Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Department Of Art, National University Of Skills (NUS),Tehran, Iran
2
Faculty of Advanced Studies in Arts and EntrAssistant Professor, Handicrafts Department, Farsan Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.epreneurship, University of Art Isfahan
Abstract
Due to the creativity of her artists in using decorations, Iran’s architecture is full of beauty, variation, and aesthetic. Bird motifs in historical native buildings, both independently and in combination with other forms, go far beyond the aesthetic aspect and reflect the habitat of the people of each region. This article describes and analyzes the symbolic features of 30 bird motifs depicted in the Qajar wall paintings of Mazandaran, through documentary and field studies. In Iranian culture, the close connection between literature and art has had a profound influence on artistic themes, examples of which can be seen in different periods, including the Qajar period. In this period, on the one hand, the tendency of artists towards literary and mystical works created new intellectual platforms for visual expression, and on the other hand, due to relations with the Western world, modern intellectual currents and new trends emerged in Iranian society. As a result, there were significant changes in the art of the Qajar period, which resulted in a duality of tradition and modernity. Therefore, in the artworks of this period, two major tendencies are observed: namely nature painting and the continuation of previous pictorial traditions. Examples of these can be found in architectural decorations. Due to the cultural changes and the growth of social strata in the Qajar period, the field of architectural decoration expanded; so much so that in addition to palaces, governmental, religious, and residential buildings were also decorated with various arrays. In the meantime, based on the position of the bird in the mythological and religious beliefs of Iranians, the motif of the bird is a recurring pattern on building surfaces. Numerous examples of this pattern can be seen in the Qajar buildings of Mazandaran. For this reason, the present research, with the main aim of discovering the meanings and levels of the bird motif, explores why and how it is used in the decorative arrays of Qajar buildings in this region and tries to answer these questions: what visual characteristics do bird motifs have in the Qajar buildings of Mazandaran, and which symbolic aspects do they refer to. The authors assume the motifs of birds are explicitly tied to the mysticism and religious beliefs of the people of Mazandaran. The findings show that these forms contain rich mystical content, human hopes and desires to achieve the ideal world away from evil forces. The role of eliminating negative forces through these motifs is also evident, all of which are derived from mythological, ethnic, religious, and mystical beliefs. Creative artists have executed bird motifs in connection with plant arrays on the surface of the walls using a variety of forms and, of course, techniques. This was done with the aim of strengthening and explaining spiritual concepts and examples such as absolute truth, soul, perfect human being, love, eternal happiness, agent of excellence, holy grace, savior, guide, source of blessing and fertility, and, of course, peace of mind. The result is a spiritualized space imbued with symbolic meaning.
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