmodern theories, architecture has been seen as a text. A text that conveys a set of values, thoughts and traditions along with it and has a language behind its curtain that talks to the audience and the audience tries to read its meaning and interpretation. Meaning is one of the most important topics that has been the subject of many researches in the fields of psychology, sociology, architecture, urban planning and landscape design, so that in the field of architecture, the place of meanings and the transfer of concepts in terms of extent and size, Form and function have been important. Today, with the emergence of the phenomenon of globalization, changes have occurred in cultural-social, political and economic fields, the most important of which is the cultural crisis and the crisis of identity and meaning. This has also caused the negation of the language of architecture in modern architecture, a language that has evolved along with other aspects of human civilization during history, and the modern architecture movement has turned away from it, as if it has reduced the vocabulary of architectural language to visual basic elements. The house has a special place in architectural structures. The interior mood of every house is like a way of speaking. Unfortunately, nowadays, with the advent of modernity and industrialization of societies, the house is viewed as a means of temporary work, and this has caused the house to take on a new meaning. In Iranian culture, "home" has been a place to manifest spiritual and cultural values ​​and a direct manifestation of the way of life and maintaining the family. As an important part of the architecture of the past, the traditional houses of Iran, taking into account the human needs, the location of its components has a meaning and concept for its users, and the impact of the meaning can be clearly seen, which makes the house more valuable. you will Among the different approaches to investigate the meaning of home, the four main approaches are judgmental phenomenology, environmental psychology, and social science approach. From the point of view of social sciences, which is more concerned with the cultural and social aspects of the house. In this approach, one of the methods that can be used to inspect the house is the semiotics method. The method of semiotics is one of the methods of examining meaning. Semiotics, as one of the methods of text analysis, seeks to analyze texts in terms of structured wholes and in search of hidden and implied meanings. In this research, architecture is understood as a text that consists of multiple layers, these layers are connected with each other in a systematic and process way, and from their coexistence, an integrated entity called architectural text is born. Semiotics recognizes the layers and sub-layers of the design through a sign in the design and makes it possible to read the design. Semiotics in the field of architecture can give a conscious aspect to people's recognition of the process of meaning. The architectural designer must know what he creates is interpreted and interpreted by the people. This awareness is in the stage of knowing about the environment and people's reaction to the architectural spaces, and during the design, it helps and guides the designer. Although the meaning forms only one layer of the experience of space and may not even be understood by people, but by mastering and being aware of people's mental interpretation, the designer can prevent the creation of unwanted and sometimes undesirable connotations in the urban environment.

Nowadays, semiotics is used in the analysis of artistic texts, and considering the symbolic nature of Iranian painting, it seems that this approach provides the possibility of reading and deciphering the signs by providing systematic analyzes of the tex. In semiotic theory, signs are understood not individually but as dynamic and active elements of a sign system and in interaction and challenge with each other. This article is a semiotic analysis of the mystical painting Shaikh San’an meeting the Christian girl miniature based on Attar’s narration in Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr in the Safavid dynasty. The narration of Sheikh Sanan is one of the allegorical stories of Persian literature illustrated in different periods of Iranian painting. The purpose of this study is to investigate visual cues and how they interact in constructing the meaning and theme of the work with a semiotic approach. Nowadays, semiotics is used for the analysis of artistic texts. Considering the symbolic nature of Iranian painting, it seems that this approach provides the possibility of reading and deciphering the signs by providing systematic analytics of the text. In semiotic theory, signs are understood not individually but as dynamic and active elements of a sign system and in interaction and challenge with each other. Accordingly, the present study has answered the following questions: 1- What are the concepts of pictorial visual signs in interaction with each other? 2- How do the signs interact in forming the concept and theme of the image? The present research has a descriptive-analytical approach and a library research method. The results of this study show that in the mentioned painting, the painter has tried to represent the mystical concepts of perfection and consciousness (which are the themes of the story) through visual signs and interactions between them. These concepts have been expressed symbolically using human and non-human visual cues and their interaction. Based on the semiotic analysis, we found that the manner of interaction of signs has led to the construction of meaning in the underlying layers of the painting. Through examining these meanings, we found that in most cases, the painter has used semiotic methods such as metonymy and metaphor, double or binary and opposites, and linguistic disorder in expressing the narrative’s concepts and passing through the denotation of the sign to its connotation.

