Reassessing the Issue of Degeneration of Qajar Art with an Emphasis on Pottery

Q: How can I download an article?

To download an article from SID, first log in to the site, search for the article title, and click on the 'Download Article' option.

Q: How can I download an ISI article?

To download an ISI article on SID, enter the keyword or article title in the search bar, view the relevant results, click on the desired article, and select the 'Download Article' option.

Q: How can I access the SID database?

To access the SID database, visit SID.ir, create an account, and log in to access scientific resources.

Q: Is downloading articles from SID free?

Some articles on SID are available for free, while others require payment. Details are specified on the article's page.

Arabbeigi Abolfazl; Samanian Samad; Akbari Abbas

مرکز اطلاعات علمی Scientific Information Database (SID) - Trusted Source for Research and Academic Resources

Journal Paper

Paper Information

Journal: NEGAREH Year:2024 | Volume:19 | Issue:71 Page(s): 213-235

Download Full-Text

Persian Verion

View:

Download:

Cites:

Information Journal Paper

Title

Reassessing the Issue of Degeneration of Qajar Art with an Emphasis on Pottery

Author(s)

Arabbeigi Abolfazl | Samanian Samad | Akbari Abbas | Issue Writer Certificate

Keywords

Qajar pottery and tiles

State of Pottery Production

Tile making

Orientalists

Abstract

A study of the research carried out in the field of Qajar pottery ‎shows that the prevailing attitude towards this art during the past decades has generally been derived ‎from a kind of negative thought, which is basically defined by keywords such as “degeneration”, ‎‎”vanishing”, ‎‎”decline”, “deterioration” and “stagnation”. ‎Even with the change of attitude ‎towards Qajar art since the end of the 20th century, the effects of the mentioned approach still ‎remain on the later research, and traces of it can be seen from time to time in the conducted ‎research. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate and measure the correctness and ‎incorrectness of the mentioned approach. The question of the current research is that whether this ‎attitude has its roots in historical facts or is it just the result of a wrong understanding of Qajar history ‎and art? In other words, is Qajar pottery really weak in terms of quantity and quality, or is it ‎subjected to adverse and biased comments? In this ‎regard, the frequency of Qajar pottery production level will be investigated in accordance with ‎the underlying and influential factors in the process of Qajar artistic trends, including the ‎discourse of development and reform, supply and demand market, and the social bases of art. It ‎should be noted that the word “quality” in this research refers to “technical ‎quality” of the products - including the quality of clay, glaze, colors and firing - and does not ‎include their “visual aspects”. This fundamental research applies the historical-analytical method. Data collection has been done by referring to library and field documents with reference to various sources, including historical texts (books, manuscripts and documents), ‎accounts of travelers and political agents, and the works and documents preserved in museums. Data analysis has also been done by inductive method and in a round-trip process. The target ‎community of the present research is the Qajar era pottery, including dishes, tiles and various ‎pottery objects, which were sampled in a targeted manner. The findings of the research indicate that in contrast to what has often been asserted, not only the Qajar pottery has not been faced with “degeneration” in terms of quantity and quality, but it established a ‎special and distinct place for itself in the field of Iranian pottery. During the Qajar period, the ‎support for the expansion and prosperity of the pottery industry by the government ‎and political elites increased significantly, leading to the development of tile making and chinaware production. In this period, no defect could be seen in the ‎production of earthenware and generally monochrome products, but due to the influence of ‎Chinese imports and the loss of traditional and long-standing patrons, namely financiers and ‎political elites, creators of stonepaste wares were unable to produce products of high quality. Nevertheless, the ‎production of stonepaste wares continued, though not with the previous quality, for a new ‎market of emerging middle-class customers. On the other hand, it can be seen that with the ‎change of the social base of art in this period, in addition to the expansion of patrons and ‎customers of pottery, the priority is directed to ordering tiles due to the increase in building ‎construction and restoration programs. The change in the social bases of art ‎brought about other effects; including the one that led to the “commodification” of manufactured ‎products. Accordingly, Qajar pottery lost the former “luxurious” character of Safavid pottery. Under such conditions, ‎Qajar pottery was relegated from the class of noble and courtly objects and it became available to ‎the general public at the level of commercial goods. In spite of that, this issue caused more creativity in ‎Qajar products in the field of design and coloring. On the other hand, the boom in the market of ‎supply and demand due to the emergence of the phenomenon of collecting art works by ‎foreign museums and collectors resulted in bulk orders for the Qajar potters, especially in the late ‎‎13th and the early 14th centuries AH/ 19th and 20th centuries AD. At the same time, the increase in demand for old works ‎led to the production of fake products known as “antiques”. The impossibility of ‎distinguishing between some of these products from the original samples is indicative of the high skill of the ‎potters of this period in producing high-quality products. Furthermore, it implicitly ‎reminds us of the important and effective role of patrons of works of art in ‎determining the trend of artistic trends.‎

Multimedia

No record.

Cites

No record.

References

No record.

Cite

Related Journal Papers

No record.

Related Seminar Papers

No record.

Related Plans