مجله هنر و تمدن شرق
پیاپی 40 (تابستان 1402)

One of the most important eras in the development of Iran’s art and architecture, especially in the format of murals, is the Qajar era. The dominant attributes of this period are relations with the West and adopting its culture and art. Qajar’s mural art was represented in different buildings, including houses. Nasir al-Mulk House of Shiraz is one of the buildings of the Qajar era, and in its Shahneshin Hall, there are prominent and diverse ceiling paintings. Given that the existing paintings on the ceilings of this building provide a combination of Iranian and Western concepts and contents, the comparative study of their motifs becomes significant both for a better understanding of the visual and topical approaches of the ceiling painting art of the Qajar and also to fill the gap of the comparative information in this field.The ceiling painting of the aforementioned building was studied to answer the following question: What contents and representations do these paintings imply based on the iconographical comparative analysis?This research aims to identify, study, and carry out a comparative evaluation of the motifs in the ceiling of the Nasir al-Mulk House based on the iconography method.In addition to the library studies, this research was supplemented by data from field investigations, including in-site examination, documenting the paintings, and also describing and explaining them.The results of this research provoke the readers’ attention not only to the existing motifs in each mural but also to their latent concepts. The semantic perspective of the art of this era discloses the fact that despite the imitation and separation from originality, this art reached an individual identity that could be named as Qajar style. In the end, this research was an endeavor to provide a deep understanding of the existing concepts in the murals of this era in Shiraz and to discover the ontological viewpoints of individuals in this period.

In Manichaean paintings, the presence and role of man are very prominent. Manichaeans had special methods and principles for designing human faces; by borrowing from the faces of different lands and nations and integrating them with the imagination of his mind, Manichaean artists have tried to create different faces with different execution methods. Like Manichaean paintings, humans have an active presence in the paintings of early Islam, and the painters continued Manichaean’s way and method of drawing human portraits. Although there have been some changes in the portraiture of early Islam, the overall shape and features of the facial parts and, in some cases, the clothing of the figures, are the same as in the Manichean art style. This study tries to answer these questions: Manichean portraiture is influenced by the faces of which lands and nations, and what are its characteristics? What was the reason for drawing identical faces in Manichaean paintings? What features of the face and clothing of Manichaean paintings can be seen in the paintings of early Islam? The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of the face and clothing in Manichaean paintings and examine their similarities and differences with those of the Abbasid (Baghdad School), Samani, Ghaznavid, and Seljuk eras. The present study was done using a library-documentary study with a descriptive-analytical approach and a comparative approach. This study is of great importance because it raises new issues and makes new claims in terms of the stylistics of the art of painting in finding the origin of the art of painting and portraiture in early Islam (the Abbasid (Baghdad School), Samani, Ghaznavid, and Seljuq eras). Hence, this study aims to prove this hypothesis that the painting of early Islam was strongly and significantly influenced by the Manichaean style of portraiture. The results indicated that characteristics such as drawing identical faces, three-side angulation and oval shape of the face, lack of shading and simulating volume, small and elongated eyes, linear and slightly curved eyebrows, a small mouth and lips, a straight or arched nose, and hair arranged on the forehead are among the main characteristics of Manichaean portraiture, which were also used in the portraiture of early Islamic eras.

The evolution of architectural arrays in the Qajar houses of Kermanshah appeared due to the architectural changes under the influence of Western architectural patterns in Iran. The development of the architectural decorations of these houses was manifested by using the concepts of aesthetics, creativity, and thoughts of architect artists in accordance with the needs and facilities available in this period. In this research, how to use architectural arrays, especially in Faiz Mahdavi’s house in Kermanshah city as a valuable cultural-heritage collection in the historical context of the city and the analysis of the influence of architectural development patterns in the architectural arrays of Qajar houses have been raised as the basic research questions that have been raised so far Not evaluated. This research with the historical, interpretive, and comparative research method during the stages of “investigating the patterns of arrays and determining the influential components of traditional Iranian architecture and Western architecture in Qajar houses”; “Comparative analysis of how and the extent of influence of traditional Iranian architecture and Western architecture in the architectural arrays of Faiz Mahdavi’s house” and “explanation and evaluation of how and how much the architectural arrays are modeled on traditional Iranian architecture and Western architecture in Faiz Mahdavi’s house” were carried out. The analysis of the subject in this article was made possible based on the collection of data gathered through document analysis, library research, and field studies. Analyzing and summarizing the results obtained from the evaluation findings of this research comparatively shows that the evolutions and patterning of the architectural arrays of Faiz Mahdavi’s Qajar house, during two different stages, the outer and inner spaces of the house were initially influenced by the traditional Iranian architectural decorations in the form of simple decorations and then Combining the art of traditional decorations with luxurious western decorations.

