Iranian Art History

In this essay I seek to explore the icon of the Fighting Cock movement (Khorus Jangi) and of its Manifesto, " The Slaughterer of the Nightingale, " in order to consider its implications and imagistic allusions. In outlining the background of the Khorus Jangi and associated movements, I discuss the imagery of the khorus both in ancient Iran and globally, and in the context of the ideology of the Khorus Jangi. The Manifesto is discussed and analyzed and it is seen that the khorus prefigured the Manifesto, and heralded the appearance of a new movement in painting, as distinct from what had already happened in surrealist and modernist circles in writing. The manifestation of surrealist and modernist ideology in imagery seems to have been a response to this wake-up call of the Khorus Jangi.

Aida Foroutan, “Why the Fighting Cock? The Significance of the Imagery of the Khorus Jangi and its Manifesto ‘The Slaughterer of the Nightingale,’” Iran Namag, Volume 1, Number 1 (Spring 2016), XXVIII-XLIX.

https://www.irannamag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1.1-English-Foroutan-Iran-Namag.pdf

این مقاله به تاثیرات گوناگون ساختارهای موقت در باغسازی عصر صفویان در اصفهان می پردازد. مقاله حاضر نخستین بار به صورت سخنرانی در همایش بین المللی مکتب اصفهان (1385) ارائه شد. سپس در مجموعه مقالات همان همایش در سال 1387 از سوی انتشارات فرهنگستان هنر (متن) منتشر گردید و از آن زمان تا کنون در جای دیگری نشر نیافته است

Co-authored with Ruth Young. Simultaneously published as ‘Zentralasien 500 v. Chr.-600 n. Chr.’ In Dumont Weltatlas der Kunst, heraus. John Onians. Köln: Verlag Dumont, 2004. Reprinted in The Art Atlas, ed. John Onians. London: Laurence King, 2008.

Qajar dynasty which ruled Persia towards the end of XVIIIth century (1797-
1925), means a westernization age for the country. In this age, by the modern
universities and arts academies which are resultans of the reformists movements
on political, economical and military fields, the requirements of the age are tried
to be achieved. Iranians had already experimented with photography at the end of
Muhammed Shah’s reign (1834-1848), but it was only under the rule of Nasir alDin
Shah that techniques were diffused and improved and photography was really
promoted. Nasr al-Din Shah, dealt with the art of photography himself, which is
an important discovery of XIXth century, he contributed a lot to establish hundred
of photography albums by the cooperation of European and domestic artists

باستان‌شناسی دوره آهن ایران اکنون عمری فراتر از یک سده یافته، اما هنوز پرسش‌های بسیاری درباره هنر و فرهنگ مردمان ایران در این دوران تاریخ‌ساز باقی است. نخستین فصل این کتاب تلاش دارد چیستی فرهنگ عصر آهن و دامنه جغرافیایی ـ تاریخی آن را درون مرزهای کنونی ایران بررسی نموده و چارچوب‌های سیاسی، اجتماعی، نژادی و فن‌شناختی آن را در حد آگاهی‌های موجود رسم کند. در فصل‌های بعدی چهار منطقه مهم عصر آهن ایران (کناره دریای کاسپین و شمال‌خاوری، شمال‌باختری، زاگرس مرکزی، و مرکز ایران) بررسی شده‌اند. 
رویکرد این کتاب خوانش هنر هر محوطه باستانی در بافتی یگانه و مستقل بوده تا فهم کلیت فرهنگی هریک از این مکان‌ها دست‌یافتنی‌تر شود. به‌نظر می‌رسد شناخت ابتدایی هرکدام از این تمدن‌ها با نگاه متمرکز بر جنبه‌های گوناگون هنریشان (همچون معماری، فلزکاری، سفالگری، زیورسازی، پارچه‌بافی و عاج‌تراشی) می‌تواند توانایی بهتری برای پژوهشگران فراهم سازد، تا همبستگی‌های بینافرهنگی هر مکان باستانی با سایر محوطه‌ها را در یک بافت بزرگ‌تر منطقه‌ای پی‌جویی کنند.
صد و شصت محوطه باستانی عصر آهن ایران در این نوشتار بررسی شده‌اند. تصاویری از شاخص‌ترین نمونه‌های این آثار که اکنون در بیش از پنجاه موزه و ده‌ها مجموعه خصوصی جهان نگهداری می‌شوند، در این کتاب گرد آمده تا بینش کامل‌تری نسبت به هنر ایران در این دوره پراهمیت فرادست آید.

