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Iran Art & Architecture
Iranian Art and Architecture
the visual arts of Iran. Although in the West this has been
traditionally known as Persian culture, the inhabitants of the country
have long called it Iran and themselves Iranians, rather than Persians.
In accordance with popular usage, however, the term Persian will be used
in this article to refer to the period before the advent of Islam in the
7th century AD-that is, the period of the ancient Persian empires-as
well as the preceding prehistoric times.
Ancient Period
Ceramics and clay figurines were the chief artworks of the
prehistoric period, and architecture and sculpture predominated during
the period of the first two Persian empires (6th century BC to 7th
century AD). After the Arab conquest and the introduction of Islam in
the 7th century AD, sculpture was little practiced but architecture
flourished. Painting became a major art in the period from the 13th to
the 17th century. In the 20th century these ancient arts were being
revived, and traditional forms were combined with Western technology and
contemporary materials.
Architecture
Prehistoric
architecture in Iran remains little known but has gradually begun to
come to light since World War II. Among the earliest examples are a
number of small houses of packed mud and mud brick found at several
Neolithic sites in western Iran: Tepe Ali Kosh, Tepe Guran, Ganj Dareh
Tepe, and Hajji Firuz Tepe. These sites show that small villages made up
of one-room houses and storage structures were already established along
the western border of the country by 6000 BC. Excavations at Tal-i
Bakun, near
Persepolis, and Tal-i
Iblis and Tepe Yahya, near Kerman, show that by 4000 BC
buildings with a number of rooms were being erected and grouped into
villages or small towns. All of these structures indicate that the
traditional building techniques using packed mud and sun-dried mud brick
had already been invented. At Shahr-i Sokhta in Seistan an elaborate
Bronze Age palace (circa 2500 BC) was excavated. The plans of these
remains show a steady growth in complexity ending with the establishment
of important commercial centers on the plateau.
At the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Iranian tribal
groups, including the Medes and Persians, spread over the plateau and
displaced or absorbed the indigenous inhabitants. The architecture and
crafts of this Iron Age period, which immediately preceded the founding
of the Persian Empire by
Cyrus the Great, have
been brought to light by excavations near Kangavar (Godin Tepe and
Babajan Tepe), near Hamadan (Nush-i Jan Tepe), and at Zendan-i Suleiman
and Tepe Hasanlu in northwestern Iran. These sites revealed for the
first time a tradition of building in which large columnar halls are
used as a central feature. The columns were of wood set on stone slabs,
while the buildings themselves were of uncut stone and mud-brick
construction. Stairways and terraces, along with other features, formed
the prototypes for later developments in the imperial architecture of
Pasargadae and Persepolis. The buildings at Nush-i Jan Tepe and Godin
Tepe are almost certainly Median in origin and are the first structures
excavated belonging to the Medes. These discoveries confirm the
generalized descriptions of battlements and palaces found in the
literary sources, especially of the Greek historian Herodotus.
Achaemenian Period
The first great development of ancient Persian architecture took
place under the Persian Empire of the Achaemenid dynasty, which ruled
from about 550 to 331 BC.Remains of Achaemenian architecture are
numerous, the earliest being ruins at Pasargadae, the capital city of
Cyrus the Great. These ruins include two palaces, a sacred precinct, a
citadel, a tower, and the tomb of Cyrus. The palaces were set in walled
gardens and contained central columnar halls, the largest of which was
37 m (111 ft) in length. The proportions of the principal rooms varied
from square to rectangular; all were lighted by a clerestory. Walls were
constructed of mud brick; foundations, doorways, columns, and dadoes
along the walls were of stone. Columns were capped with stone blocks
carved to represent the forequarters of horses or lions with horns,
placed back to back. The roof was flat and was probably made of wood.
The sacred precinct consisted of a walled court containing two altars
and a rectangular stepped platform. The tower was a tall rectangular
structure built of yellow limestone; a contrasting black limestone was
used for the doorway and two tiers of blind windows. The tomb of Cyrus
was a small gabled stone building placed on a stepped platform. The
surrounding columns were placed there during recent Islamic times.
