The Stylistic of Illumination of Manuscripts Written During the Injuid

The stylistics of manuscript decorations helps in identifying artistic styles in the history of book art, understanding other works of the period, and detecting fake works. Illumination is one of the key decorations in the art of the book. Manuscript illumination, as a type of book decoration, provides a wealth of information about the history of Iranian book art, Persian art, and culture. This research, addressing the need for recognizing different styles of art, introduces the important stylistic signs in manuscript illuminations, distinguishing them from works of other periods, and offers a better understanding of Persian manuscript decoration art and its evolution. It also highlights the importance of regional styles in Persian book art. These findings encourage more studies of lesser-known manuscripts to increase our knowledge of different eras. This study gives useful insights into the stylistics of Injuid illuminations and shows how important they are.

This research explores the stylistics of manuscript illuminations produced in Shiraz during the Injuid dynasty, especially in the first half of the 8th century AH. The study aims to understand how these decorative elements help identify artistic styles, discover other works from the same period, detect forgeries, and also identify decorations added later. This research was conducted using a descriptive and analytical method, combining visual analysis and stylistics to identify key features of Injuid illuminations. The research question is: What are the main formal, structural, and color characteristics of Injuid illuminations? To answer this, ten manuscripts were chosen. The attribution of these 10 selected manuscripts to the Injuid period has been examined in two ways. Some of these manuscripts have been introduced as Injuid manuscripts in previous studies, while others have dates and places of production or the name of the writer clearly documented.

Illuminated pages of these manuscripts were studied in five stages, focusing on main frames, sub-frames, motifs, and colors. The most repeatedly used features were categorized and analyzed as main features of the style. The study identifies three main types of decoration: oblong cartouches with medallions at the beginning of manuscripts, fully illuminated pages, and double cartouches. Sizes of oblong cartouches with medallions range from 145–220 mm in length and 30–50 mm in width, with medallion diameters between 140–180 mm. Fully illuminated pages measure 157–240 mm in length and 63–200 mm in width. Margins often include small medallions, half-medallions, or similar designs.

Key decorative motifs include lotus patterns with bushy compositions, knotwork and knotted patterns used independently, and designs on margins featuring shapes like fish scales and petals. Gold is the dominant color in these works, with additional colors including verdigris, cinnabar, and lapis lazuli. Among all these stylistic features, the key findings highlight the use of oblong cartouches and medallions at the start of manuscripts, marginal designs with small or half medallions, and lotus motifs. Also notable are the independent knotted patterns and shapes like fish-scale and petal designs around the frames. Gold as a main color enhances the luxury and elegance of these works.