From engraved metal artifacts of bronze land (Luristan), it should be referred to unique objects named disc pin head that are from makeup, ritual and religious requirements. Different types of these pinheads are observed from graves, temples and also on deco rational motive of figures applied in decoration motive of figures applied in decoration of pinhead. Building pinheads began from the late of third millennium B.C and continue to the first half of first millennium B.C. Disk pinheads have much more diversity and different species that at eight and nine centuries B.C reach to its peak of development and beauty. Disk pinheads is composed of one flat engraved head and one bar that often are made of bronze and sometimes both bronze and iron with two methods. Molted in mold and hammering. Pin heads are divided into two disc pinheads: circle and square and based on motive and deco rational subjects on its disk are divided into several motive and subjects that are geometrical, herbal, human, animal and combinational motives, Key questions pacing present researcher are: 1) what is the objective of building and decoration of these pinheads? 2) Why these objects are often obtained from grave and temples? In present writing. In addition to answer the questions and considering and analyzing the motive of these pinheads from the art and visual perspective, it is tried to offer the integrated and rationale analysis based on motive typology, use kind, building method, building technique and motive of disc pinheads that are made in bronze and iron age.

هنر ایران سرشار از نقش‌مایه‌هایی است که از گیاهان و جانوران واقعی یا برساخته و خیالی گرفته شده‌اند و هرکدام ریشه‌ای باستانی و مفهومی اساطیری را به درازای تاریخ تا امروز حفظ کرده‌اند. از سوی دیگر میان‌داری ایران در گلوگاه پیوند فرهنگ‌های بزرگ برآمده از میان‌رودان، مصر، آناتولی، لوانت، هند و یونان و دمخور بودن ایرانیان روادار با گونه‌های متفاوت ادیان آریایی و سامی سبب شده انگاره‌های هنری ایرانیان جهان‌شمول‌تر و رازگونه‌تر گردند و ژرفای معنایی بیشتری بیابند.
از این میان نگارنده نه گونه بن‌مایه را به‌دلیل بازنمایی گسترده‌تری که در تاریخ هنر ایران داشته‌اند برگزیده و تلاش کرده تا آنها را نشانه‌شناسی و شمایل‌شناسی کند. به این شمار می‌توان نقش‌های بسیاری را افزود، اما هیچ نماد جانمند دیگری گستره‌ای همچون این بن‌مایه‌های نه‌گانه در هنر باستانی ایران ندارد.
گیاهان در دو دسته گیاه زندگی (به‌شکل درخت یا درخت‌چه) و نیلوفر (به‌شکل گل) دسته‌بندی شده‌اند. سپس شش جانور پراهمیت و پرتکرار در هنر ایران (گاو، شیر، بز کوهی، شاهین، ماهی و مار) بررسی شده‌اند و در نهایت موجودات ترکیبی و برساخته که حاصل درآمیختن انسان با جانوران، یا جانوران با یکدیگر هستند.
بازخوانی معنای کهن‌الگویی این نشانه‌ها در گرو شناخت گفتمان‌ها و بافت‌های فرهنگی در درون جامعه ساکن فلات ایران، پی‌جویی شیوه ارتباط آنها با جهان پیرامونشان و بررسی پیوندها و گسست‌هایی است که میان آنها با فرهنگ‌های پرمایه و نیرومند همسایه در دوران‌های گوناگون رخ داده است. هیچ متنی نمی‌تواند دستیابی کامل به هدفی چنین دشوار در پهنه‌ای چنین گسترده را دعوی کند، بنابراین این نوشتار به‌تعبیر ریکور تنها تلاشی است برای راززدایی از معنایی پنهان.
مشعل روشنگر این راه ترجمه‌ای بینانشانه‌ای است برای برقراری پیوند میان نوشتارهای کهن مردمان این سامان از یک‌سو و نشانه‌های نقش‌شده بر دست‌ساخته‌های هنریشان از سوی دیگر.
همه این بن‌مایه‌ها را به‌سبب خاستگاه کهن و رمزآمیز و جایگاه استوارشان در باورهای جمعی و نیز استمرار حضورشان در هنر ایران، بنا بر تعریف یونگ می‌توان کهن‌الگو دانست. همچنین از آنجایی که این انگاره‌ها مجموعه‌ای از معانی قراردادی برآمده از باورها و ادیان کهن را در خود پنهان کرده‌اند، بسته به گستردگی ارتباطی که میان شکل آنها با مفاهیم اسطوره‌ای‌شان برقرار است، بنا بر باور پیرس در دسته نمادها و شمایل‌ها جای می‌گیرند. این نوشتار پی‌جوی یافتن کهن‌الگوهای گیاهی، جانوری و برساخته بوده است و در آن به نمادها و شمایل‌های انسانی یا هندسی پرداخته نشده.
داده‌های اطلاعاتی لازم برای پی‌ریزی معنای نشانه‌شناختی این نمادها به دو شیوه گردآوری شده است. نخست با متن‌خوانی و مراجعه به نوشتارهای مذهبی و اساطیری تمدن‌های خاور باستان همچون متون اوستایی، پهلوی، عیلامی، سومری، آشوری، بابلی، مصری، یونانی، هندی، عبری و...؛ دوم با گردآوری و بررسی بن‌مایه‌های نقش‌شده بر آثار هنری بازمانده از این تمدن‌ها در بناهای باستانی و موزه‌های جهان.

