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پیاپی 67 (پاییز 1402)

Less than a century after the invention of printing with movable type by Johannes Gutenberg (1455), the first Qur’an was published in Venice by Paganino Paganini and Alexander Paganini (1537-1538). Although the Qur’an did not have much success among the audience, it did set the stage for the printing of the Qur’an, as it has been published in Europe over three centuries. Iran was the first country among the Muslim countries that in the middle of the nineteenth century, succeeded in publishing the Qur’an in the printing house of Mirzā Zayn al-Ābedin Tabrizi (1242). So far, ten Qur’ans have been identified among 64 Iranian printed books published with movable type in Tehran between 1827 and 1855. The first Qur’an was published in March-April 1827 in the printing house of Mirzā Zayn al-Ābedin. In the following years, four Qur’ans were published in July 1829, February 1831, February 1832, all three in the printing house of Mirzā Zayn al-Ābedin and Sarkāri Esfandiar Khān and in 1842, with the support of Motamed al-Dawla. In the latest version, the name of Mirzā Zayn al-Ābedin is not mentioned, but he is probably the printer. In addition, in November 1839, a Qur’an was published in his printing house under the supervision of the late Āghā Seyyed Mohammad Tehrāni and Āghā Rostam-Ali [Tehrāni al-Asl wa al-Maskan]. A Qur’an was identified in February 1846 in the printing house of Ali Mohammad Tehrāni and one in May 1855 in the printing house of Āghā Abd al-Karim. In addition to the mentioned Qur’ans, a Qur’an without date and printed information has been identified in the library of Āstan Quds Razavi. Also, a Qur’an was published in 1848, probably in Tehran, which, depending on the layout and font type, can be attributed to Āghā Abd al-Karim's printing house under the supervision of Bahrāmbik. In exception of the two Qur’ans dated 1839 and [1845], one typeface has been used to print the other eight Qur’ans.The aim of this study is to visually analyze a collection of lead letters of the Qur'an in order to answer the question of: what are the characteristics of this typeface in terms of form? This research is descriptive in terms of method and applied in terms of purpose, and the collected information is evaluated and analyzed qualitatively and with logical reasoning through comparison. To collect data, library resources (articles, books, digital archives and typewritten books) were used by observation method. Due to a better and a more comprehensive access, the typography was extracted based on the 1842 edition and after extracting the letters, it was adapted to other Qur’ans. The research findings are based on the analysis of the visual structure of the extracted typography, as well as the research data, in order to identify the visual features of the typography. In the analysis of the mentioned typeface, only the form of the letters has been studied and the placement of the letters in relation to each other and in relation to the seat line or the composition of the pages has not been considered. Furthermore, an attention has been paid to their similarities. To analyze the forms, letter families are defined based on the similarity of the forms with each other. Most letters have four modes: initial, middle, final, and final, which may have one form or several forms in each of these modes, which are considered in the analysis of all cases.The findings of this study indicate that in designing the letter form in the typography of "Zayn al-Ābedin Qur’an", some rules governing the typography design and emerging lead printing technology have been considered in order to preserve the capabilities and originality of the form in calligraphy. The designers of this typeface have used various methods to achieve this goal, including the following: Using similar letter forms to create new letters, creating formal diversity in letter accompaniment using interface subforms, using limited number of ligatures despite the variety of forms.

The Qur'an has unique and exceptional capacities and everyone can benefit from this infinite ocean according to their existential and epistemological capacity and talent; in the sense that behind its simple appearance, deep and endless concepts and issues are hidden. Islamic mysticism in the light of the Qur'an, traditions, and hadiths of the infallibles, in the topics of ontology and monotheism, is full of intellectual richness and depth of thought, which every time with careful reflection on these teachings, new horizons and wider spaces are revealed and opened. Some of these concepts are the result of attraction and inspiration, and some have an argumentative and descriptive aspect that is obtained in the field of Qur'anic and religious teachings. Verse 35 of Sura Noor is one of the verses that has an amazing allegory about a transcendent and transcendental truth. Every thoughtful commentator, depending on the level of faith, intuition, and reasoning, has received and understood this noble verse that although there are differences in the form of expression and the form of discussion of each one, the essence of each is connected to the same truth. The simile used in this verse, like other Qur'anic similes, brings the concepts as close as possible to the mind of the audience. In this beautiful allegory, there are secrets and hidden things that sometimes need to be expressed in a symbolic language. Symbology is an efficient tool to access higher meanings of the worldly and natural life of man, which is formed in the world beyond him. Therefore, it is especially used in retrieving the concepts of the holy texts, which show the relationship between man and the world beyond himself. Muslim thinkers have accepted symbolism in some verses of the Qur'an and mentioned it with expressions such as "symbolic". Of course, these scholars did not introduce symbolism in the sense of negation of knowledge-giving Qur'anic propositions. The aim of the present research is to investigate the symbology of the verse of light and a careful search to find the symbolic meaning of the verse of light in the form of Islamic architectural decorations in Iran. The main questions of this research are: 1. How is the symbolic concept of the verse of light displayed in the decorations of Iranian mosques? 2. Which pattern is more famous and useful than other motifs? Islamic art is a great treasure of great mystical meanings and divine wisdom; the root of this art should be sought in the deep foundations of spiritual and divine thinking. Thinking and meditating on the inner aspect of this art and symbolic language, which contains mystical and metaphysical foundations, is an undeniable necessity. The necessity and importance of this research is due to the fact that there are many shortcomings in this field in researches. In this article, we will examine the symbolic meaning of Islamic architectural decorations in the form of analyzing some motifs, in connection with the symbolic meaning of the verse of light, and along with these elements, we will analyze and investigate the mystical and metaphysical foundations of these motifs. The research method in this research is descriptive-analytical and with a structural and visual study through a comparative approach. The method of data analysis in this research is qualitative. The primary information of this research was collected through library studies and the secondary information was collected through field studies. The statistical population of the research includes examples of mosques in historical periods in Iran. The Qandeel symbol, used in the altar of mosques and tombstones, and altar tiles, has been identified and studied from the point of view of symbology. To analyze the data, the desired motifs were photographed and their motifs were extracted using AutoCAD software. The results of this research show the verse of light is one of the few cases that refers to an element as a symbol in the Holy Qur'an. As can be understood from the meaning of the verse, in order to better understand the concepts in the audience's mind, God expresses his light as a symbol with the analogy of a lamp inside the altar. After the interpretation of the verse by Islamic commentators and scholars, Qandeel's role in Islamic art has been repeatedly used as a symbolic meaning of the verse of light. Apart from this role, the symbolism of the verse of light can be seen and analyzed in other decorative elements of the mosque, such as Muqarnas, applications to regular faces, and light-retaining meshes, in which geometry and light help each other to manifest existence. Due to the direct connection between the visual nature of Qandeel and the example mentioned in the verse of light, this pattern has served as a reminder of the verse of light more than other decorative motifs of mosques.

