ISLAMIC ART
Year:2011 | Volume:7 | Issue:13|Papers Count:14

In all human societies, nurture and its consequences are among the most essential and deep-rooted causes that reflect the overall structure of a society and this concern has been carefully deliberated in the realm of painting. Bearing in mind that investigating the nurture and development among artists and painters has always been a matter of research, the immensity of this topic is far more to be engaged in a single study. However, in this paper, the words of Sadeghi Beik in the essay of Qanun-al Sovar is the main source of investigation and furthermore, as the title suggests, the elements of nurture and development in Persian painting use by painters will be the core focus here. It is hoped that by introducing such features, contemporary artists and apprentices will use such methods in their works of art and therefore, the magnificence of the past will be restored. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the preference of spiritual matters over technical issues and proficiency were among the many features that artists and painters dwelled on.Research questions:1- What is the truth behind nurture and its manners and what is the purpose of nurture in general?2- Which specific nurturing element has Sadeghi Beik emphasized in the essay of Qanun-al Sovar?Aims of the research:1- Reaching the truth of nurturing and its underlying principals.2- Investigating the nurturing manners of artists based on the words of Sadeq Beik in his essay of Qanun al-Sovar.

Persian painting better known as miniature is well known for its affectionate, spiritual and religious contents. The mentioned themes are extracted from literary rhymes and proses and are transformed into illustrations via the creative talent of the artist. In investigating literary and artistic works of art, visual and materialistic elements are the most momentous. The direct relation between poetry and painting is best portrayed in the poem dedicated to Yousef and Zolaikhah in Bustan-e- Saadi which is meticulously illustrated by Persia’s well-known artist, Kamal-al din Behzad. Persia’s renowned and innovative poet, Saadi, has turned this Quranic story into a remarkable verse that beholds its cherished meaning and denotation. Subsequently, Behzad with his own unique artistic expertise thrives to express Saadi’s poem into a visual representation. Poetry stems from an implication; hence, it is intermingled with meaning and sense. Therefore, the Persian artist strives to absorb the symbolism and allegories of the poem whist understanding the significance of meaning.Research Questions:1- Has Behzad aacomplished to transform all the poetic elements into visual features? Or has he portrayed his own overall understanding of the poem?2- How are affectionate and spiritual themes represented in this painting?Aims of this study:1- Understanding how poetry and painting collaborate with each other.2- Becoming acquainted with how the story of Yusef and Zolaikhah is visually expressed.

Iconography in Islamic painting has a long lived history engaging many schools and existing in various historical periods. In this regard, artists have chosen different methods of illustrating the faces of the holy family and pious men and this represents a rather akin manner similar to symbolism that is used both in earlier and contemporary works. Having a symbolic perspective towards iconography can be seen from two aspects. Firstly, in most cases, the relationship between the spectator and the subject or content is related to the icons rather than enduring a spiritual bond with them. Secondly, in delivering such works of art, the symbolic iconographies permit the artist to engage the attention of the spectator to the religious and divine values of the holy family and the pious. Nonetheless, it should be mentioned, that iconography in this field has its own limitations and faults, however, with a vigilant evaluation, the illustrative elements appropriate in regard to the dignity and place of such holy characters can be designated and applied.Research Questions:1- What are the reasons for iconographies to become symbolic in painting?2- What are the visual and conceptual features of religious iconography?Aims of the research:1- Becoming familiar with the characteristics of symbolic iconography of holy men from a figurative perspective.2- Introducing the evolution Persian painting.

Identity is a simple term yet it endures a multifaceted meaning. As foreign cultural features, especially those of the west, entered the Persian society, cultural aspects as well as identity undertook transformation. Therefore, there have been numerous studies with the notion of identity in all fields of knowledge. A convenient way to study identity issues in a society is to address the daily lives of the people and its relation to the specific culture of that society; hence, an exploration on identity-promoting elements in Persian traditional architecture appears to be an appropriate scheme to comprehend these elements of identity. The purpose of this research is to study identity-promoting elements and surveying the ways in which these elements emerge in the traditional architecture of Persian houses. The main question of this research in the concept of identity and its roots in traditional Persian houses; in order to reach this aim, a descriptive and analytic research methodology has been carried out with the hypothesis that identity is a fundamental component in discovering the norms and inelegances of the society and has been present in all aspects of human life particularly in the realm of architecture that has been one of the main foundations of identity in previous centuries.In this study, firstly, the definition of identity and the identity promoting features will be discussed; secondly, the manifestations of identity in Persian architecture will be conversed upon; and finally, these manifestations will be actualized on one specific traditional house in Yazd by the name of the Rasoulian House. At the end, it will be concluded that in the creation of such houses, the architect is familiar with the identity-promoting features such as national and religious values, national symbolism, cultural heritage, and geographical characteristics and has combined them with the traditional architecture of Persia research question:1- what is the implied meaning of identity and its features in the architecture of traditional Persian houses?2- are there specific manifestation of identity in the Rasoulian house?Aims of the research:1- recognizing the identity-promoting elements in traditional Persian houses.2- understanding the origin and growth of such elements in the architecture of Persian houses.