این نوشتار تلاش دارد به بررسی نگاره‌های همبسته با رقص یا کنش‌های نمایشی بر روی آثار دوران پیش از اسلام ایران بنشیند و در این راه با پژوهشی کتابخانه‌ای و موزه‌ای، به پی‌جویی تطبیقی و تحلیلی هنرهای نمایشی در آن دوران بپردازد. گستره این بررسی از هزاره ششم پ.م تا دوران ساسانی است و سخن با نگاهی به نوشتارهای ایرانی آغاز می‌گردد.
با موشکافی آثار ایرانی موزه‌ها و مجموعه‌های جهان می‌توان دریافت که آیین‌های نمایشی ایران در دورانی بس کهن‌تر از تصور ما پا گرفته‌اند. نمایش در شکل رقص، خنیاگری، بازی یا آیین و نیز ابزارهای نمایش چون سیماچه، لباس مبدل جانوران یا گیاهان، سازهایی برای آفرینش ریتم و... دستکم از هزاره ششم پ.م در ایران شناخته شده و مورد بهره بوده‌اند. در سنت کهن ایرانی نمی‌توان فاصله‌ای میان رقص، بازی و نمایش نهاد. این هر سه در خدمت آیین‌هایی چون جشن، سوگ و نیایش بوده‌اند، و به دست بازیگرانی آشنا به موسیقی، رقص، کنش‌های بدنی و شیوه‌های بیان رخ داده‌اند.

This article tries to look at the records of Iranian dramatic arts by researching myths and beliefs and looking at the motifs of artifacts in the pre - Islamic period of Iran. With a comparative analysis, we hope to find other evidence about cultural relationships between these motifs and the magnitude of drama in the life of the pre-Islamic people of Iran. The time range of this research encompasses the 6th millennium BC to the Sassanian period, and we will begin with a look at pre - Islamic Persian literature.
With a detailed study of Iranian artifacts in museums and private collections worldwide, we can find that dramatic rituals in Iran are very older than we think. Iranians have known drama in dance, music, play, or religious rituals. They have used dramatic instruments like masks, costumes of animals or plants, musical instruments for rhythm, etc. Since the 6th millennium BC.
We can't disunite dance, play, and drama in the ancient traditions of Iran. These tree cultural mixed forms have served rituals like celebration, mourning, and worship. And the actors have been masters of music, dance, physical acts, and manners of expression.
Life, events, and fights of gods and goddesses and also style, appearance, and raiment of them in pre - Islamic texts of Iran sometimes are described so vividly and precise that we have no choice but accept that the writer has seen a statue, play or act about these divinities in that time. These dances and plays may be a concern with celebrations, ceremonies, and rites for divinities.
We can find many dramatic scenes in pre - Islamic literature of Iran (books and texts like Yashtha, Dinkard, Bondahesh, Minug-I Kherad, Gozide hay-e Zadesparam, Pos-I Daneh Kamag, Zand-I Vahoman Yasn, Gojastak Abalish, Ardaviraf Naameh, Jamasp Naameh, Yadegar-I Zariran, Derakht-I Asurik, Karnameh-I Ardashir, etc.).
It is said in a Pahlavi text named " Khosrow Qobadan and Ridak " that in Sassanian Farhangestan (school), masters of play and music have taught kids how to play or dance. Musicians and dancers have always been a significant part of courts in Iran.
Musical instruments and artifacts with pictures of dancers, players or actors were found in many archaeological sites in Iran, like Tepe Sabz, Ja'far Abad, Chogha Mish, Tall-e Jari, Cheshmeh Ali, Ismaeel Abad, Tal-e bakun, Tepe Sialk, Tepe Musian, tepe Yahya, Shahdad, Tepe Gian, Kul Farah, Susa, Kok Tepe, Cemeteries of Luristan, Ramhormoz, Kalmakareh, Ziwieh, Hatra, Bishapour, Taq-I Bostan, etc. This research has tried to collect this evidence and arrange them in order of antiquity to extract useful information about the history of dance, music, and dramatic acts in Iran.