It is commonplace for new religions to transform a place of worship while maintaining traditional beliefs in revised forms. Many structures from the Islamic era, such as mosques and Imamzadehs, were built in Iran, however many of them had pre-Islamic origins. The historical mausoleum of Al-Rashid bi’llah or Imamzadeh Prince Hossein, which dates to the sixth century AH and coincided with the Seljuk period, is among the significant, historical, and archaic structures of Isfahan. This building is situated in the Jey neighborhood, one of Isfahan’s oldest neighborhoods with a pre-Islamic origin. There are several contradictions and ambiguities about the history and identity of those buried in this mausoleum. To answer the question of whether this building has pre-Islamic roots, this study aims to introduce the historical process based on the available documents and evidence as well as archaeological findings. It also relies on reliable documents and sound rationales to determine the identity of the buried people.In this fundamental and applied study, the data gathered through the library research and field methods was examined using the inductive approach. employs a descriptive, analytical, and and analytical methodology and historical approach. According to research findings, the site of the current structure was previously occupied by the Mehr and Anahita Temple and a Zoroastrian religious structure. These structures were destroyed in the Arab invasion of Iran, and a sturdy mosque was erected there in the second and third centuries AH. Caliph Al-Rashid bi’llah was killed in Isfahan in the sixth century and buried in the northern part of the mosque. The Caliph’s mausoleum was constructed in the same century, together with a mosque, a minaret, and a dome. Just the tomb remains after the mosque and minaret were demolished in the centuries that followed. It seems that the people buried in this place are Prince Hussein, a descendant of Imam Hassan (AS), and Caliph Al-Rashid bi’llah.

Since ages ago until today, traditional ceramic kilns in Iran were the company of every potter; each of which had different heating methods in each region of the country and period of construction which was formed according to the region. Iranian potters of different ages, along with the progress in the industry, changed their ceramic kilns in order to improve the quality of wares. depending on the local conditions, these changes are dissimilar in each place. The purpose of this research is to identify and investigate traditional Iranian ceramic kilns Therefore, it only seems necessary to classify these kilns. This research used a descriptive-analytical method, in which research information sources are based on the data from archaeological excavations and field visits. These kilns can be classified in terms of placement in the ground, draft, heating methods, and atmospheric conditions inside the kilns. In terms of the location of the kilns in the ground, it has been classified into three categories: kiln on the ground, half buried, and underground which is the primary element of classification in this research. so, the article seeks to answer this question: How can ceramic kilns in Iran be classified according to their technical structure?

The development of the city of Mashhad in terms of shape and geography has been northwestward for various reasons. Currently, the city has a northwest-southeast extension. In recent years, the authorities in charge of the city management of Mashhad, for known and unknown reasons, have attempted to impose the development of the city towards the east. Among the reasons mentioned for this big decision in the city’s spatial organization is relocating the shrine from the center to the margin of the city. Based on the concept of centrality, this paper attempts to critique the approach of Mashhad’s urban management in making such metropolitan decisions and explain how the lack of technical perspective adopted by the managers in understanding the concept of “center”, has reduced this concept to a simple matter such as “being in the middle” in the city. With the city’s development towards the southeast, relocating the Holy Shrine to the center (middle) of the city has been the authorities’ intention. However, the “center” has a mental and abstract concept beyond its place in the organization of the city space. The opportunity created by this urban management approach can promote justice in its various dimensions, such as spatial justice and economic justice, and bring attention to marginal areas. Nonetheless, any planning, design, or intervention on the scale of the city requires specialized investigations and a holistic view of the city. Otherwise, it will be doomed to failure, so it will have no result other than wasting resources.