Birds are a symbol of the spirit and soul of the speaker and have esoteric and spiritual meanings in many literary and mystical works and this is because of their ability to fly and communicate in the sky. The bird motif is also one of the motifs that appeared with the emergence of illustrated manuscripts in the history of Iranian painting; it has a significant presence in painting of different periods and is considered as one of the most widely used designs. Among them, the Timurid era in the school of the Previous Herat (version of Baysonghor Shahnameh) and the Safavid era in the school of Mashhad (version of Haft Awrang Jami), have the motif of a bird. The art of Iranian painting and manuscript illustration has had a deep connection with literature from the beginning, and birds are present in the works of great Islamic scholars and thinkers. Birds have taken on a symbolic and mystical load due to their physical characteristics and natural features in the mystical poems and stories of Islamic thinkers. The first example of the presence of the bird symbol in the works of thinkers is in Avicenna's treatise Al-Tair. Other thinkers in whose works the symbol of birds is present include Ahmad and Mohammad Ghazali, Sanai, Attar and Rumi, great mystics and Sufis of the fourth to the seventh centuries AH, who were all born in Khorasan, and only Suhrawardi was raised in Khorasan. Interestingly, Ferdowsi and Jami, whose works are the subject of this study, also belong to the Khorasan region. Greater Khorasan (the cradle of the great mystics in different Islamic eras) was in ancient times a region that stretched from the east to Transoxiana, and from the west to the southeastern shores of the Caspian Sea.  The school of Herat and the school of Mashhad have been related to the region of Greater Khorasan for a period of about 130 years, and both versions of Shahnameh of Baysonghor and Haft Awrang Jami are court and royal versions. Since the Shahnameh of Baysonghor and Haft Awrang Jami both belonged to the Greater Khorasan region, the cradle of art and mysticism in the first centuries of Islam, it seems important that in drawing the bird motif, which is one of the almost constant motifs of Iranian painting, the school of Mashhad could have influenced the Haft Awrang Jami version of the Herat school (version of the Shahnameh of Baysonghor). The purpose of this study is to achieve the symbolic concepts of motif of the bird in these two versions along with formal and structural analysis. The main question is what are the meanings of motif of the bird in the two versions of the Shahnameh of Baysonghor and Haft Awrang in terms of form and symbolism? What are the differences and commonalities of motif of the bird in the two versions? What are the influential factors on differences and commonalities of motif of the bird in the two versions? In terms of purpose, this research is a fundamental research. Research method is descriptive-analytical and comparative, among qualitative research, and method of data collection is library research. The results show that the highest number of the bird’s motif of Baysonghor Shahnameh belongs to Clamator glandarius and Pica pica, and in Haft Awrang Jami, the highest number belongs to Streptopelia turtur and Luscinia megarhynchos. In terms of structural analysis, the bird’s motif of Baysonghor Shahnameh is often not placed on the composition of the paintings, which includes an oval shape and does not have a symbolic aspect in the paintings. In contrast, the bird’s motif of the Haft Awrang Jami is in many cases placed on the composition of the paintings, which often includes a spiral form and in some cases, it has a symbolic aspect. Since the Shahnameh of Baysonghor is an epic work, not a mystical one, and has been compiled and illustrated at a time when the influence of mysticism on painters is not yet evident, it cannot be said that most of its birds have symbolic and esoteric meanings in the world of meaning. In contrast, in version of Haft Awrang Jami, due to the long history of painters, mystics and thinkers in relation to each other, which dates back to the time of Sultan Hussein Bayqara, Behzad and Jami in the late Timurid period and continued until the late Safavid period, it can be said that the painters, by influencing the poems of Haft Awrang's stories and the symbolic background of birds in the works of mystics before their time, tried to create an exemplary world with eternal concepts from the world of truth, and the theme of birds in this regard has benefited.