FARANGI-SĀZI , a term (lit. making in an Occidental manner) referring to the style of a distinct group of Persian paintings from the second half of the 17th century. This new variant first appeared under the reign of Shah ʿAbbās II (q.v.; r. 1642-66) but was established under Shah Solaymān (1666-94). Farangi-sāzi paintings adopt a wide array of subject matter, ranging from traditional Iranian scenes, including portraits of kings and nobles, to European portraits, landscapes, biblical, and mythological scenes. The art does not fully adhere to either the pictorial conventions of European art or the prototypes of traditional Persian painting. The use of perspective, light effects, and a variety of subject matter render these paintings clearly distinguishable from Herat, Tabriz, or Isfahan styles of painting. Etymology. Literally, a farangi-sāzi (an object) is the work realized by a farangi-sāz (craftsman). Farangisāz is a compound term made of the adjective farangi and sāz, the present stem of the verb sāḵtan (to make, to construct). Farang in Persian and afranj in Arabic, are derived from "Frank," a term generally applied to Occidentals in the Middle Ages. At the time, the geographical delimitation of Farang was almost the same as present-day Europe and, historically, refers to Christian countries.

The Iranian Expanse explores how kings in the ancient Iranian world utilized the built and natural environment—everything from royal cities and paradise gardens, to hunting enclosures and fire temples—to form and contest Iranian cultural memory, royal identity, and sacred cosmologies over a thousand years of history. Although scholars have often noted startling continuities between the traditions of the Achaemenids and the art and architecture of medieval or Early Modern Islam, the tumultuous millennium between Alexander and Islam has routinely been downplayed or omitted. The Iranian Expanse delves into this fascinating period, examining royal culture and identity as something built and shaped by strategic changes to architectonic and urban spaces and the landscape of Western Asia. Canepa shows how the Seleucids, Arsacids, and Sasanians played a transformative role in developing a new Iranian royal culture that deeply influenced not only early Islam, but also the wider Persianate world of the Il-Khans, Safavids, Timurids, and Mughals.

Since the late 1960s, the Iranian-American artist Siah Armajani has primarily worked on the border between sculpture and architecture, creating large-scale public installations such as reading rooms, gardens and bridges. These works commonly evidence a formal concern with relationships between part and whole. This article connects Armajani’s interest in part–whole relations with the writings of Robert Venturi, arguing that Armajani’s practice establishes a critical dialogue with the history of modernist architecture. However, it also demonstrates that Armajani’s practice complicates the proto-postmodern approach of Venturi’s Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966) in several ways. Unlike Venturi, Armajani explicitly politicizes the question of part–whole relations, presenting it not as a purely aesthetic question, but as a formal metaphor for egalitarian social relations. By incorporating certain distinctly modernist techniques into his sculptures, Armajani also shows that, contra Venturi, the question of how to safeguard diversity within a social collective was already a concern among modernists themselves. Finally, Armajani's work further contrasts with Venturi’s writing through its turn to the politics of class struggle. Drawing on the writings of the Marxist theorist Ellen Meiksins Wood, the article argues that Armajani drew attention to the limitations inherent in postmodernism’s ‘politics of diversity’, demonstrating its class blindness and thus its failure to sufficiently challenge contemporary capitalist ideologies.

http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3828/sj.2016.25.3.7

در این مقاله، تلاش شده است با نگاهی به جایگاه تاریخی فرهنگ ایران در کشور
لهستان، به معرفی کتاب شاهکارهای هنر ایران در مجموعه های لهستان پرداخته
شود. بهانه معرفی این کتاب، کسب موفقیت در بخش هنرهای تجسمی س یو دومین
جایزۀ کتاب سال بوده است. در معرفی این کتاب، تلاش شده است ضمن بررسی
محتوایی، به جنبه های ظاهری اثر نیز توجه شود. در بررسی محتوایی، با معرفی
بخش های مختلف کتاب، تلاش شده است به ذکر نمونه هایی از متن پرداخته شود.
امید است تا با بررسی های انجام شده، مخاطب بتواند به ارزیابی دقیقی از این کتاب
دست پیدا کند.

Qualunque parte di questa pubblicazione può essere riprodotta, memorizzata in un sistema di recupero dati o trasmessa in qualsiasi forma o con qualsiasi mezzo, elettronico o meccanico, senza autorizzazione, a condizione che se ne citi la fonte.

Fashion in the twenty-first century in Iran has become highly inventive, surprisingly innovative, and undoubtedly glamorous. This is a surprise to some in the West who are accustomed to seeing images of large public gatherings of men and women in drab clothing engaged in religious or political activities that seem to be decidedly lacking in any elements that could be called “fashionable.”

Women in particular are portrayed in the all-enveloping
chador, usually solid black, which has become a Western trope for female repression. Fashion in Iran has, in fact, been remarkable for its flexibility and for its role in cultural communication. It has been directly responsive to social and political events in the country for as long
as documentation has existed. Iranians take enormous care in their dress, exhibiting a great deal of attention and individualism.

Every element of Iranian fashion is socially coded, making it easy to determine the political, social, and personal attitudes of the wearer. Because dress is such a potent public statement, attempts on the part of the Iranian state to impose standards and requirements
on the population have been a universal phenomenon over many centuries.

