Maremat & memari-e Iran
Year:2014 | Volume:4 | Issue:7|Papers Count:9

Iranian historical houses have been built based on lifestyle, behavior and beliefs, knowledge and art which are based on Islamic-Persian identity. Their conservation is like respecting national identity and recognizing their social benefit is a criterion for the amount of necessary facilities to preserve these valuable elements. Since assessment of the social benefit of any product or service requires economic valuation, the aim of this paper is economic valuation of valuable historical houses for recognizing the amount of their social benefit. This study is an applied research and its methodology is survey research. The case study is Julfa historic quarter. This study aims to answer this question: how much is the economic value of historic houses of Julfa quarter? And which factors do affect citizens’ willingness to pay for purchasing historic houses? Hence, economic valuation of historical houses based on the concept of willingness to pay is investigated by contingent valuation method (CVM). The results show that 90% of citizens were interested in historical houses and more than 70% of them said if they were rich, they would buy historical houses in the case study area. Meanwhile, they assessed the value of this area’s historical houses 4.7% more than the average value of neighboring non-historical houses. This means that quantized value of the social benefit of historical houses is 4.7% more than their financial value in non-historical conditions. Based on the estimation results of regression models, the family size and career variables have affected the citizens’ willingness to pay for the purchase of valuable historical houses.

Studies on old manuscripts including recognition of the support, ink and pigments used in these manuscripts as well as methods of treatment, exhibition and preservation of these works are among the topics which have always occupied the mind of researchers in this field. In the present research, such studies have been carried out on one of the oldest set of Quranic manuscripts which consist of 15 pages. This manuscript, found within a wall of a building in Yazd’s Mehriz, has been ascribed to third and fourth centuries (A.H.) according to its manner of writing. After examining this manuscript under ultraviolet light, the kind of support, black ink and red and green pigments present in it were identified. Due to limitation of the amount of samples for analysis, nondestructive apparatus procedures, which require minimum amount of samples, were used. For this procedure, the following strategies were made use of: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (SEM/EDX).The results of laboratory studies indicate that the support of the manuscripts is animal skin. Also, chemical analysis of inks shows that in the composition of some of the red inks compounds of mercury (cinnabar) are used and some of them also contain organic compounds with compounds of iron. The green ink contains compounds of copper and in the black ink elements such as iron and carbon are used.After doing laboratory studies and considering harmful factors, stages of conservation, restoration and maintenance of these pieces of Quranic parchment were proposed.

In the nineteenth century, conservation meant keeping the truth of a work and revealing it whereas in later periods it was defined with other meanings such as facilitating the act of reading. In both revealing and facilitating the act of reading, conservation refers to understanding and interpretation of the work. Paying attention to spiritual as well as material aspects of the work causes understanding and reading of its meanings to elucidate other aspects of understanding and reception. Accordingly, the main question raised in this research is what relationship does exist between approaches of interpretation and reception of the artistic work and conservation theories. Moreover, can it be said that the task of the conserver at the moment of conservation is interpretation of the work and later stages of conservation form on the basis of it? Accordingly, investigating the theories of conservation and hermeneutic approaches, this research aims to study their common features. Also, it is shown that the moment of conservation is the very moment of understanding the work and such knowledge is not obtained unless the conserver interprets the work like an interpreter to the extent that the theorists of conservation have based the principles of conservation on interpretive approaches like intention of the artist, work and reader from the beginning to the present. Using analytic-inferential method and written documents and sources, this article compares the approaches of conservation, hermeneutics and reception theory with each other. Moreover, their common aspects are identified in order to show that conservation in both definitions and its theorists’ view requires interpretive approach. Although in some theories an aspect like the intention of the artist has become prominent, each of interpretive approaches is necessary but not sufficient alone because each work has a unique existence and requires a particular interpretation and all works cannot be conserved based simply on one approach.

Fungi activity is one of main bio-deterioration factors in the archives and, due to this, its removal is of great importance. Since fungi have different behaviors toward treatment methods, the selection of optimal method for their treatment requires identification of the fungus type, its mechanism and severity of the damage. Malek national library and museum is one of the biggest collections of paper manuscripts in Iran. Assessment of the collection shows fungi effect in almost 540 manuscripts. One of the reported fungi in this collection is Cephalosporium spp and its distribution and effects on aesthetic and structural properties of paper manuscripts have been studied in this research. Analytical samples were selected in the collection and isolated from environment. After cultivation process, active fungi were characterized and distribution and decay of paper caused by Cephalosporium spp were evaluated. Structural properties of papers were assessed by ATR-FTIR and SEM/EDS analysis. The results of this study showed the activity of Cephalosporium spp fungi in 5 percent of investigated samples. The fungus activity resulted in pink and red-to-brown stains on the paper, deterioration of cellulose structure of paper due to cellulose enzymes, damage to surface properties, biologic leaching of inorganic compounds and consequently defects in physical properties.