Iranian painting, like an illustrated dictionary, provides a wide range of research and exploration in various fields for researchers. Horse paintings are among the most important thematic contexts of Iranian painting, which are illustrated in common and various colors and   sometimes with specific mythological identities such as Shabdiz and Rakhsh in poetic versions such as Shahnameh. After the body of the heroes, horses are perhaps the most prominent element in painting; and one of the main characters in the stories. But, from about the middle of the ninth century AH/ fifteenth century AD, blue horses entered the field of painting and in the period between the tenth and twelfth centuries AH / sixteenth to the eighteenth century AD, they found a more prominent role in painting. Since historically this period coincides with the growth and promotion of mystical ideas in Persian literature, it seems that mysticism has been effective on the attitude of artists, especially painters. The important thing is that in none of the poems and legends there is any reference to the legendary blue horses, so the mentality arises that perhaps the special formation of historical, cultural and artistic history of pre-Islamic Iran and the Islamic era presents several important components. First, the position of the horse in the beliefs of the Iranian people in terms of cultural and mythological identity, then the interpretations of the concepts of color, especially blue in its general and doctrinal-mystical sense, and finally the current of thought that could affect the view of painting in this regard. The aim of this study was to identify the links between blue-colored horses in Iranian -Islamic painting and mysticism, as well as to study and to analyze the concepts of blue in blue-colored horses based on myth and allegory, in response to the questions that 1- what is the connection between blue-colored horses in Iranian-Islamic painting and mysticism? And 2- what is the message of the allegorical language hidden in the blue-painted horses in Iranian painting? It has been done in a descriptive-analytical way and in library way, citing the opinions of Islamic mystics. To conduct this research, 16 Iranian paintings were purposefully selected with special attention to the content of the story and with the assumption that there is a close relationship between Iranian mystical literature, myths and Iranian blue-horse paintings, and according to the story and literary and mystical features which were subsequently analyzed based on objectives and to answer to the questions. In the analysis, after examining the allegorical, mystical and mythical role of the horse in Iranian paintings, other items such as the verses in the paintings that are part of the story and the emphasis or reference to blue, to the horse and blue horses, and to concepts such as vigilance, loyalty, courage, etc. are considered from the point of view of mysticism. The emphasis of the color blue in riding is on innocence, purity, immortality, and sorrow, emphasis or reference to the position of Sufism on horses, and emphasis on the status of horsemen and princes. The discussion of mysticism, especially from the fifth century AH/ the eleventh century AD onwards with the presence of Nezami, Ibn Arabi, Suhrawardi, etc. in the literature of mystical poetry reached its peak and in the tenth-twelfth centuries AH/ sixteenth-eighteenth centuries AD, clearly shows in the fields of poetry and literature, especially Iranian painting. In promoting and spreading the culture of mysticism among the community of artists of the Timurid era, Abdul Rahman Jami, poet and mentor of Naqshbandiyya, Mir Ali Shirnavai and Sultan Hossein Bayqara, played a major role and influenced artists such as Behzad and his followers. Based on the results, the expansion and promotion of mystical ideas and their impact on literary and artistic fields, especially painting, show the mythical horse as a model of heroism, courage, and loyalty, and the use of blue tones as a model. The allegory of the concepts of purity, faith and innocence is a reflection of expressing a worthy and pure path towards the purpose and immortality. The horse seems to have been the strongest animal in terms of identity that the painter could have resorted to, and blue was the most appropriate color that could represent the common quality of the spirit of honesty and faith between man and animal as well as the dignity and decency of the horse. In addition to the items mentioned in many drawings, the use of blue color for horses is out of spirituality and is only to complete the color composition and rotate the eyes of the audience and create a visual balance in the drawing. The concepts are allegorical, mystical and spiritual and have been rendered only in order to complete the color composition and rotate the audience's eyes and create visual balance in the image, which requires another detailed discussion

Symbolism is a cryptic and effective way of conveying meaning, handled by Iranian painters in different periods. During the Safavid period, the use of symbolic elements became more prominent with the recognition of the Shiite religion and the tendency of art workshops to portray mystical and religious themes. Among these workshops was the royal workshop of Prince Ibrahim Mirza in Mashhad, which is recognized both for its religious and cultural significance of Khorasan and for its illustration of magnificent manuscripts such as the Jami’s Haft Awrang. Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang paintings are based on Jami’s stories and have different themes, such as the story of "Yusuf and Zuleykha" mentioned in the Qur’an and other books of the monotheistic religions, or the often told story of "Leily and Majnoon". It is reflected in Iranian literature and culture. The aim of this study is to comparatively examine the symbolism in the paintings of these two stories, to determine their relationship with the religious and cultural beliefs of this period, and to answer the following questions: 1. How were the culture and religious beliefs of the Safavid period reflected in the symbolism of the two stories? 2. What is the connection between the symbolism in the paintings of the two stories and religious and cultural beliefs of the Iranians during the Safavid era? The research method is comparative-analytical, and the information collection method is library research. We start with symbols classifications: One of the types of symbols classification is the placement of symbols into the type of human symbols and transcendent symbols, based on the theory of symbolism by Charles Chadwick (1996). "Human symbols" is a personal aspect of symbolism that can be considered the art of expressing thoughts and feelings by referring to how they are expressed by the artist; like a jar in Khayyam's poems. In this sense, it is the artist who brings a symbolic concept to the symbol and uses it in a certain sense in his works, and this requires the examination of all the works of an artist that are outside the scope of this study. But, in "transcendent symbolism" symbols are broad, general and ideally objective images of the world, of which the present world is only an incomplete representation, mystical symbols, and cultural symbols may be considered of this type. Transcendent religious symbols refer to religious content, and transcendental cultural symbols refer to literature and culture, and transcendent artistic symbols are derived from the principles of Iranian painting and elements of