Mrs Farzaneh Farshidnik, Dr Reza Afhami, Dr Habib-O-Llah Ayatollahi,
Volume 5, Issue 14 (3-2010)
Abstract
Various Persian traditional arts can be understood as different aspects of a unique concept. All of them represent substantial meanings which root in both Islamic and Iranian beliefs. The symbolic language of these arts and the ability of being expressed in various arts let artists to choose proper methods for their work. Rug and architecture are the most important Persian arts and two aspects of Persian symbolic design methods. This paper tries to focus on Mihrabi rugs as a direct reflection of one of architectural components of mosque architecture in rug design as a suitable carpet for praying time. The paper intends to show how ancient and Islamic architectural symbols affect symbolic expression of these rugs and how these different arts show a homogeneous idea in terms of their own capacities. This study uses a descriptive method and a comparative semiotic approach from historical and iconographical viewpoint and traces the mosque architecture elements and symbolic plant designs of Mihrabi rugs. Paradigmatic process shows some evidences regarding designers’ efforts to represent triple structure of ancient Mithraism altars in the form of mosque space structures and heaven on the limited space of rugs by replacing a triple division of floral patterns instead of architectural structure of mosques in a symbolic way, so the middle tree represents the ancient tree of life and recalls the main dome and two cypresses with their roots in ground and their heads up to the sky are the symbols of minarets. This fulfills artist’s objective to demonstrate such rugs as mosques and linkage between heaven and earth.
Sahel Erfanmanesh,
Volume 17, Issue 39 (8-2021)
Abstract
IIn the country of Turkey, in the city of Hereke, at the end of the 19th century, rugs known as Mihrabi became popular, which were inspired by the rugs of the Safavid era and kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum. In these rugs, which are reproduced in royal workshops on a large scale, some changes have been made in the verbal text and incorporated visual elements. Among the rugs that seem to have had a great impact on the rugs of this period in terms of appearance, there is a rug from the Safavid era that is kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum. This rug has been reproduced in large numbers in Herke with slight changes in the verbal text and its visual elements. An example of this reproduction is the rug designed by "Zare". In the verbal text of the "Zare" rug, Persian words have a special place; also, the existing rug has a signature. Meanwhile the verbal text of the Safavid rug is in Arabic and has no signature. Since these rugs were woven in two different cultures and times, the question is: What role did the dominant discourse in the society play in the changes made in the verbal texts and visual signs in the reproduction of the rug kept in Topkapi Palace Museum? In order to achieve a suitable answer using the analytical-comparative method, the mentioned rugs were compared with each other in both periods and the dominant discourse was examined. According to the comparison, it was concluded that the rug of the Safavid era expressed the mystical thought of that period. Meanwhile, in its reproduction by "Zare "and its minor changes, attention has been paid more to the rug not as a handwoven product for conduct and worship, but as a product to express humanist and nationalistic ideas and to represent the golden age of the Ottoman Empire.
