Rereading the themes and imagery of birds in the Qajar architectural arrangements of Mazandaran with a literary and mystical approach

Ran's architecture is full of beauty, which is due to the creativity of artists in using decorations. Bird motifs in historical-native buildings, separately and combination with other forms, go beyond the aesthetic aspect and display in the habitat of the people of each region. This article describes and analyzes the symbolic features of 30 bird motifs included on the Qajar wall paintings of Mazandaran, with documentary and field studies. In Iranian culture, the close connection between literature and art has left tremendous effects 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 image creations, and on the other hand, due to the relations with the western world, modern intellectual currents and new trends 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, i.e. nature painting and the continuation of the previous pictorial traditions. Examples of it can be found in architectural decorations. Due to the cultural changes and the growth of social bases in the Qajar period, the field of architectural decorations expanded; So that in addition to palaces, government, religious and residential buildings are 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 the body of various buildings. 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, deals with why and how it is used in the arrays of Qajar buildings in this region and tries to answer these questions: 1- Naqshmayeh What visual characteristics does the bird have in the Qajar buildings of Mazandaran and which symbolic aspects do they refer to? The authors are based on the assumption that the motifs of birds are tied to mysticism and religious beliefs of the people of Mazandaran. The findings show that these forms contain rich mystical content, hopes and desire of humans to achieve the ideal world away from evil forces. The role of removing the intended motifs was also evident in these buildings; all of which are derived from their mythological, ethnic, religious and mystical beliefs. Creative artists have executed bird motifs in connection with plant arrays on the surface of the walls with a variety of forms and of course techniques. This has been formed 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 spiritualization of the space speaks.