nature. We examine artistic symbols in two sub-categories of geometric and natural in 6 paintings of Haft Awrang. What can be deduced from the analysis of the research findings and the comparison of the two categories of painting is that the painters of Ibrahim Mirza’s Haft Awrang paid attention to the belief and culture of their period in the painting of religious and cultural content. The use of symbols such as the Ghezelbash Hat of the main characters of the story, Islimi, Greh, lotus, green and blue colors, mountain -tree, and the golden sky is in accordance with religious and cultural beliefs and principles. In response to the second question from the painting tradition of this period, despite the similarities in the use of some transcendent artistic symbols in both categories of painting originating from the Iranian painting tradition and originating from the seven principles of painting during the Safavids period, symbolism is different in the pantings of two stories. It is clear that in the Iranian painting tradition, symbols, like other nations, have a cultural and doctrinal basis, which is immortalized to express deep and cryptic concepts in the literature and culture of the nations. Therefore, the formation of principles based on this deep connection between religion and culture in the Iranian painting tradition has led to the use of some similar transcendent artistic symbols. As the winged angel and phoenix are combined symbols, rooted in the ancient myths of ancient Iran, and after Islam, under the influence of the common concepts of religions, the winged angel became a symbol for Gabriel and angels close to God, and phoenix found a sacred and spiritual role. Therefore, the painters paid attention to the religious and cultural context of the story in symbolism, and used symbols accordingly in their paintings. Despite the influence of religion and culture on each other and the art of the Safavid period, it can be said that some mythological symbols such as phoenix and dragon from the rich culture of ancient Iran remained strong and alive. The painters also used symbols like Lutus, Greh, etc. and they became the common ground and basic principles of Iranian painting. Some symbols such as the winged angel and the phoenix, retained their mythological forms, but took on a religious color and were used in a new sense.

Samā, as a ritual of the discourse of Islamic mysticism, refers to a process that its apparent presentation initially associates with a kind of dance or rhythmic movement due to the physical actions of the participants in this ceremony. Since the variety of sources related to Samā includes various fields such as mysticism, literature, music, painting, etc., the comparison and adaptation of the mentioned sources facilitates an accurate understanding of this ritual phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to make a comparative study between "SamāNāmeh-Hā" as written sources and "Miniatures related to Samā" as visual sources. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the question regarding how the issues raised in the "SamāNāmeh-Hā” and their reflection in Samā-centered drawings compared with written sources (belonging to the fifth to the ninth centuries) and visual sources (between the ninth to the eleventh centuries) on Samā. The comparison of the sources mentioned in this research includes three levels of "physical actions", "ritual behaviors" and "musical elements", which in accordance with each of these levels, in addition to the mentioned written and visual sources, the secondary sources such as musical treatises are also taken into consideration so as to remove any ambiguities. Although a comparative study of these visual and written sources can confirm similarities between the two, the differences resulting from this comparison somehow indicate that the painter does not follow the given written content in the SamāNāmeh-Hā. Therefore, this can be considered as the painter's transition from the "real world" to the "imaginary world". In other words, the differences arising from the comparative study of the SamāNāmeh-Hā and related paintings can be used as a goal of this research in order to extract and distinguish the real elements (topics in the SamāNāmeh-Hā) from the imaginary elements (related to painter’s imagination) in the selected paintings. The findings of this study, which have been analyzed by a comparative method based on Panofsky's theory of "iconography", in addition to showing the relative overlap between the above sources, suggest artist's faithfulness to "SamāNāmeh-Hā” themes were generally accompanied by sparks of reality in their works, while as the painter distances himself from the content of written sources, the imagination in the relevant paintings intensifies and their relation to reality diminishes. The research findings also identified three levels, including physical actions, ritual behaviors, and musical elements: "Ritual behaviors", actually reflecting the ritual-based aspects of Samā, are presented at three levels of time, place, and participants. This does not mean SamāNāmeh-Hā and paintings in this area are completely compatible with each other, because things like the presence of women in some of the paintings are not relevant to the contents of SamāNāmeh-Hā. The results of this iconographic reading in relation to the "musical elements" of Samā indicate the maximum correspondence of the SamāNāmeh-Hā and paintings in relation to the musical elements. The results are as the following: 1) The frequent visible Instruments in the paintings (Ney, Daf / Dāyereh) have already been approved in the “SamāNāmeh-Hā” by the Sufi sheikhs; 2) The visual documents related to the Ney represent two different types of this instrument; one with the title "Nāy or Sefid-nāy", the same instrument that has been already approved by the Sufi sheikhs in the "SamāNāmeh-Hā”, and the other, "Siyah-Nāy or Iraqi Nāy", which its use in the Samā ceremony has been rejected and forbidden by Islamic jurists; 3) In this paintings, what is seen as a Daf/Dāyereh is remarkably and structurally consistent with what is described in "SamāNāmeh-Hā”. It seems that the maximum conformity and overlapping of SamāNāmeh-Hā and paintings are the outcome of negative and restrictive jurisprudential rulings issued in relation to instruments as well as the way music is performed. In such a context, the presence or absence of music in Samā ceremonies is subject to two general approaches to this category: 1) Music is a phenomenon that derives its legitimacy from "tradition"; 2) The influence of trans-musical aspects that make the rejection or approval of music conditional on the involvement of an external factor on the musical background. Considering the Iranian painter's understanding of literary and mystical texts (for the purpose of Book Illustration), two points can be seen in relation to the elements in the paintings: 1(Imaginary elements: including symbolic images such as garden, cypress, stream of water etc., which are more dependent on the themes of literary and mystical texts than the content of SamāNāmeh-Hā; 2) Real elements: including the group of musicians, instruments and in general the elements that specifically represent the Samā rites. Since SamāNāmeh-Hā provide relatively accurate descriptions of the Samā ceremony, the comparison of these written sources with paintings reinforces the hypothesis that these works are apparently in line with what has existed in practice. The present article has been compiled based on library resources.