The legend of Alexander and the talking tree “Waqwaq” is one of the historical and legendary narratives that foretell the death of Alexander. The continuation of the story of “Alexander and the talking tree” in works of art, one of which is a non-Iranian but prominent king, and the other, a famous prophetic tree, makes this narrative very important. Therefore, it is necessary to do more analysis of the transformation process of this narrative. According to the purpose of the research, three paintings of Alexander in front of the talking tree (Waqwaq tree) from three different periods (Ilkhanid, Timurid, and Safavid) were selected.In terms of nature, this research is descriptive-historical, and in terms of purpose, it has a fundamental and qualitative approach. Necessary research information was collected using documentary methods and library resources. By investigating the metamorphosis in three selected paintings taken from the social, political, and cultural currents of that time, the development course and the decoding of the motif of “Waq and Iskandar” were discussed. The works were analyzed and explained in three stages based on the theoretical foundations of Erwin Panofsky. The research investigated the transformation process in three selected paintings influenced by the social, political, and cultural currents of the Mongol, Turkish-Mongolian, and Iranian periods. Among the most significant findings, was that Alexander the Great turned from a historical figure into a positive, sacred and legendary figure in the Islamic period. The rulers of different eras, including the Ilkhanid, Timurid, and Safavid periods, took advantage of this positive effect of Alexander and used it in the path of political goals and consolidation of power with the trick of positioning and iconography of their rulers in the role of Alexander. In other words, the transformation of the image of Alexander in the three images is in the direction of one goal, which is to establish the power and legitimacy of the rulers who do not have an Iranian identity. During the Safavid era, due to being Iranian, there was a need to show prominent and just sovereigns as mythical Iranian rulers in the form of images. Ilkhanid and Timurid rulers approach to this differently. They chose Islam as their religious discourse and supported its structures to confirm the legitimacy of their rule. We can see the evolution of the archetype of the tree of life into a sacred tree, its transformation into a talking tree in ancient Iran, and its transfer to the Islamic periods. Finally, this transformation led to the creation of the image of Waq, which appears in front of Alexander in the third picture. The depiction of the talking tree attempts to convey a message that has a place in the underlying semantic layers. This semantic conflict shows the instability of the rulers’ power, beautifully inaugurated in the paintings.

Although the history of making complicated water clocks in the Islamic world dates back to the early centuries, the oldest known example from Iran is the observatory clock of the Rukniyeh School in Yazd, dated 1324. Afterward, around 1473, Fakhr al-Din ‘Ali Kashi built a water clock for the glorious ‘Imadi complex in Kashan. Two decades later, Muhammad Hafiz, the Isfahani inventor, innovated a clock for this complex that was one of the first mechanical clocks of its kind in the Oriental world. During the reign of Shah ‘Abbas I, with the vitiation of Muhammad Hafiz’s clock, another clock was built by Mulla ‘Inayat. These watches also had artistic values, and when an hour had elapsed, a handful of cardboard animal and human figures started to move in it. Based on primary sources, this paper analyzes the three clocks of the ‘Imadi complex in Kashan and seeks to answer such questions as the historical evolution of these watches, their typology, and the reasons for the continuation of the clocks’ prosperity for two centuries. We can say that Mulla ‘Inayat’s clock was a revival of Fakhr al-Din ‘Ali’s clock and was from one of the six types of water clocks invented by al-Jazari. When the mechanical clock of Muhammad Hafiz was disrupted, and no one could restore it, they inevitably turned to a local clock technique familiar with that, which could operate it. The survival of the clock of the complex for about two centuries was not possible except through the creation of an endowment institution, and its current costs were covered by the various estate dedicated to it.

The works of art in the Islamic world have different meanings according to the conditions and tendencies of the artists’ thoughts and their supporters. Sometimes these works express a code retrieved from the dominant mystical thoughts at the time of the work’s creation. These works contain a code with a specific value in each layer of their meanings. This research aims to show the semiotic role of Simurgh in the portal of Divan Beigi School of Bukhara, which answered the following two questions using layered semiotics and according to the thoughts of Islamic mystics and mythological concepts of this role: Based on the science of layered semiotics, what are the meaning and the role of Simorgh at the portal of Divan Beigi school. And what are the competitive factors in the formation of Simurgh’s images at the entrance portal of this school? The present research has investigated the two pictures of Simurgh in the entrance portal of the Divan Beigi School of Bukhara using descriptive and analytical methods. The information has been collected using library sources. The results of the present research show that the Simurgh and its adjacent motifs at the portal of Nader Divan Beigi school contain signs influenced by the intellectual thoughts of the supporters of the school and the dominant thinking approach in the society and its elites. By examining the symbol of Simurgh with the help of the dominant mystical literature and the prevailing thought in society, it was concluded that Simurgh is considered a mythical bird in the sky in its explicit meanings. Meanwhile, implicitly, it has a high religious and mystical dignity, and in the human sense, it is the best example of a person in society.