ISLAMIC ART
Year:2009 | Volume:6 | Issue:12|Papers Count:14

The culture and civilization of China and Persia are amidst the oldest in Asia. It is assumed that the geographical distance between these two supremacies was the main cause of peace among these two sovereignties. Consequently, the two civilizations had close affairs in both trade and cultural matters and highly influenced each other. Ethnics and culture were of utmost importance in both nations; hence, the incoming cultural traits were welcomed and coordinated according to the beliefs and traditions of both countries. Persians exhibited a high tendency in receiving new art and culture. Initially they accepted the new forms and subsequently they endeavored to exemplify their own innovation amongst these cultural transfers.As mentioned, one of the fundamental influences in the art of Persia was China. With the invasion of Moghuls, the Ilkhanids came to power and after decades of turbulence and disorder, relations between China and Persia enhanced. Overall, the Ilkhanid era is well-known for its distinctive affairs with China and henceforth, this era is recognized as the golden age of such relations. Many believe that the main grounds for collaboration between China and Persia is mainly due to the fact that both countries were occupied by the same invader. The rulers of the Moghul Empire (Sung and Yuan) were highly influenced by Chinese art and culture and therefore converted this influence to Persia via political, economic and later on cultural ties; and initiated many artistic bonds in various fields such as painting and other forms of art.Questions:1- Have the embedded elements in Chinese paintings influenced its Persian counterpart in the Ilkhanid period?2- What are the significant similarities and variations regarding the naturalism in Persian and Chinese paintings?Aims:1- Focusing on the symbolic elements of Naturalism in the paintings of Sung, Yuan and Ilkhanid eras.2- Recognizing the similar elements applied in Chinese and Persian paintings.

The establishment of the Fatimid sovereignty in northern parts of Africa was amongst the most efficacious political accomplishments of the Ismaili Shi'ahs. Contemporaneous to this formation, the Buiidds became the main authority in Persia and the two supremacies enjoyed many congenial relations. The Fatimid dynasty was initiated in 909/1530 on complex intellectual and societal principals known as the Ismaililie movement, a subdivision of Shiism. It therefore became a basis for the enhancement of art, culture, technology and economical progression in western parts of the Islamic world.Among the arts, the art of miniature is of significance. The Fatimid artists created splendid paintings on papers, walls, and also on pottery and wood. The main focal point of this study is highlighting the the content of illustrated artworks of the age with symbolic, social, and lyrical scenes such as the lives of caliphs, Fatimid court life and also scenes of battle and valor. This contextual study will be carried out by studying the pottery, wall paintings, and impaired manuscripts of the age; furthermore, exploiting earthly content and using a naturalism approach was practiced by many Fatimid artists on these valuable works of art.Research Questions:1- How can the religious and spiritual beliefs of the Fatimid artists influence their approach to art and ornamentation?2- What are the hidden meanings in the artworks of the Fatimid arts?Aims of Research1- Understanding the religious beliefs of the Fatimids and its influence on the artworks of the age.2- Recognizing the content and perspective within Fatimid artworks.

From the Timurid era onwards, paintings witness innovative contents mostly depicting the lives of everyday individuals. From this point on, the illustration of magnificent literary epopees that had once been the center theme for painting gradually lost its significance and more realist subjects entered the realm of Persian painting. The Persian artists were inclined in depicting realism in their painting for they had within them a pioneering spirit and a tendency towards depiching the everyday life of their countrymen. However, matters such as lack of support from officials and influence of other cultures were also key elements in their interest in illustrating the reality of people's daily life.Research questions:1- With the emergence of realism in Persian painting, are there any aesthetical differences between the magnificent art and the art admired by the masses? (in regards to content, techniques, elements of light, subjective and objective perspectives- From which specific era has this interest developed and what are the main reasons behind this?3- Can one distinguish the roots of anthropology in these types of paintings?Aims of the research:1- Reaching the conclusion that the western culture did not entirely influence Persian artists in using realism and social factors were also involved.2- Recognizing realism art from magnificent art to distinguish any differences between them.3- Finding the elements of anthropology in these three eras of Persian history.