"Kitab Suwar Al-Kawākib" (Book of Fixed Stars) written by Abd al-Rahman Sufi Razi (291-376 AH/903-986 AD) is one of the most famous books of ancient astronomy. This book is an illustrated map of the sky that includes the celestial coordinates, color, apparent magnitude and variable luminosity of the stars, constellation information tables, as well as the detailed classification of the stars of each constellation in terms of brightness. In this book, eight non-stellar objects have also been recorded by the author. The constellations have two images for each constellation, one for the sky and the other for the celestial sphere. It seems that the illustrations of the images, which (like other scientific books) started from the first manuscripts to help better understand the difficult contents, have continued in the later manuscripts, and the illustrators, in addition to maintaining the general state of the drawings, have used the artistic features of their period. Recognizing the cryptography of the constellations, both from an artistic and an astronomical point of view requires more attention to the art history of the period in question, as well as to the knowledge of astronomy and astrology.Among the 48 constellations of Suwar Al-Kawākib, there are 14 human-related names that are structurally divided into two categories: human and imaginary human beings. In the present study, the drawings of the constellations Cepheus, Bootes, Hercules, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Auriga, Ophiuchus, Andromeda, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Orion and Centaurus, which have human bodies, belonging to two versions of the 9th century AD (820 AH and about 853 AH) have been studied. Both copies belong to the Ulugh Beigh Library. This research has been done from an artistic and astronomical point of view. The main purpose was to answer the question "What changes did the painters of Suwar Al-Kawākib make in the iconography of human paintings in the ninth century AH with the aim of observing the astronomical criteria and the position of the stars?" Regarding the method, the authors of this study, by quantitative and qualitative analysis of the paintings, have dealt with those pictorial differences in iconography and clothing that have astronomical origins; the cases in which the painters, due to astronomical considerations (to record the exact position of the stars), have been forced to make changes in the normal state of the figures, which cannot be justified except for astronomical reasons. Or, because of the shape of the human body, they are forced to make minor displacements in the position of the stars.During the research, it became clear that the studied paintings, in addition to the relative imitation of the previous versions, also reflect the common patterns of their time in iconography. With the intention of observing scientific accuracy in the exact location and maintaining the astronomical position of the stars, painters have in some cases made unusual changes in the design of some human paintings that have only astronomical reasons. For example, in both books, the protrusion of the horse's buttocks in the constellation Sagittarius and the very long sleeve of the constellation Orion relative to the other sleeve are designed and executed simply because of the precise recording of the stars in that part of the sky. These cases and the like cannot be due to the inability or negligence of the painters, because the other sleeve of Orion (and other sleeves in other figures) as well as the body of the horse in Centaurus or the constellation of Pegasus in these two versions are acceptable and they are conventional.The research findings show that the painter of Suwar Al-Kawākib in the Library of Congress (2008401028) attempted to record the positions of the stars in order to match the joints of the figures to the stars, which led to distortions in some of the figures. This is not the case with the ARABE5036 version of the National Library of France, and the painter did not necessarily adapt the stars to the joints of the figures in order to become a cause for distortion. The stars in this version are only close to the joints. The proportions of the head, arms, and legs relative to the torso are further observed, and, if necessary, fabric twisters are used to position the stars. Although in this period there are cases where the normal state of the statues has fallen victim to recording the exact position of the stars, but these changes with the intelligence and creativity of painters are much less than similar examples of the past. In general, it can be said that the painters of the constellations in the ninth century AH were able to observe the aesthetic aspect along with astronomical criteria by making small changes in the common traditions of the representation of the constellations, such as the movement of stars on figures and changes in the shape of clothes.