Painting decorations and ornaments of many historic buildings and houses of Qajar era are amongst the remained valuable heritage to which proper attention has not been paid yet. These are the works which have been ignored by many art experts and those interested in art. Akhavan Haqiqi house is one of the buildings ascribed to early Qajar time and its architectural decorations belong to the same period considering stylistic features and historical documents such as the inscription of completing the decorations of the building at 1274 (A.H). Regarding literature review and little available information, this research aims to investigate types and visual features of motifs and themes used in the mural paintings of the mentioned room. Accordingly, while referring to the significance and extraordinary and unique values of the building’s architecture and all decorations used in it, this research focuses on the aesthetic values of motifs and themes of the mural paintings in the room located at the northeastern side. This research aims to investigate, identify, classify, describe and analyze the features of mural paintings via direct observation and descriptive-analytic method. The results show that the motifs of this room have been drawn with eclectic manner of Qajar painting and, like many other houses of that era, include various floral, animal, human and geometrical motifs as well as subject like landscape and still life. Also, each of these motifs has been selected and organized relative to and following architectural space and different geometric sections of the building, especially the particular function of the room as the drawing room.

Degradation of inks and pigments has always been a major problem against Conservators. Some of the vulnerable pigments are metal pigments a major portion of which belongs to golden pigments in decorations of book-embellishing in Iran. In some cases, shades of green color are seen in golden pigments and sometimes paper degradation is also discernible. In this paper, golden pigment and its degradation were studied in three illuminated manuscripts from the Qajar period. SEM-EDS analyses indicated one type of brass alloy compositions as imitating golden pigments. Copper carboxylates were identified as degradation products of golden pigments by means of Raman Spectroscopy. Some sort of organic carbonyl pollutants and high humidity condition can possibly be effective in degradation of the pigments and formation of the greenish products. In addition to acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose, copper ions as catalyst in degradation products can accelerate oxidation of cellulose. This matter was investigated in one of the samples by Fluorescence Labeling in combination with Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC).

This article is in search of the role of mural paintings and their effectiveness in the process of registration of immovable world heritage. In this article, the immovable world heritage can be either the architectural structure containing the mural painting or the mural painting which has been registered independently. Value position of mural paintings, belonging to any style or manner, determines the importance of this topic. Since mural paintings which have had a fundamental role in the world heritage nomination and gaining its privilege are not rare, in this research which has a developmental approach, these cases are investigated by contemplating on their registration files via qualitative and quantitative analysis (descriptive and comparative) of approaches used by the world heritage committee in non-Iranian and Iranian samples. Regarding this, in Iranian samples we encounter with murals which are as significant as registered samples in the world heritage due to their special values; therefore, they can play an essential role in the registration process of Iranian buildings in the world heritage list if certain conditions are fulfilled by officials. Although mural painting should be considered as an inseparable component of an architectural structure, the mural itself as a monumental work and potential valuing factor can obtain significance to the extent that not only bears the value load of an architectural structure but also becomes an independent work for registration as an immovable work in the list of the world heritage. Thus, in a modern approach for valuing Persian mural paintings 9 value factors are introduced and interpreted.

The issue of revival pivoting around people with the aid of state is not acceptable in the expertise structure of the country yet. Consequently, one of the issues which has been ignored in spite of numerous years of restoration and revival in historical textures is the amount of using people’s expertise views in different areas of urban restoration and revival. Can we make use of people’s expertise as the main residents of texture and its direct users in the physical-practical section of restoration and revival of texture and in which area such expertise is acceptable? The answer to this question is the main issue of this research.Reaching this aim, the restoration and revival of three urban passages, i.e. Menar Goli alley (Imam Husseini), Lab Khandaq passage and Hashem Khan alley in Yazd city, which have been carried out for a long time, has been evaluated and considering the temporal condition of each of them and the kind of approach to them we observe the significant and fundamental role of state experts as the representative of the government, independent experts and folk experts as the representative of people in the physical-practical section of their revival separately.Regarding the presence of the author in the process of restoration and revival of these three passages, the research methodology is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. In the quantitative study, while using existent data and information beside direct interview with experts and filed observation of carried out works, the data is gathered and, using the method of quantitative analysis, the expertise data is analyzed in order to reach a coherent specific theoretical structure and framework. In cases that the structure of research is qualitative such method is used for gathering and analysis of the data.After completing the stages of research with an expertise approach and focusing on physical sphere, it was found out that if the centrality of people in the issue of revival is accepted and their participation in the expertise of the plan increases relative to the role of state and its experts, the success of the revival plan will increase, too. Consequently, in the process of restoration and revival and the issues related to planning, execution and exploitation in the physical-practical section people can play an effective role as expert like other managerial, economic and social sections independently or with the aid of their experts.