مجله هنر و تمدن شرق
پیاپی 46 (زمستان 1403)

The 13th anniversary of JACO is approaching. During these years, the editorial board of JACO as well as its authors made their best efforts to open an Iranian window to the cultural horizon of the Orient based on literary, history and archaeology. Historically, the development of the idea of Iranshahr, the word of Iran, and Iranian historical consciousness/ self-awareness emerged more than two millennia ago. Since the Sassanids, in W. Asia, next to the cultural borders of the Occident, represented by ancient pre-Christian Classical civilizations and then Christian Byzantium, people who considered themselves Iranian have lived and succeeded. Both archaeologically and historically, for instance, from the epitaph of Khordad Pour Ormazdafarid, whose life ended in Byzantine Constantinople (Nyberg, 1968), to the Nuzhat al-Qulūb composed by H. Mustawfi of Qazvin, by the end of Ilkhanids, such a fact should be realized that lands between the Euphrates and the Jaxartes and the Caucasian Darband up to the Persian Gulf were inhabited by people who were aware of their Iranian identity. It seems noticeable, many years after the fall of the Sassanids, when Sharaf al-Din Kurd Bidlisi (1860) wrote his book of Scheref Nameh on the history and descent of the Kurdish people by the order of Ottoman Sultan Muhammad III, he mentioned the Sassanid lineage of his fathers. In addition, the Islamic history of Iran verifies the rethinking of Sassanid sage and culture: Hekmat-e Khosrowani conceptualized by Shaykh Shahab al-Din Suhrawardy of Azerbaijan, whose metaphysical works are in Persian (Corbin, 1971). Another instance comes from the Age of Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tousi: although this Age commenced by the deadly invasion of Khorasan by the Mongols, it evolved to the renaissance movement of Iranian culture during the Age of Khwaja Rashid al-Din. This movement was inspired by the Sassanid Iran. In these times, as Shams Tabrizi asked, “What had happened to the Persian language? It is quite gentle and elegant!” the discourse of Dari was promoted in Iranian civilization. Meanwhile, the Shahnameh tradition and Persian letters were developed in the Ilkhanid court of Tabriz and Rab’-e Rashidi (Ajorloo, 2018). In addition to the poems of Khaghani of Shirvan, inspired by the legacy of Ctesiphon, the Arch of Alishah and the last Mongol Ilkhan who nick-named himself as Anushiravan the Fair, if one mentions the relives of Fath Ali Shah the Qajar beside the bas relives of Sassanid kings in Kermanshah and Ray, all of these should be noted as few samples from plenteous literary, historical and archaeological sources verify the continuous Sassanid idea of Iranshahr. The Ilkhanids should be regarded as the flourishing years of the Persian language, both literary and officially, out of Iran: Ibn Battuta could learn Persian in 14th CE India. He noted that Persian was the language of the Indian court and of merchants who were trading in China and across the Silk Road. Additionally, according to Ibn-Khaldun, another sage from the Age of Khawaja Rashid al-Din, urban and industries were developed in the Orient by the Iranians.

Since narratology is considered an interdisciplinary field and is used in various contexts, it can also be applied to the analysis of works within the realm of visual arts. As evidenced by the study of Persian miniatures, they exhibit characteristics that make narratological analysis feasible. Indeed, the strong connection between miniature and text, especially literature, enhances this realization. It seems that the epic poems of Shahnameh have played a significant role in the emergence of Persian miniatures, which have been depicted throughout various periods. In this regard, the present research is an attempt to understand to what extent Persian miniature is influenced by the artist’s personal taste and understanding of the narrative, and to what extent court commissions have impacted the formation of these artworks.This study aims to explore the evolutionary trajectory of meaning in paintings related to the theme of Rustam’s Seven Labors in the Shahnameh through the lens of narratology, elucidating the role of the miniaturist in this context. The present study employs a descriptive-analytical research method. Two miniatures titled Lion” and “Rustam’s Third Labor: Dragon” from Qarajaghay Khan Shahnameh (Windsor) have been selected as case studies. The data for this research was collected through library research, and organized to address the research questions.

As man descended on this universe and time lapsed over this history-owning creature, various eras took form, which consequently resulted in the appearance of forms of civilization. In each era, man stood in a relationship with truth, and each time with the change of this relationship, he turned to another manifestation of latent secrets of the universe and humanity, which resulted in the creation of a new civilization. Art, too, as a manifestation of civilization, is the best and most transparent mirror of truth in each period of history and human civilization in which manifestations of secrets between truth and creation are laid bare. Man, for his godlike character, is, at the same time, a work of art and an artist; he is a work of art because he is an image, and an artist. After all, this image is an image of a divine artist. For this, man, who enjoys a spiritual nature, marks a system of human beliefs that are concentrated on the meaning and discovery of the meaning of life and a total of his relations and connections in life, so that he further takes a step in the direction of realizing his substantive nature by moving through the horizons, the souls, and the creation of a work of art.  In its inward, Islamic art contains the most excellent moral and spiritual components, which greatly contribute to the process of transferring techniques and methods. On the other hand, the most outstanding components of a master-apprentice system are founded on spiritual themes, which are specifically revealed in Islamic art. This study investigates the concept of spirituality under the philosophy of Islamic art and the master-apprentice system and presents spiritual components by integrating two approaches. This study also falls under qualitative and descriptive research. It also examines such components as respect, decent behavior, search for meaning, aestheticism, and spiritual concepts of the philosophy of Islamic art by referring to the master-apprentice system.