The art of court iconography is one of the main arts of the Qajar era and can be seen in various arts of this era. One of the arts related to iconography, the combination of painting and jewelry, is painted in the form of enameled medallions which are symbolic and have decorative features and are usually given to foreign representatives. The purpose of this research is to study the painted medallions of the Qajar period and to examine the examples from the period of Fath Ali Shah to the end of the Nasrid period; which have been presented in various auctions around the world. The main question of this research is: What are the structural and content-related characteristics of the painted medallions of the Qajar period in each Qajar period? The research method in the present study is descriptive-analytical and has been done using library resources. The investigations of this research show that the integration of art and politics in the medallions of the Qajar period can be seen through the use of symbols of power in the images, and the more we move from the period of Fath Ali Shah to the period of Naser al-Din Shah, the number of consumed jewelry decreases. The abundant use of images in all eras can be seen as an attempt to initiate the monarchy. Most of the medallions were made to be given to foreign ambassadors, and the beautiful art of painting on enamel and combining it with jewels was formed and attached to clothes. Some of these medallions have paintings on the back of the work, and some of them are simple and monochromatic on the back. The production is more in the first Qajar period, then the Naserid period, and it is the lowest in the Muhammad Shah period. During the period of Fath Ali Shah, jewelry was used the most in medallions compared to all periods. King’s portraiture develops from idealism to realism along the path of portrait painting of this era. The necessity and importance of research in this case is that the study of painted medallions of the Qajar period has not been conducted and investigated as an independent research. These medallions were created for the first time in the court of Fath Ali Shah, and they were prepared by the painters of the Qajar court by imitating foreign examples and influencing the rules of court portrait painting. The jewelry and the gold frame should be coordinated. This process continues in the following periods according to the iconography in each period. The importance of examining these jewelry medallions shows that the medallions in question are one of the propaganda tools of the government in the Qajar period, and we witness the combination of art and politics and the taste of artists in the medallions, which is a combination of the art of painting and jewelry making in this era. The nature of the obtained information is qualitative, and the analyses are also qualitative, and the classification of medallions is related to the aesthetics of iconographic features of each era. The images of painted medallions of the Qajar period constitute the statistical population of this research, and the number of examples of the examined medallions is seven jeweled medallions of the period of Fath Ali Shah, two of the period of Muhammad Shah, and seven of the period of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. The images of the medallions were obtained from Qajar art auction sites such as Bonham's, Sotheby's, Christie's, etc. The analysis and investigation of the rules of court iconography and the visible characteristics of painted medallions during the Qajar period are analyzed in this research. These works have been analyzed based on the basics of visual arts and the visual structure of the medallions. Consequently, it is clear that the image of the king's face has political and artistic importance and value in every period, and the evolution of the painting of the images shows that the image of the king is presented as a political value in gifts, and painting on enamel and decorating it with jewels were considered by the Qajar kings. The features of large-scale portrait painting can be seen in very small-scale medallions as well, and it shows the evolution of portrait painting from idealism to photorealism and naturalism; influenced by European painting and photography. The transformations of court portraiture and portraiture from idealism to realism can also be seen in medallions.

According to historical sources, (Khātam) inlay is one of the wooden arts of Iran, beginning of which may be considered in the Al-Muzaffar period based on the inlay that remains preserved in the Metropolitan Museum. Remaining pieces from the Safavid era, namely entrance doors, particularly in palaces, as well as chairs, suggest that this period has been notably one the glorious eras of this art in Iran. The centre of producing these works in the Safavid era was Isfahan city, though later it was replaced by Shiraz which became the only remaining centre of this craft. This art has achieved valuable achievements in each period, some of which have continued to this day. Among the works of inlay left from the past, there are unique masterpieces, an important part of which is related to the Qajar period. The aim of this study was to explain the marquetry inlay method and to analyze its continuity in order to answer the following questions: 1. What are the technical characteristics of the marquetry inlay method? 2- What factors are effective in the continuation of the marquetry inlay from the Qajar period to the recent decade? One of the technical features of the marquetry inlay method is the creation of color diversity in inlaying, which has been achieved with the help of inlay blades. In this research, the descriptive-analytical research method and its methodological approach are based on a constructivist approach. One of the most important factors in the continuation of this method is the parehiy inlay, the use of which has also been under the influence of factors such as the variety of raw materials, as well as ease and speed in construction. For this purpose, the effects of the marquetry inlay index from the Qajar period to the recent decade have been studied despite the limited number of works of statistical samples which include 3 works preserved in the World Heritage Collection of Golestan Palace, Ostad Saba Museum and Reza Abbasi Museum, 2 works preserved in the Research Institute of Traditional Arts and 1 work preserved in the private collection of Victoria and Albert, which has been purposefully selected. In this research, the research method is descriptive-analytical. The collection of materials was based on library studies and field observations. The results of the analysis show that the marquetry inlay method, which is one of the important achievements of Qajar inlay, has been influenced by the emergence of parehiy inlay. Also, the variety of colors resulting from the variety of raw materials in the inlay and the emergence of a barrier as a protector and maintainer of the inlay have provided the continuation of this method until the last decade. One of the most important findings of this study, in addition to defining the characteristics of the last achievements of the Qajar period, has been the analysis of how marquetry inlay has continued so far. The results of studies showed that not only the Qajar period was one of the most important and influential historical periods in inlay, but also the achievements that were added to inlay in this period have continued until now and this point has caused the dynamism of this art. The data of this research have been collected by library and field methods (observation and interview). Due to the limitations of writing, instead of scientific citation, the method of producing science has been used in many cases. In this regard, while collecting library information, more field methods are used and by referring to the works and directly observing their analyses, analysis and exact characteristics are extracted without any prejudice. Thematic features in this research require the use of historical methods for analysis. The studied samples are 6 inlaid works, which are also decorated in the style of mosaic inlays and are preserved in domestic and foreign museums. The sampling method is selective and purposeful. The analysis of information and data, used in this research, has been done qualitatively. The most important achievements of Qajar period inlaying are Parhati inlay, Toglo Morvarid inlay and marquetry inlay method. One of the most important factors in the continuation of these achievements, which has caused the dynamism of this art, can be the variety of raw materials, while other significant factors include variety and the emergence of innovations in the use of containers that have appeared in the mosaic inlay. In addition, the inlay, which is one of the most important achievements of the Qajar period, has led to the continuation of the mosaic inlay method until now.