Before one can understand the current status of fashion in Iran, it is necessary to understand the elements from which fashion is constructed. These consist both of material element, like fabrics and tailoring, ethnic traditions from the many cultural groups that live under the rubric of Iranian culture, and historical social forces that have inspired the expression of Iranian identity
over the years. These three elements: material, cultural, and historical, have shifted and interacted with each other to create fashion variation.

In June of 2017, my mother's older brother passed away. It was the second time in the span of three-and-a-half years that my 90-year-old grandmother lost a son. Before we left the hospital-while my grandmother still held my uncle's hand, sobbing, asking him if he remembered events from a childhood over half a century before-my mother called for reinforcements and support. By the time we arrived at my grandmother's home, an army of family members were waiting, hugging, crying, cleaning, cooking. We didn't leave my grandmother alone for weeks. In Los Angeles, California, so many miles and so many years removed from life in Iran, I watched my family survive another loss together. What some might call a familiar collectivism sustained us.

Unveiling the Veiled
Royal Consorts, Slaves and Prostitutes in Qajar Photographs

Photo exhibition curated by: Dr. Pedram Khosronejad
Associate Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies, Oklahoma State University

A special Exhibit and Panel Discussion as part of the UCSB Conference on:

"Slavery and Sexual Labor in the Middle East and North Africa"
Mosher Alumni House, McCune Library, UC Santa Barbara.

Saturday October 20th 2018
Co-sponsored by: The Iranian Studies Initiative, UCSB, the Middle East Studies Program, SBCC and the International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA)

The image of a bird with the head or torso of a woman (less often a man) has been known since ancient times.  This image almost simultaneously appeared in the art of the Mesopotamia and Egypt in the I-II millennium BC, and then manifested itself in almost all the bright artistic cultures of Eurasia.
This image is included in the iconographic systems associated with various religious and religious traditions, is not central in them, most clearly manifesting itself on the border of religious and folk arts.  The bird-maiden in each culture bears its name, has its own external and symbolic features, but at the same time preserves the unchanged visual appearance.
Note that a comprehensive, interdisciplinary research on its presence in the art of a number of countries has not been carried out, there are works related to specific regions or specific areas of art.  Thus, at this point in time, sufficient study of the image of the bird-maiden within different cultures allows us to again address the issues of studying this image in an interregional and interdisciplinary context.  However, this task poses a number of methodological issues that the authors raise in this article.
One of the first questions concerns the difficulty of establishing the relationship of literary sources and numerous images of the bird-maiden in a particular culture.  As you know, reliance on literary sources in the interpretation of ancient and medieval art is one of the most common ways of disclosing the inner meanings of medieval and ancient visuality.  However, the analysis of literary sources, usually serving as a reliable aid to art historians, in this case works poorly.
The second no less important issue in the study of this image is associated with the almost one-time existence and popularity of the bird-maiden in different cultures of Eurasia in medieval times.  What are the reasons for this fact?  Did this image be based on a single prototype, or is it based on the universal idea of the bird-man, characteristic of all peoples?
Thus, the study of the visual image of the bird-maiden at the present stage of art history is one of the interesting examples of sustainable visual common Eurasian visual codes, and provides a wide field for further research both within individual cultures and studies that pose more general questions concerning cross-cultural ties  peoples of the East and the West, as well as the transformation of artistic phenomena that stand outside the history of "great styles."

Изображение птицы с головой или торсом женщины (реже мужчины) известно с древнейших времен. Этот образ почти одновременно появился в искусстве Двуречья и Египта в I-II тысячелетии до н.э., а затем проявил себя практически во всех ярких художественных культурах Евразии.
Этот образ входит в иконографические системы, связанные с различными религиозно-культовыми традициями, не является в них центральным, наиболее ярко проявляя себя на границе религиозного и народного искусств. Дева-птица в каждой культуре носит свое имя, имеет свои  внешние и символические особенности, но сохраняет при этом неизменный  внешний визуальный облик. 
Отметим, что комплексного, междисциплинарного исследования по его присутствию в искусстве ряда стран не проводилось, существуют работы, связанные с конкретными регионами или определенными направлениями  искусства. Таким образом, на данный момент времени достаточная исследованность изображения девы-птицы внутри различных культур, позволяет вновь обратиться к вопросам изучения этого образа в межрегиональном и междисциплинарном контексте. Однако подобная задача ставит целый ряд методологических вопросов, которые авторы поднимают  в данной статье.
Один из первых вопросов касается сложности установления взаимосвязи литературных источников и многочисленных изображений девы-птицы в той или иной культуре. Как известно, опора на литературные источники при интерпретации древнего и средневекового искусства является одним из распространенных способов раскрытия внутренних смыслов средневековой и древней визуальности. Однако, проведенный анализ литературных источников, обычно служащий искусствоведам надежным подспорьем, в данном случае работает слабо.
Второй не менее важный вопрос при изучении данного образа, связан с практически единовременным существованием и популярностью девы-птицы в разных культурах Евразии во времена средневековья. Каковы причины этого факта? Лежал ли в основе этого изображения какой-то единый первообраз, или в его основе лежит универсумная идея человека-птицы, характерная для всех народов? 
Таким образом, изучение визуального образа девы-птицы на современном этапе искусствознания является одним из интересных примеров устойчивых визуальных общеевразийских визуальных кодов, и дает широкое поле для дальнейших исследований как внутри отдельных культур, так и исследований, ставящих более общие вопросы, касающиеся кросс-культурных связей народов Востока и Запада, а также трансформации художественных явлений, стоящих вне  истории «больших стилей».

