Quarterly Scientific-Research Goljaam

Love of beauty and perfection is an inherent characteristic of human beings. The principle of “need” complements the sense that brings artistic creation in him to a peak, resulting in the formation and permanence of culture. The “carpet” may not represent a pure form of art, but it there is no doubt that its artistic and visual qualities put it beyond a mere commercial commodity and elevate it to the position of a work of art that embodies taste, thought, beliefs and a special custom. It presents the intellectual and cultural potentials of a people in the form of esoteric motifs and symbolic forms. The elementary motifs and patterns that are especially found in rural carpets and small carpets usually embody a purer content from the point of view of symbolic concepts that deserve a thorough investigation.

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.