Beyond the importance of architectural structure and spatial design of the religious tangible heritages, decorative arrays had the special place in the Islamic-Iranian architecture. Isfahan, as one of the historical cities in Iran, accommodates different types of religious buildings, from which this study focused on the architectural heritage of the Safavid and Qajar periods. In this study, the Chaharbagh and Roknolmolk mosque-schools were selected as two significant examples of the Safavid and Qajar heritage, respectively. It should be noted that the main goal of this study, in addition of recognizing the architectural structure was to investigate the decorative arrays and proportional harmonies. The main inquiry was: what were the most important decorative arts used in the Chaharbagh and Roknolmolk mosques-schools? In more detail, the authors tried to explain the points of differences and similarities between the two case studies in term of decorative arrays. This research is comparative in term of approach and descriptive-analytical in term of method. Also, data collection has been done through documentary method and field observations and the information analyzed based on qualitative methods. The findings of this study indicate that the both buildings as the standard four-iwan heritage, while demonstrating the similarities in the structural architecture, encompass the significant differences in terms of buildings’ dimensions and the quality of artistic decorations performed in each of them. Chaharbagh accommodates the impressive amounts of the traditional architectural decorations, among which metal engraving, goldsmithing, filigree, and gilding on plaster have significant differences with the case of of Roknolmolk. But in both of the buildings, there is a remarkable proportionality between the architectural arrays and the architectural structure. Additionally, in terms of motifs and contents, both buildings represent the artistic features of the historical period in which they were constructed. Thus, Chaharbagh heritage demonstrate the multiplicity of geometric, arabesque, and abstract motifs which were mostly colored by the cold chromatic such as ultramarine and turquoise. By contrast the Chaharbagh, the Roknolmolk is an exemplar of Qajar decorative tradition which was decorated principally with the naturalistic, human-like motifs, and various colors among which the warm colors were predominate.

Problem Definition: The media power of the residential architecture of Shiraz is obvious to everyone due to the historical seniority, the character of the rulers, and the people of this land. The two houses namely «Mohtasham» and «Salehi» are authentic representatives for understanding the architecture of the Zand and Qajar periods of Shiraz because of the richness of their decorations. Therefore, the fundamental question of the current research is based on the decorative arrays of these two buildings. Objective: This study aims at recognizing the decorative arrays of Mohtasham and Salehi houses. Research Method: The approach of the current research is qualitative and, regarding the aim, it is fundamental, having a descriptive-analytical nature. The data collection method includes library and field research and documents, such as photography. Results: The results show the motifs are based on ancient, traditional, and western concepts. The European-oriented style is more prominent in Qajar period arrays than that of Zand era, so that traditional concepts are depicted in a new transformation relying on naturalistic and luxurious aspects. In the Zand period, more attention was paid to common mythological and traditional themes, while the themes of Qajar artists' illustrations, especially in the painted tile decorations, are a suitable platform for the simultaneous distribution and promotion of new and ancient cultures. The Qajar artist has taken a step with the immortality of the kings' position in line with the consolidation of the old Iranian traditions. Also, by illustrating emerging objects such as cars, telephones, and photography cameras, it represents and promotes the modern Iranian lifestyle. In religious illustrations, it reflects religious culture and in lyrical plays,it is a storyteller of literary themes. The colored plasters, embellished paintings, the image of birds, flower rings and the presence of joyful and lively colors such as red, yellow, and pink in these periods are influenced by Western art.

Borkhar plain along with adjacent foothills in the past formed a cultural-geographical area called Rustaq Borkhar. The existence of numerous and diverse buildings belonging to different Islamic periods, along with the indigenous and rural aspects of this building, has created suitable conditions for drawing the general appearance of the architectural arrays of a region as a separate geographical-cultural unit. Accordingly, and considering cases such as the destruction of many buildings and architectural arrays in the region after the author’ s studies and also the introduction of some new and unknown examples, in the present study, the architectural arrays of Dasht-e Borkhar buildings have been studied and considered. To this end, the present research used a analytic-comparative method based on the results of field studies and comparative comparisons. The results of this research showed that the decorations of the buildings of the region from the early centuries to the late Islamic centuries had various techniques and was continuous. These arrays include arrays of plaster, tile, brick, mud, wood, stone, limestone, murals and paintings on wood which were used in buildings such as mosques, tombs, Takayas, minarets, schools, inns, castles, houses, pigeon houses, baths, gardens, refrigerators, mills and palaces. Among the decorative techniques, gypsum arrays show the highest level of application and technical diversity. Outstanding and prolific decorations, mainly dedicated to religious buildings and buildings with trans-regional and public use such as caravanserais, and other buildings with local and private use have benefited from simple and low-work decorations. Due to the multiplicity and variety of works of the Qajar period, the variety and multiplicity of decorative techniques of the mentioned period compared to other periods, showed a high quantity.