در این مقاله تلاش شده تا با معرفی دو نقش‌مایه در دو قطعه کاشی نصب ‌شده در خانه- موزه مقدم، به تحلیل تصویری آثار یاد شده پرداخته شود. با توجه به وجود نداشتن هیچ یادداشتی مبنی بر این که کاشی‌های یاد شده از کجا به دست آمده‌اند، و مشخص نبودن این موضوع که در گذشته، نصب کاشی‌ها در کنار یکدیگر بوده است یا نه و آیا ارتباطی با هم داشته‌اند یا خیر؟ و همچنین با توجه به نقش هر دو قطعه کاشی، می‌توان تفسیرهای متعددی ارایه داد. دو قطعه کاشی مورد اشاره، حامل ارزش‌ها و پیام‌هایی هستند؛ درک معنایی این نقوش، نیاز به شناخت عناصر نمادینی دارد که روزگاری زبان کلامی و معنایی مشخصی در فرهنگ جامعه داشته‌اند. در این راستا به روش آیکونوگرافی (iconography) می‌توان به جنبه‌هایی از باورهای اسطوره‌ای و عناصر نمادین پی برد و بر اساس مطالعه تاریخی بر روی چندین فرهنگ گوناگون، ضمن بازنمایی نشانه‌های موجود در نقوش، نسبت به تحلیل و دریافت مفهوم آنها اقدام کرد. این کاشی‌ها بوسیله هنرمندی ناشناس طراحی شده‌اند و به احتمال قریب به یقین، مربوط به عصر قاجار هستند و جدا از محل اصلی خود، به عنوان تزیینات، توسط مرحوم محسن مقدم، در خانه موزه مقدم نصب شده‌اند.
در این مقاله، با استفاده از روش آیکونوگرافی، در ابتدا به درک معنایی نقش نمادین کاشی‌ها (کلاغ با بدن انسانی سوار بر اژدهای خشمگین و قطعه دوم، نقش یک مبارز یا پهلوان اسب‌سوار و شکست اژدها) پرداخته می‌شود.

ورودی بقعۀ شیخ‌ عبدالصمد، در ضلع جنوبی و مجاور با دیوارۀ منارۀ رفیع سی و هفت متری آن واقع شده است. از این مدخل ابتدا به یک هشتی و از آنجا با عبور از شبستان کوچکی به مزار شیخ دسترسی می‌یابیم. این مقبره به‌وسیلۀ دالانی به یک دهلیز در مسجد مجاور متصل می‌شود. این سردر رفیع، مملو از کاشی‌های فیروزه و آبی لاجورد است که در ترکیب با خشت‌های پختۀ منقوش بدون لعاب معرق‌کاری شده‌اند؛ و فضایی مُلوّن و مَملو از آرامش و زیبایی را شکل داده‌اند. مقرنس‌کاری‌های زیر طاق ورودی که از کاشی‌های چند سانتی‌متری ریزنقشی با درایت و دقت عمل پُر شده‌اند در هارمونی کامل با کاشی‌کاری‌های نُغول‌ها (فرورفتگی‌های طاقچه‌مانند) و همنشینی با تراش‌های هندسی دقیق گره‌های موجود در این بخش قرار گرفته‌اند. کتیبه‌های معرق کاشی کوفی بنایی و ثلث بدون لعاب در زمینه‌ای از بافت کاشیکاری، ریتمی بصری را از پایین تا بالا در چرخشی اعجاب‌آور ایجاد کرده‌اند که بیننده با خیره‌شدن به آن یارای ورود به داخل بنا را نمی‌یابد. به نظر می‌رسد طراحان و استادکاران به سفارش بانیان بنا، به تناسب هرجا توانسته‌اند با قرار دادن نقش‌ونگاری نمادین، ارجاعاتی به مفاهیم اسلامی و گرایشات مذهبی یا المان‌های صوفیانۀ فرقۀ خود و شیخ نطنزی پرداخته‌اند.
تمرکز این بنا بر نقوش هندسی، توجه انسان را از جهان مادی به جهان صور محض معطوف می‌کند. یکی از نقوش پرتکرار هندسی به‌کار رفته در بنا «شمسه» است. شمسه در هنر اسلامی، مجموعه‌ای از اشکال هندسی است که از مرکز یک دایره شروع شده و همانند شعاع‌های خورشید به اطراف گسترده می‌شود؛ علاوه بر آن دایره، هم دربردارنده و هم زیرساخت چندضلعی‌های متنوع نیز به‌شمار می‌رود. نقش شمسه، نزد اهل تصوف و عرفان، نماد انوار حاصل از تجلیات قدسی و حقیقت نور خدا و احادیث است و از آنجا که نور نزد صوفیان به اعتبار حضور حق و فی‌النفسه وجود حق است، نقوش شمسه و ستاره می‌تواند استعاره‌ای از نور الهی باشد که بنیاد عرفان و حکمت شرق محسوب می‌شود