Falak-ol-Aflak Castle is one of the most prominent historical remains from the Sassanian era. It was used as a military fortress or a secure sanctuary. However, this study aims to examine the specific architectural structure and tall walls of the castle and seeks to answer the question of which passive defense components exist in this castle and how they are manifested in its spatial organization. The objective is to introduce the components and features of passive defense in Falak-ol-Aflak Castle and explore how these components are applied in its spatial design and architectural elements. Relevant data regarding the principles and foundations of passive defense were collected through documentary methods, while the architectural features of the castle were documented and recorded through fieldwork. The results indicate that the spatial organization of the castle has incorporated factors such as facilitating the provision of vital needs during emergencies, decentralized design of residential areas, enclosed and defensive fabric, compactness, and the creation of escape routes. Additionally, the winding passages and labyrinthine paths are examples of the principle of deception in their spatial organization. In terms of architectural elements, measures such as angled access to interior spaces, elevated control rooms for monitoring movement, lowered courtyard levels compared to the streets, and structural reinforcement through connection and adjacency of buildings have been considered to reduce vulnerability and ensure the safety of residents in Falak-ol-Aflak Castle. The inward focus in the architecture of the castle units aligns with the principle of deception in the castle’s architectural elements.

The most important claim of the traditionalists about calligraphy is the semantic field or encryption. This essay’s primary purpose is to investigate the cryptographic basis of calligraphy from the perspective of the traditionalists. The study is an attempt to examine what is the semantic field and encoding of calligraphy from the perspective of traditionalists,? Moreover, what does this basis have to do with tradition? This research assumes that the science of letters is the basis of calligraphy encryption from a traditionalist’s perspective. The research method is descriptive and analytical, and the attempt is to look at the basis of cryptography in traditionalists’ writings such as Seyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Burkhardt, and Shuan and Guenon. The first part discusses the basis of traditionalists’ encryption and their claims about the calligraphy somatic according to their writings. The essay’s second part studies the encryption of traditionalist’s basis (the science of letters) in Islamic sources. The traditionalists consider the meaning of language letters in calligraphy, and calligraphic encoding is related to the language letters and Jafr (science of letters) and not necessarily the calligraphic aesthetic aspect. This encryption is more of a linguistic phenomenon (related to letters) than calligraphy. At the same time, the essay’s second part shows that the science of letters basis is contradictory, and Islamic sources mostly reject the science of letters basis. As a result, traditionalists’ encryption claims in the calligraphy need to be validated.

Wooden capitals in wooden mosques are important elements of this type of architecture and are indicative of the artistic taste and cultural heritage of the artist or architect who created them. There are notable examples of such works in northwest Iran, on which limited studies have been conducted to date, indicating the necessity for comprehensive research to their introduction. The aim of this research is to conduct an applied study and investigate the vertical wooden capitals of East Azerbaijan, focusing on the examination and analysis of selected samples from an artistic and technical perspective. This involves the dissection and analysis of the components that make up the studied capitals, including complete elements, shapes, compositions, connections, and construction techniques. The research method used is descriptive-analytical, which delves into the form, geometric characteristics, construction process, and constituent elements of the capitals and compares and contrasts the components of capitals in historical and wooden mosques selected for analysis. Due to the compatibility and durability of wood in the climatic conditions of East Azerbaijan province, its use as a prominent element in architecture has been welcomed by a segment of artists and architects in Azerbaijan, especially in regions such as Bonab, Ajabshir, and Maragheh. The delicacy and workability of wood have led to the creation of exquisite capitals with sometimes differing geometries, and while these capitals may appear similar at first glance, the analysis shows that there are differences in terms of geometry, formal details, and constituent elements among them. It is worth noting that these differences do not seem to be visible in the construction technique of the analyzed samples, suggesting that the construction process in these cases has been similar, possibly influenced by artists inspiring each other in creating these works.

Nishapur's buffware potteries are the center of attention for their unique designs. These potteries were neither known before the 9th century AD nor did their production continue after the 10th century AD. None of the theories proposed about this pottery mentioned any sufficient and credible evidence. Apart from exploring the apparent origins of the pottery designs and examining a proper number of artifacts, this study attempts to provide reasoned evidence regarding the sources of inspiration and the visual similarities of these designs. In fact, the research questions are: What is the apparent origin of these designs? What are the roots of the form of the clothes, shoes, fabrics used, composition methods, scattered plant elements in the background and figures' hands, white circular spots on the hair, and the decoration of horses, and what are they influenced by? This investigation does not address the content-related issues of the designs but focuses solely on their formal origins.This period witnessed the formal influence of the Sogdia region, Central Asia, and the art of the Sassanid era. It seems that the peace and security during the reign of the Samanid emperors, the existence of the Silk Road extending from China to the Mediterranean shores that caused trading to thrive, led to the significant contribution of the Sogdia region on influencing the drawing style on these pottery designs.This study used a qualitative and strategic goal-oriented structure and it is of the fundamental research type. Regarding the research methodology, this research is of a historical kind. The data were analyzed and discussed with a descriptive-analytical approach.