Quarterly Scientific-Research Goljaam

Each entity in the universe is a symbol, containing a meaning which must be sought in its own circle of existence or maybe even out of it. The source of every symbol is either nature or a derivative of it, in one way or another. In carpet designing process, a deep and rich sensation is expressed using pure and abstract objects and shapes. Fish too, is a symbol of this kind which will be considered in this paper. This symbol can be observed in various parts of Iran embodied in different shapes and forms which means it has definitely been affected by geographical, artistic and cultural parameters of every specific area.

It can be said that a part of our cultural-artistic identity and even national identity is interwoven with carpet. Persian carpet history has been glorious and brilliant,and the artisans of the field, relying on rich and prolific past and the road which has been taken, can inspire innovation to keep it alive. Thus, one of the tasks of the researchers in this context is introducing the rich past of Persian carpet and its historical identity. This paper is based on desk and fieldstudyand aimed to study historical-artisticproperties and semiotics of one of the most famous motifs in carpets,i.e. Harati motif within the geography of Iranian carpets. The questions which are to be answered include: What is Harati motif? What is the origin that motif? And what are the types of Harati motif?