Dr. Pedram Khosronejad, the Associate Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at Oklahoma State University, curated a photography exhibition titled Re-Imagining Iranian African slavery: Photography as material culture that will be on display at the University of California at Davis May 10 through June 27 at the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center.

The exhibition focuses on the overlooked study of race and ethnicity in the field of Iranian photography. The photographs showcase Africans enslaved during the Qajar period of the 1840s-1920s and are considered to be a new topic in the field of visual studies of modern Iran. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

This is the first ever photo exhibition organized in the United States that uses photographs of the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods to study the level of ability of the medium as material culture. Dr. Khosronejad will speak on this topic at the exhibition’s opening Thursday, May 10, from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Buehler Alumni Center.

The photographs included in the exhibition are from the Dr. A. Fazel Visual Archive, Media Collection and Digital Resources (Oklahoma State University), the Kimia Foundation (U.S.A), and the Farhad and Firouzeh Diba Collection of Qajar Photographs (Spain).

The exhibition is sponsored by the Mellon Research Initiative Reimagining Indian Ocean Worlds and co-sponsored by Bita Daryabari Presidential Chair in Persian Language and Literature and the Art History Program at UC Davis in cooperation with the Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at Oklahoma State University

An inquiry into how contemporary artists in Iran manage to avoid governmental restrictions and foreign prejudice, as they take the body as a locus for critique (or dissensus) in their artistic practice. The central method to do so, with a controversial subject as the body in Iran, is through different variations of non-figuration. Three case studies will exemplify the differences between artistic strategies and these non-figurative visual languages, each placed as much as possible in its cultural context and tradition. Theoretical analysis of these works and how they 'work' is given with the help of the thought of Jacques Rancière and Michel Foucault.

The Lake Urmia region in northwest Iran is one often overlooked not
only in terms of Syriac studies, but also when it comes to Eastern Christianity
and especially art and architecture – not the least because many western
scholars have found the area to be inaccessible. Prior to the First World War
this region was an Assyrian Christian cultural centre and, especially from the
1830s onwards, it witnessed an unprecedented renaissance in terms of original
cultural and literary output. Indeed, the Urmia region stands out as one
where the Assyrians were sufficiently numerous and well off enough to develop
excellent skills as stonecutters, copyists, and builders – especially from the sixteenth century onwards.

Abstract
In this research, Yazdi Bandi domes were considered as a one of vaulting ornaments in Iranian traditional architecture that in local expression is called “Karbandi”. Karbandi is a general expression that refers to all of the three-dimensional works in ornamental architectural vaulting like “Muqarnas”, “Rasmi Bandi” , “Kase Sazi” and “Yazdi Bandi”. The aim of the paper is to present a new identification of Yazdi bandi, by categorizing it and by its geometrical and structural analysis. The authors observed and surveyed the many cases of Yazdi bandi in different cities and monuments; specially in historical Iranian cities like Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman and Natanz, where ever it is observed, such as mosques , madrassa, bazars. The research also covers many historical eras from the Seljuks in 10th century (A.H) to Qajars dynasty in 10th century. To reach the aims, the origins of this architecture element were studied first in the primary samples of the ribbed vaults in Isfahan, specially the great mosque of Isfahan. Then by categorizing the observed cases, the authirs attempted to analyse the geometrical and structural specification of Yazdi bandi. Therefore, the existence of a specific geometric units named “Sine Fakhri” is held in common in all of the cases, so it could be consider as the most significant geometrical element of Yazdi bandi. After survey on Yazdi bandi cases by authors, this element of Iranian architecture was categorized in two classes. First of them refers to the kind of Yazdi bandi that mostly resembles Rasmi bandi in terms of geometric and structural specifications. This class of Yazdi bandi seems to be created by mutation of Rasmi bandi, through fragmentation of some of its geometric units. This types of Yazdi bandi is also divided into two groups; one with and the other one without the horizontal star shaped polygon, called “Takht”. Because of horizontal shape of this elements, this types of Yazdi bandi cannot be considered as a load bearing structure. Compared to other types of Yazdi bandi, this type has the most redundancy and can be observed in many monuments like historical houses specially in Kashan and Kerman. There is also the second class of Yazdi bandi that could be observed in some historical monuments in Isfahan, namely in “Chahar-Bagh Madrassa” or in “Naghe Jahan square”. This class of Yazdi bandi, unlike the other types, mostly resembles Muqarnas in terms of geometric and structural specifications. By geometric analysis and survey in drawing methods as well as two- and three-dimensional geometry analysis, it can be suggested that this class of Yazdi bandi has been created by mutation and evolution of Muqarnas specifications. The research methods of this paper consist of direct survey of case studies and also utilizing resources and documents in literature.