Tilework has been of great significance in Persian architecture from a long time ago. This architecture owes a major deal of its magnificence to masterly tilework; enjoying unique decorative forms and motifs. Besides technical development in applying different materials, ornamentation is considered as well a distinctive aspect of Persian tilework creating wonderful works in different historical periods. Pictorial tiles constitute a substantial part of this rich and marvelous field. This art was being paid considerable and serious attention to in the 6th century AH/ 12th century AD in Kashan, Iran. In that time, in addition to various types of fine tiles such as those applied in delicate mihrabs (prayer niches) and distinct mosaics, a set of connected and juxtaposed elements consisting of stars and crosses, and intertwined hexagons with fine designs painted on which provided tile makers with plenty of artistic opportunities. A great number of such tiles represent some sort of royal magnificence in their designs and motifs. Natural forms are among the most important pictorial themes used in the star-and-cross-shaped tiles in the 6th to the 8th century AH/ 12th to 14th century AD Kashan.Tile makers of the mentioned works of art made a successful attempt in offering a representation, in other words mimesis, of the nature in its best mode. Despite the artistic value of these tiles as a part of the visual repertoire of Persian art, they haven’t been considered and studies properly. Accordingly, the present essay aims to find answers for the following questions: 1- Which natural elements have been used more than others in the star-shaped tiles of Kashan? 2- What criteria were considered in representing these elements in conformity with Coomaraswamy's views? In order to discover reasonable answers for these matters, this research has examined the issue of mimesis and representation of natural forms in luster-glazed tiles of Kashan on the basis of Ananda Coomaraswamy’s views, which are fairly significant in the realm of Eastern art studies. The research method was descriptive- analytical. The results indicate that it would not be possible to realize any close and exact likeness (homoiosis) between the artwork and nature in these tiles’ pictures and designs, but we can only refer to three issues: mutatis mutandi, expressive likeness, and imagination.In the first issue, that is mutatis mutandi, likeness is the most important feature in luster-glazed tiles of Kashan which could be seen in three aspects: likeness in main lines and elements, analogical adaptation, and finally, imitation.In the second issue, that is expressive likeness, two general fields, i.e. participation and symbolism, are recognized. Here, participation has a wider thematic arena. Incidentally, in the field of symbolism of the tiles’ motifs, the representation of natural elements has usually adopted cultural function, mostly expressing concepts such as growth, life, eternity, perfectionism, and the disastrous aspects of drought and evil. All these are in close relation with nature and life.Besides the mentioned issues, the third one, that is imagination in painting, is another significant feature in artistic creation. The relationship between imagination and knowledge of the essence of human’s entity, connecting him to other worlds, including the world of ideas, is a significant matter in the field of mimesis and representation of nature in the luster-glazed tiles of Kashan from Islamic viewpoint.In most cases which were studied here, the designs and their distinctions were done according to contours. Incidentally, the main motif was placed in the center, usually in bigger size in comparison with others. The way other visual elements were designed with the object of emphasizing the main motifs is another point to achieve balance and harmony, best manifested in the Kashan star-shaped tiles.Generally, with regard to Ananda Coomaraswamy’s opinions on nature mimesis and its manifestation in the star-shaped tiles from Kashan, we can conclude that observation and perception are the most prominent factors in recognizing the nature for its representation. The normal process of human’s mind in representing natural elements is an intellectual and intuitive one which could not be justified only through mere visual imitation. Meanwhile, mimesis is nothing but the artist’s conscious will in displaying the general truth of existence on the basis of his knowledge of this matter. Such mimesis should undoubtedly be considered as a means of reputation, beauty, attraction and survival for these tiles for centuries.

The Sacred Defense is an influential part of the history of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, which evokes many human values. The Sacred Defense Memorial is one of the ways to respond to the recording of historical events and to commemorate the values ​​of that time which is manifested in the form of different bodies with different materials and tells the epic of eight years of stability in different ways. The Sacred Defense Memorial can be divided into three types: narrative-based, symbol-oriented and concept-oriented in terms of the way it deals with the subject and how different generations of the country interact in the face of any difference. The purpose of the above research is recognizing the best type of Sacred Defense monument from the point of view of two generations of the time of Sacred Defense and subsequent generations. The question of the present study was that which category is chosen by the generation of the time of the Sacred Defense and the generations after it, in the face of the monuments of the Sacred Defense, in order to preserve and transmit the values ​​and collective memories of the Sacred Defense? The method of the present study is a combination of descriptive-analytical and survey methods. The method of gathering information was to collect documentary sources related to the Sacred Defense for the characteristics of the experimental arts and architecture of the Sacred Defense. Then, field studies were conducted by visiting, interviewing and distributing a questionnaire among the visitors of the garden of the Museum of Sacred Defense in Tehran. The sample of the present study is 350 visitors of the garden of the Museum of Sacred Defense in Tehran. According to Morgan's table, they were selected by random sampling according to the statistics of museum visitors, and 30 experts familiar with the values ​​and symbols of the Sacred Defense who had a history of presence at the front were selected from experts in the field of Sacred Defense, as well as architecture specialists who some had a history of sacrifice and Sacred Defense. The method of analysis is with the help of spss26 software and by comparing the frequency tables of the answers of the two generations of the time of the Sacred Defense and after that. It has been analyzed and discussed, then with Friedman nonparametric test, the relationship between the components of the concept of designing Sacred Defense monuments was assessed by experts and specialists. The results show that the audience of the generation of the Sacred