Mosques, the most distinguished feature of Islamic architecture, are not only a place of worship but also a place for social collaboration and communal gatherings. The spirit of Islam is manifested by the mosque and enhanced by artists with embellishments of fine art including calligraphy, painting and tile-work.For the artist, the holy Qur'an is a source of inspiration and its verses are the birthplace of ethical and Islamic morals. These morals can be re-presented in mosques in forms of artistic elements as a reminder for the general population. Hence, Qura'nic verses are embedded within arabesque designs and geometric patterns in order to create outstanding works of art that bewilder any spectator. Such embellishment is visibly seen in the two mosques of Gohar-Shad of Mashhad and Mosala Gohar-Shad of Herat.The Gohar-Shad mosque of Mashhad has used elements such as mosaic tiles, Mua'qli and brick simultaneously and azure blue is seen at most. The Thulth and Nast'aliq script has also added unique exquisiteness to the structure. In the Gohar-Shad mosque of Herat scripts including Kufi, Nasfaliq and Mua'qli is depicted. Furthermore, surahs such as Path, Vaghe e, and Ayat-al-Korsi are common between the two structures that are extensively similar in terms of decorative richness and behold many commonalities; however, the ornamentation and Qura'nic verses of Gohar-Shad mosque of Mashhad are specifically more conspicuous than its counterpart in Heart.Aims of the Research:1- Understanding the meaning, significance and scripts of the two Gohar-Shad mosques.2- Reaching a comparative and contrast analysis of the two structures.Questions of the Research:1- What are the significant content, meaning, and scripts applied in the inscriptions of both structures?2- What are the common similarities and dissimilarities in terms of calligraphy?

Among the various subcategories of Islamic art, Islamic architecture specifically Islamic ornamentation is of excessive significance. The remaining artworks of Islamic ornamentation from mosques and tombs of pious men behold a unique and profound characteristic of visual art. Qom, a city in central Iran, has become a treasure for Islamic architectural decoration; mainly for the holy presence of Hazrat-e-Masoumeh and the many Imamzadeh shrines. Among them, Imamzadeh Ismail known as "Seyed Sarbakhsh" will be the focus of this paper. The tomb which dates back to the fourteenth/eight century during the reign of the Ilkhanid era is embellished with exquisite and remarkable ornamentation. The current study is based on the introduction and exploration of the ornamentations of the shrine and features outlining explicit decorations such as curved arabesques, geometric shapes and decorative inscriptions.Aims of this research1- Understanding the elements and decorative features of the shrine of Imamzadeh Ismail.2- Categorizing the embellishments into related groups.Research Questions:1- What are the main decorative characteristics of the mentioned shrine?2- What are the significant motifs of the plaster work decoration applied in this shrine?

Persian art specifically metalwork has reflected the philosophies and perspectives of religion and tradition throughout many historical periods. The Seljuq and Safavid eras are amidst the golden ages of Persian art. These glorified phases in Persian history established independent and autonomous sovereignties and were significant in regard with their tendency towards Sunni and Shi'ah branches of Islam. Artworks from these two eras are preserved in museums and collections worldwide such as the National museum of Iran, ChehelSotun Isfahan, Astan Qods Razavi, Art museum of Cleveland, Hermitage museum, Metropolitan museum, and Dara-al Zhar Al-Eslamieh museum in Kuwait.These works exclusively reflect the religion and the socio-political acts of the age; henceforward, the focus of this paper will be conducting a contrastive analysis on a number of collected works; therefore, the metal work of the Safavid and Seljuk eras are studied in terms of form, embellishment and application. The two periods behold many cultural and artistic commonalities, however, variation is perceivedin the classification of decorative elements such geometric patterns, herbal and animal designs, applied techniques and the use of material and substances; further more, the usage of Persian in the inscriptions of the Safavid era and contrastively Arabic in the Seljuq era can be concluded as an additional distinction.Aims of the Research:1- Understanding the influence of religiOUSelements on the metalwork of Seljuq and Safavid eras.2- Recognizing the decorative features and contextual meanings hidden within the artwork.Research Questions:1- Do the embellishments and inscriptional meanings of the artworks reflect the religion of the age?2- What are the elements of form, decoration and content in the metalwork of Seljuq and Safavid eras?

The imperial seals are among the significant works of the Safavid period. Research on Safavid seals in particular the king's personal seal can be studied by analyzing governmental and official documents. The visual appearance of the seals is significant for its immediate recognition by the viewer. In this paper, the characteristics of the seals will be discussed; furthermore, they will be named and categorized according to their appearance, application, and historical background.Finally we can conclude that the appearance and combination of the written scripts of the seals apart from indicating the royal status of the king; express the ideologies and beliefs of the sovereign. The visual form of the seals is limited to a few geometric shapes; however, they vary in size according to their usage and substance. Additionally, the seals are granted identity by the arrangement of words and letters.Aims of the research:1- Studying and recognizing the form of the seals to establish categorization, analysis and historical recordings.2- Analyzing the patterns and hidden meanings of the Safavid imperial seals.3- Understanding the conceptual meaning within the seals and the ideologies of the sovereigns.Research Questions:1- What characterizes Safavid imperial seals regarding form, meaning and structure?2- Can the content and meaning of the seals influence its appearance?