Quarterly Scientific-Research Goljaam

According to the thinkers and historians of Iran history during Islamic epoch, The Safavid era has always been recognized as an era with most magnificent and powerful national-religious state including the controlling central government. Due to establishing new government infrastructures for politics, economics and culture in this epoch, a marvelous revolution happened in the social life of Safavid era; among such infrastructures, economic and commerce factors were especially of great importance for an operational platform to such an extent that it became one of the most critical priorities of grand policy-making of Safavid kings. Considerable capacity of carpet industry due to presence of many centers providing raw material such as: silk and cotton, and also the production and preparation of invaluable carpets in the carpet workshops of economic cities of Safavid era, paved the path for the development of carpet trading as a strategic commodity. In this paper, it has been tried to clarify the status of carpet industry in the foreign trading policy of the Safavid era using a historical analysis approach and reviewing reliable history books covering that era and also travelogues of European travelers in Safavid epoch. This paper also tries to provide a reasonable answer to the question that what the role economic cities played in industrialization of carpet industry

This paper investigates and analyses geometry in Mihrabi carpet design in Safavid period. These carpets are very important group of Persian carpets in Safavid era. Analysis method is based on the main disciplinary lines in frames. The ultimate objective of this analysis is achieving principal and dynamic points in design composition and suggesting sound geometrical patterns underlying these designs. The conclusion was made that the past designers have turned to geometry as a principal base in carpet designing, and have drawn the designs on the basis of geometry. In designing Mihrabi carpets in Safavid period, just like other arts, special proportions were used in dimensions and some patterns were applied in designs.

In the late of the Qajar era, a Persianized Iranian royal family of Azerbaijani Turkic origin which ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925, the Isfahan carpet design was revived by some of the artists such as Mirza Aqa Emami and Mohammad Hossein Mosavver Al-Molki. One of the leading artists in the late of the Qajar period and the early of the next period, Mohammad Hossein Mosavver Al-Molki, known as Haj Mossaver, was an innovator whether in painting or carpet design. However, the traditions of the Safavid painting and design are dominant in his works. He revived the hunting design which belonged to the previous periods specially Safavid era in the Isfahan carpet. In this paper, the Mosavver Al-Molki’s hunting designs is studied with a descriptive-analytical method and the paper’s data is collected through an observational and library-based research. The study revealed that his works were not a mere imitation. He changed the horizontal composition of the Safavid hunting carpets to the vertical composition. As a result, a high horizon was created in the hunting scene. Haj Mosavver had a realistic perspective in his designs and so, he solved the problem of the separation between the nature of the field and the elements of hunting scene in traditional hunting carpets via converting the vines and palmettos to the small bushes and shrubs. In fact, his work was a logical relationship between the contemporary carpet design and the Safavid’s.

One of the prosperous periods of Persian commercial carpet industry is the Safavid era especially the 10th and 11th centuries (A.H.). Governments’ attention to arts and artists and expanding the facilities on the one hand, and willingness of other artists such as illumination artists and Persian painters’ to beautiful designs for carpets, along with the progress of the dyeing industry, provided carpet weaving with a special place in the field of art and industry. The main question of the present study is: Who were the carpet designers at different geographical locations and in different times for various woven products? The main hypothesis in this paper is that in Safavid era, some of carpets were designed by famous Persian paintings artists. For this purpose, a comparative method has been used for comparing two survived carpet samples with the paintings of that era. It can be seen that the most of the arts, including traditional arts and architecture, were closely related at that era which indicate the existence of a unified artistic management in the cultural system of that period, and such responsibility was undertaken by the prominent painters and architects. The comparison of motifs of paintings and carpet may indicate that some of the carpets have been designed by some great painters such as Kamal al-Din Behzad and Aghamirak Isfahani and Soltan Mohammad Iraqi, etc and there are some valuable carpets woven directly under the supervision of these masters. On the other hand, some carpet designers were trained who followed their masters and this indirectly influenced the development of carpet motifs, so that the carpet designers were mostly inspired by these masters in manufacturing workshops.

 The Safavid Era is considered as the golden age of Iranian carpet history, which in addition to beauty of pattern, motif and color, has yielded worthwhile concepts on its carpets. The lion motif is one of those motifs on carpets of Safavid Era which have been depicted as both a prey and a hunter. Repetition of, and emphasis on this motif, which contains diverse concepts and senses in Iranian and Islamic cultures as well as gnostic viewpoints, raise this question that what concepts are manifested by the motif of lion. Mowlana regards the lion as the symbol of God, God's names and traits, the symbol of fate, people of virtue and saints as well as symbol of Mohammad Prophet, Hazrat Ali, wisdom, thinking and even sensuality. However, in his view, the concept of the lion is further interpreted to be human and perfect human rather than other symbols. A meaningful relationship, in the visual and conceptual studies, can be seen among lion motif in the view of Mowlana and on Safavid carpets. In more than 10 samples of the carpets, where the lion motifs studied in different situation and diverse positions, it was observed and implied that the lion, after unwieldy and difficult struggle, reaches to the center of the universe, i.e. the medallion of the carpet, and finally attain human-like lion degree. This concept also is reflected in the ideas of Mowlana. This study has been performed using library method, as well as the case study of carpets of Safavid using content analysis method and by comparison of samples.

Iranian carpets as a manifestation of Persian art, due to the capabilities of Islamic art, have been a context for epiphany of this art doctrine. Mehrabi carpets of the Golden Age of Persian carpet-waving arts, Safavid era, can br regarded as the flagship model in the manifestations of this art. These carpets often were woven with religious functions and to fulfill religious obligations. Koranic pictographs and Asma’al Hosna along with plant and geometric motifs have covered the context of this carpets. In this study, the expression of epiphany concept and position of Asma’al Hosna in Islamic art are discussed due to analysis of six samples of the Safavid Mehrabi carpets for emphasizing the epiphany of God in this hand-woven carpets. Our findings suggest that: (i) The various manifestations of the divines epiphany are hidden on Mehrabi carpets; and (ii) The calligraphies used in the Safavid carpets contain mystical and Koranic concepts for better approach of worshipers towards God. This research is accomplished with using library resources and qualitative research methods, i.e. analysis –descriptive ones.

 

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