Verse 137 of Surah Al-Baqarah, with the phrase "فسیکفیکهم الله و هو السمیع العلیم" can be seen in the decorations related to the architecture of Yazd Jame Mosque, Seyyed Ruknuddin Mausoleum, and Sultan Mahmudshah Complex in Bandarabad, Yazd. The special visual structure of this verse in the decorations of three buildings necessitates the need to conduct the present research. The objectives include identifying the form and meaning of verse 137 of Surah Al-Baqarah in the decorations of three buildings and identifying the location of the verse in the buildings and the effects of the location of the verse on its meaning. The questions are: 1- What form and meaning does verse 137 of Surah Baqarah have in the decorations of Yazd Jame Mosque, Seyyed Ruknuddin Mausoleum and Sultan Mahmudshah Bandarabad complex in Yazd? 2- In which parts of these buildings is this verse used and what effects did this location have on its meaning? In the research, library, documentary and visual information was analyzed in a descriptive-analytical way with a comparative approach and the form and meaning of verse 137 of Surah Al-Baqarah in the decorations of the mentioned buildings were compared. The results show that the concepts of the absolute creator, the overseer of the whole, the necessity of praying and fighting with Satan, attaining the status of immortality in heaven, monotheism and resurrection were the main goals of artists in the design and construction of building decorations.

Plaster motifs in the architecture of the historical house of Boroujerdi have been used not only for decoration of the house but as symbols to convey certain concepts. The diversity used in these plaster works is very impressive and expresses the valuable architecture of its era in the city of Kashan. In many historical houses of Kashan, which mainly belong to the Qajar period, stucco motifs can be seen in different areas of the house. This grand house, the house of Boroujerdi, has one of the highest ranks in terms of the abundance and multiplicity of motifs. The main goal of this research is to document as much as possible about one of the most important arts of the Qajar era, plaster art. As the first step, we classified the plaster motifs Based on their form and design. Secondly, we counted the motifs and recorded their locations. Finally, we investigated the hidden symbolic concepts in each motif. The present research was conducted using descriptive statistics and content analysis based on field observations, and matching the data with the concepts obtained from library studies. In this study, various information-gathering techniques such as observation, survey, imaging, and coding were used. Our observation discovered a great diversity of plaster motifs picturing objects, plants, fruits, animals, people, and extraterrestrial beings (Jinn). In addition, there were some filling motifs in the background including Khotai motifs. We were able to find 450 figures scattered in 8 locations, including the entrance, alcove, the north side of the courtyard, the decorative gable, the main hall, and the east and west rooms next to the main hall. The motifs concepts were taken from ancient myths, religious beliefs, professions, and occupations. However, a number of motifs are also created under the influence of Western art.

One of the main features of Islamic Arts is the application of decorations. The presence of decorative arrays forthe development of surfaces was common especially in the Timurid paintings. Baysonqori’ s Shahnameh is one ofthe iconic illustrations of the Timurid period. This version is full of geometric decorative motifs. This article aimedto identify the geometric nodes of the Baysonqori’ s Shahnameh portraits, and study how they are applied in differentparts in terms of the type, technique, color and place of application of these decorations. The data collectionwas based on written sources that examine the data obtained from the study samples in a descriptive (analytical)way. Accordingly, the following questions were raised:-What are the features of the geometric nodes in Baysonqori’ s Shahnameh?-How are the geometric nodes used in the Baysonqori’ s Shahnameh? The results of the study of Baysonqori’ s Shahnameh illustrations show that the application of decorations and geometricknots is more pronounced in bricks and tiles, and most of the nodes used include the “ eight regular” , “ PileyLyssadar” , “ Eight and Sabon” and “ Arrowing “ in which nodes are based on the base number of eight. These knotsare often used on the porch, floor and walls and in the form of a wooden stand as a window or door guard. The useof decorative arrays and the use of surfaces with decorations and geometric arrays have led to an increase in thevisual glory of Baysonqori’ s Shahnameh portraits.

In Islamic architecture, the architect always tried to decorate the internal and external areas in different ways. One type of these decorations is called Brick Working, which was current in Pre-Ilkhanid, Ilkhanid period, and after this period. This decoration was used in two ways.In Ilkhanid period, the architect used a type of brick which was exactly formed in favorite shapes before baking. The slots between the bricks could be filled by plaster decorative hubs and decorative stamps, such as holy names, flowers, geometric motifs, besides mortar. This kind of decoration was current in Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods and is visible in monuments such as: mosques, tombs, towers, caravanserais, madrasahs and shrines. In this paper, the writer will explain about the history and origin of decorative stamps during Ilkhanid period and their different kinds in used different buildings and their comparison with the earlier period, i.e. the Seljuk period.

Iranian music is the abstract expression of different manifestations of the enriched legacy of Iranian culture, as the case is with other forms of art.The formation of words and development of sentences in the music in question are associated with other forms of arts especially decorative arts.This essay, through comparison and contrast of these two forms of arts, attempts to offer the appropriate methodology for a better insight towards Iranian music as well as training of this form of music based on a better understanding, repetition and combination of different, and the same time limited, confined and specific, motifs. The pivotal points on which this research is based on consist of juxtaposition of common elements in these two forms of art such as order, repetition, rhythm, light and shade, decoration in Iranian music, the combination and development of Iranian music motifs, and their similarities to the formation of decorative patterns, arabesque movement of musical sentences and utilization of symbols.