Darius I built a new capital at Persepolis, to which additions were made
by Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I (reigned 465-425 BC). Three vast terraces
were hewn and leveled out of the rocky site, and on them mud-brick and
stone buildings, similar to those at Pasargadae, were erected. The
buildings at Persepolis differed from those at Pasargadae in a number of
ways. The columnar halls were square, walls were broken by windows and
window like niches of stone, and the stone dado was not applied. Doorways
bore a quarter-round cornice ornamented with a petal motif, probably of
Egyptian origin. Column shafts were fluted rather than plain, the bases
and caps were ornamented with floral decorations, and the termination of
the column, called the impost block, took the form of naturalistically
rendered forequarters of bulls or bulls with wings. These buildings had
ceilings of cedar wood, carried on heavy balks or beams that rested on
the stone impost blocks at the tops of the columns.
Other remains of Achaemenian architecture exist at Susa, where Darius I
built a large palace, which was subsequently rebuilt by Artaxerxes II
(reigned 409-358? BC). Royal architecture under the
Achaemenids also
included tombs cut in solid rock, of which the best-known examples are
those at Naqsh-e- Rostam near Persepolis. Little is known of the popular
building practices of the period, but archaeologists believe that the
ordinary dwelling was made of mud brick.
After the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great in
331 BC, and the assumption of power by the Seleucid dynasty, Persian
architecture followed the styles common to the Greek world. The great
Greek-style Temple of Anahita at Kangavar was excavated by the
Archaeological Service of Iran with a view to eventual restoration. The
temple had been destroyed by a severe earthquake in antiquity.
Subsequently, under the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, which lasted from
about 250 BC to AD 224, a small number of buildings was constructed in
native Persian style. The most notable monument of this period is a
palace at Hatra (now in Iraq), dating from the 1st or 2nd century AD and
exemplifying the use of the barrel vault on a grand scale. The vaults,
heavy walls, and small rooms of this palace indicate a continuation of
earlier Assyrian and Babylonian tradition.
Sassanian Period
A great renaissance in architecture took place under the Sassanid
dynasty, which ruled Persia from 224 until the Islamic conquest in 641.
Construction was radically different from that of the Achaemenian
period. Walls were built of burnt brick or small stones bound with
mortar; barrel vaults of brick were used to span rooms and corridors;
and domes were erected over the large halls. The principal features of
the plan of the palaces at Persepolis were adopted, but the various
rooms were enclosed within a single building. Thus, the same building
incorporated a public audience hall, a smaller private audience hall,
and a complex of lesser rooms. Remains of the major monuments of
Sassanian architecture include the ruins of domed palaces at Firuzabad,
Girra, and Sarvestan, and the vast vaulted hall at Ctesiphon. The large
site of Bishapur was systematically excavated in the mid-20th century by
the Archaeological Service of Iran. Palace sites have also been
excavated at Qais, Hira, and Damghan. Other ruins include bridges at
Dizful and Shushtar and a number of small temples built at various
locales for the Zoroastrian worship of fire.
Sculpture
In the first great
period of Persian art, during the reign of the Achaemenids, sculpture
was practiced on a monumental scale. About 515 BC,
Darius I had a vast relief and inscription  carved
on a cliff at Behistun. The relief shows him triumphing over his enemies
as Ahura-Mazda, the chief Zoroastrian deity, looks on. The carving was
derived in plan and detail from Assyrian models, but the naturalistic
treatment of the drapery and the eyes was original.At Persepolis, sculpture was an important adjunct to the architecture.