In Persian architecture, decoration has an essential role. During the Islamic era depicting the human face was prohibited; hence, the Muslim artist portrays the most magnificent forms of decoration in the arrangement of abstract designs to ornament a religious and spiritual structure. Also, the Arabic language, being the language of the Holy Quran, entered all aspects of a Muslims’ lives including industrial and architectural elements.From the 10th century AD (4th Hegira), the use of Quranic verses in religious monuments especially in decorating the mihrab began; however, in the 11th century AD (5th Hegira) during the reign of the Seljuk era, many innovations took place in decorating mosques and monuments. Proficient calligraphers and designers dexterously combined the Arabic script with sublime aesthetical features and added eminence to it. In this regard many structures and mihrabs were ornamented with the words of God. Initially, these decorations were carried out brick arrangement and rectangular Kufic and later plaster replaced brick for its easiness in use and improved consequences. With the development of knotted Kufic, other scripts of decorative Kufic and the Naskh and Thuluth script; decorative elements with arabesque and geometric patterns adorned mosques and tombs.According to research, the vast majority of these decorative elements are found in mosques throughout Isfahan and the Quranic verses customarily denote to the traits of Prayer and the role of mosque in Islam. In this article, other than focusing on the inscriptions of the mihrabs of Seljuk mosques (11th -12th century AD; 5th – 6th Hegira), the development of script in the renowned plasterworks of this age will be discussed.Research questions:1- what are the concepts and ornamentations applied on Seljuq inscriptions?2- How has script developed in the decoration of mihrabs in the 5th – 6th/11th -12th centure?Aims of research:1- Introducing the plasterwork mihrabs of the Seljuk period.2- Exploring the script, content and decoration of Seljuk mihrabs.

The Qom province of Iran is among the regions where many mausoleum and burial chambers exist. The mausoleums that are mentioned in this paper are only a few among the many existing in the area. In embellishing such structures, the Muslim artist has expressed his admiration towards the Prophet Mohammad and Imam Ali in a symbolic and visual manner in which artistic elements such as inscriptions, roundels, and at times in the form of written prayers are combined with herbal and geometric patterns that resemble the artists’ spiritual recognition. The presence of the names Mohammad and Ali on architectural ornamentation show the Shi’ah beleifs that were shared between the ordinary people and the rulers.This paper focuses on introducing the mausoleums chronologically and also explores the use of holy names on such spiritual structures. These names have become visual symbols in decorative features of the Imamzadehs and shrine-tombs of the 14th century (8th Hegira) in Qom. Research Question:1- What are the political, social, and cultural influences that have impacted the architecture and decorative elements of Qom’s structures and bulidings? 2- How are geometric patterns and the holy names related in a visual and elegant manner?Aims of the research:1- Studying the visual representations of the holy names in the architecture of Imamzadehs and shrine-tombs of the city of Qom in 8th/14th century 2- Exploring the architecture and inscriptions of such mausoleums.in Qom.

The emergence of luster pottery can be traced back to the Seljuk era; however, the golden age of such work of art is surely the Ilkhanid period. In exploring the designs and motifs of luster pottery, apart from elements of technique, structure and aesthetics, there is a comprehensive depiction of both the courtly lives of the rulers and the daily lives of the ordinary people illustrated in all political, social, economic and cultural aspects. This paper endeavors to represent the inclination of Ilkhanid rulers towards creating unique works of art especially in the realm of pottery. Additionally, the cultural and artistic policies of the Ilkhanid rulers towards such art will be considered; furthermore, the content and story behind each luster pottery of the 7th/13th century will be discussed and analyzed. In this paper, data-gathering is compiled in a historical, descriptive, and analytic manner and in a number of cases, a comparative overview is selected.Research questions:1- Are there any sociological or political explanations for the specific patterns of these potteries which all bear aesthetical features; also is there any way to discover the social features present in the time of the making of such potteries?2- Can we become familiar with certain social elements and also the development of politics and cultural traits of the Ilkhanids by studying their luster potteries and its motifs?Aims of the research:1- Identifying the cultural policies of the Ilkhanids and its historical advancement. 2- understanding the ways in which the court established legitimacy by reviving traditional methods in luster pottery.