Key Words : Karbandi, Yazdi-Bandi, Rasmi-Bandi, Iranian Architecture Geometry, Roof Coating, Muqarnas

Educational system of the society is one of the fundamental pillars of emergence, development, and transfer of its cultural elements. The system itself involves four pillars, including educational structure, instructor, learner, and educational environment. Earlier researches on the architectural history of Iranian schools indicates that the relationship between education and school architecture has not been widely explored. The main research question is how the transformations of educational system have been relevant with the transformations of Iranian schools spaces? The study aims at recognizing the spatial evolution of Iranian schools architecture. It seems that with the transformation of Educational system in the Qajar period and the establishment of Darolfunoon academy,the system and the architecture of schools have gradually shifted the traditional school to new ones. Based on a historical-interpretive approach, data were gathered using library method, then were analyzed citing historical documents. To this end, three periods were identified in the educational system and architectural developments and three typical schools of the given periods, including Sepahsalar School, Darolfunoon academy, and Alborz high school, and their relevant educational systems were analyzed. Studies suggested that the traditional system had been based on the concurrent life and learning, coordination of spiritual and worldly sciences, and Interactive relationship between master and disciple. This system had interacted with the architecture of schools, with prominent features such as considering one place for living and learning, the use of schools for religious affairs, and considering large spaces for schools. In the next period, the religious aspect and the interaction between disciple and master has been removed from schools such as the Darolfunoon, but the overall shape the central courtyard has been preserved and the function of the chambers has shifted to classrooms. Finally, in the modern educational system, the architecture of schools has become linear, the classes and their layout has led to a unilateral teacher-student relationship, and has distanced from the architecture of the traditional schools.

This article constitutes a preliminary attempt to explore the geographical dimension of premodern Persian lyric poetry from the perspective of the relationship between the historical adherence of a text to external reality and the rhetorics of intertextuality and performativity. The pretext for this exploration is the poem known as “Tork-e Shirazi” or “The Turk from Shiraz,” one of the most celebrated ghazals of Hafez of Shiraz. The analysis focuses in particular on the first two lines of the ghazal, whose rich and ambiguous imagery has challenged the community of readers, interpreters, and scholars for centuries. On the basis of historiographical, formalist, and poststructuralist approaches to the study of lyric poetry, the article outlines a generative paradigm that analyzes a given text from the perspective of its abstract, genre-specific, conventionally negotiated, and referential levels of meaning. The contribution of geocritical studies will be combined with rhetorical analysis to conceive of Hafez’s text as a geopoetic map in which the cities of Shiraz, Samarkand, and Bukhara are put in conversation with the mental and historical representations of Iran and India between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, during the transition from the Mongol to the Timurid models and ideals of power.

This paper discusses recent Western exhibitions of art from the Arab world and Iran and their catalogues: 25 ans de créativité arabe, Paris/Cinisello Balsamo, Milan, Institut du Monde Arabe/Silvana Editoriale, 2012, 215 p., ISBN 9788836624317; Massimiliano Gioni, ed., Here and Elsewhere, New York, New Museum, 2014, 279 p., ISBN 978-0-915557-05-9, Unedited History, Séquences du moderne en Iran des années 1960 à nos jours, Paris, Paris-Musées, 2014, 199 p., ISBN 9782759602452; Fereshteh Daftari and Layla S. Diba, eds., Iran Modern, New York/New Haven and London, Asia Society Museum/Yale University Press, 2013, 256 p., ISBN 9780300197365; Omar Kholeif, ed., Imperfect Chronology: Arab Art from the Modern to the Contemporary – Works from the Barjeel Art Foundation, London/Munich/New York, Whitechapel Gallery/Prestel Verlag, 2015, 272 p., ISBN 9783791354859 (Trade edition), ISBN 9783791366302 (Museum edition).