Defense era and subsequent generations, all agree to keep the values ​​of Sacred Defense alive by designing Sacred Defense monuments. Meanwhile, the generation of the Sacred Defense era prefers symbolic monuments while generations after the Sacred Defense prefer concept-based monuments for a better communication and understanding of Sacred Defense. Symbolism in the art of the Sacred Defense era made that generation have a mental knowledge and memory of those symbols. The selection of symbolic monuments centered on the Sacred Defense by the generation of the time of the Sacred Defense is all based on their knowledge and sense of belonging to the symbolic and epic concepts of the Sacred Defense era which expresses the courage, bravery, bravery of warriors and martyrs with a striking and firm look and tone. In contrast, Generations after the era of Sacred Defense, since it has no memory of the time of the Sacred Defense, has sought to discover the concept of memory. Concept-based monuments that express the spirit and concept of the message hidden in the subject with an abstract expression in the body of the monument and in the face of it need more reflection and are designed separately for each subject and in each specific place, considered by the next generation. It is the Sacred Defense and it can help transmit the values ​​and memories of the Sacred Defense to the third and fourth generations of the revolution. People with university education have chosen concept-based monuments and people with non-university education have chosen more symbolic monuments which shows that the new generation, most of whom have a university education, in the face of the Sacred Defense Memorial, seek to discover the concept of abstract message and seek more reflection to recognize values. Audiences of both generations agree with the placement of the monument near a cultural complex as well as the presence of sacred and natural elements in the design of the Sacred Defense monument. On the importance of influential components on the architectural design concept of Sacred Defense monuments, paying attention to the existence of a multi-purpose space and considering a space for religious ceremonies along with the memorial is considered effective by experts and designers in better transmitting the values ​​and memories of the Sacred Defense to generations after the Sacred Defense.

By examining the historical roots in the culture of beliefs and convictions of societies, we encounter narratives and myths which play a colorful role in the formation of the visual culture of past nations and civilizations. According to a tradition, the content of myths reflects ethnic customs and traditions, beliefs, and cultural approaches of societies, which have been manifested in art, which can be examined in the form of archetypes. Therefore, in spite of all the complexities, there is a kind of harmony and closeness in their main themes in the mythological archetypes, which makes a comparative study of these narrations possible .One of the oldest mythological archetypes is the myth of the mother goddess and goddess, which is one of the most influential and meaningful gods in the lives of ancient people. The oldest of them is called the goddess Inana which dates back to 3500 BC. In Mesopotamia whose image and symbols have been displayed in the art of different historical periods of Mesopotamia. the text of this myth is written on twenty tablets and several fragments and is kept in the museum of the Ancient East of Istanbul, the museums of universities of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and, Bail. The tablets were read and studied by Kramer. The Sumerian text of the poem was published in 1952 AD by the University of Pennsylvania museum. the story consists of three parts, which are :1- the relationship of Inana, the queen of Heaven with Enki, the god of water, wisdom and motto 2- the marriage of Inana and Dumuzì, which is known as the Holy marriage 3- the journey to earth is irreversible. On the other hand, in Lorestan region, bronze artifacts with a female motif have been obtained, which belong to the first and the second millennia BC.  Works and their designs can be considered as links between the civilizations of Mesopotamia and the art of ancient Iran. These motifs in terms of form, structure, and aesthetic principles reflect the beliefs and beliefs of ancient people therefore, it is necessary to study these works based on new approaches and theories. Therefore the purpose of this study is to represent and to express common features between images of women in Lorestan bronzes and Mesopotamian goddesses based on comparative and in textual studies to identify the religious beliefs of this period and its relationship with Mesopotamian civilization .Now, considering the proximity of these two regions and the background of the presence of the female goddess in Mesopotamian mythology and art and its role in the applied arts of  Lorestan region, the purpose of this study is to identify the visual relationship between the role of women in the pinheads of  Lorestan and the Mesopotamian goddess in order to discover the common intellectual heritage between these two regions. The questions raised in the research are: What common aspects and differences are observed between the role of women in the works of Lorestan and the Mesopotamian goddesses? According to Young’s archetypes, how are the common cultural ties between the two regions interpreted?

the research method in this articles is descriptive  analytical, in the process of which, while introducing and describing the content and features of Inana myth, the analysis of works of art has been done, which deals with Mesopotamian cylindrical seals and bronze works of Lorestan. The data collection tool is library-based, thus, the role of Inana -Ishtar in the cylindrical seals of the old Sumerian to Cassian period was first investigated based on the two catalogs of Null and the catalog of William and Moory to achieve the goal. Then, the bronze works of Lorestan with the motif of a woman were studied. Thus, 114 objects of Lorestan bronze objects were examined. Among them, 60 objects had female motifs. For this study, only female motifs on circular pins were used, and 20 of them were selected for comparative comparison with Mesopotamian seals’ designs. In this way, images were created from the designs created of the goddess Inana Ishtar on Mesopotamian works and the motif of a woman on the head of Lorestan bronze pins, and the analysis of these motifs is based on design, composition, visual elements, and archetypes.

The results show that the institutional philosophical thought in the myth of the female goddess is procreation and fertility and the inhabitants of both lands had similar concepts of the female goddess. The style of show in the art of both societies is realistic, but there is a difference in the style of execution. According to archetypes, the difference in appearance and coverage is the result of the environmental and historical conditions of societies. Thus, the people of both regions were influenced by regional beliefs to express their mythical ideas.