In addition to the sculptured animal capitals on the columns, which were
a dominant feature of the interiors of the buildings, friezes
representing lions were set on the exterior cornices. Doorjambs were
carved with reliefs of the king, and staircases were decorated with
friezes of royal guards and tribute bearers carved in low relief. The
main gateway to the city was flanked by a pair of huge bulls with human
heads, carved in high relief.The decoration of the palace at Susa consisted of stone reliefs in the
style of those at Persepolis, and panels of bricks glazed blue, green,
white, and yellow. The use of glazed bricks continued a tradition that
was first established in Assyria and Babylonia. The glazed-brick panels
at Susa portrayed soldiers, winged bulls, sphinxes, and griffins. The
best known of these panels make up the Frieze of Archers (Louvre,
Paris). Achaemenian sculpture in relief is further exemplified at
Naqsh-e- Rostam, where four royal tombs were hewn out of the rock. At
each tomb the face of the cliff was carved to represent the facade of a
palace; above the palace, figures support a dais on which the king
stands worshiping the gods.After the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, Greek influence, in
its late, Hellenistic phase, was predominant in the arts of Persia.
Examples include fragments of bronze sculpture found at Shami, and the
Parthian sculptural reliefs at Behistun. The second great period of
Persian art began, as noted, with the reign of the Sassanid dynasty in
AD 224. A single example of sculpture in the round has survived from
this period: a colossal standing figure of a king near Bishapur. A few
statuettes have also survived, but the characteristic sculptural work,
as in Achaemenian times, was the relief cut in rock. The best-known
examples are colossal reliefs at Naqshah Rostam portraying the Persian
kings Ardashir I and Shapur I (reigned 241-72) mounted on horses. A
similar equestrian relief at Taq-i-Bustan represents another Persian
king of this dynasty, Khosrow II. Following the Sassanian period,
sculpture ceased to exist as a major art.
Pottery, Metalwork, and Weaving
The earliest examples
of Persian decorative arts date from the late 7th millennium BC and
consist of animal and human female figures fashioned in clay. The female
figurines, found at Tepe Sarab near
Kermanshah (Bakhtaran), are complex objects
made of many small pieces fitted together on small dowels. The thighs
and breasts of the figures are exaggerated, and the heads are reduced to
small pegs. In contrast to the highly stylized and abstracted
Human figures are
quantities of animal figurines done in an extremely natural style.The second great development in prehistoric art occurred during the 4th
millennium, when a variety of painted pottery styles appeared on the
plateau. The vessels are usually red or buff in color and are covered
with animal figures, often goats, painted in black. The pottery was
found alongside small objects such as stamp seals and small instruments
of copper including pins and chisels. During the 3rd millennium,
burnished gray pottery was manufactured in northeastern Persia along
with a great amount of cast copper objects such as axes, decorated pins,
figurines, and the like. Painted pottery continued to be made in other
parts of the country except in northern Iranian provinces of Azerbaijan,
where black and gray burnished wares appeared, decorated in many
instances with geometric patterns incised into the surface and then
filled with a white paste. About 1300 BC gray burnished pottery appeared
over the whole of the north, perhaps originating in the northeast, and
probably associated with the spreading Indo-Iranian tribes. About 800 BC
painting again revived, with geometric patterns, animals, and human
figures represented.Beginning at the end of the 2nd millennium and continuing to the middle
of the 1st millennium a great florescence of bronze casting occurred
along the southern Caspian mountain zone and in Lorestan. Harness
trappings, horse bits, axes, and votive objects were made in large
quantities and reflected a complex animal style created by combining
parts of animals and fantastic creatures in various forms.Luxurious works of decorative art were produced during the Achaemenian
period, including ornaments and vessels of gold and silver, stone vases,
and engraved gems. A collection of these objects, called the Treasure of
the Oxus, is exhibited at the British Museum, London. Sassanian
metalwork was highly developed, the most usual objects being shallow
silver cups and large bronze ewers, engraved and worked in repoussé. The
commonest themes were court scenes, hunters, animals, birds, and
stylized plants. The largest collection of these vessels is in the
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg; other examples are in museums in
Paris, London, and New York City.Silk weaving was a flourishing industry under the Sassanid dynasty. The
designs, consisting of symmetrical animal, plant, and hunter patterns
framed in medallions, were imitated throughout the Middle East and also
in medieval Europe. Even after the Arab conquest, Sassanian silks and
metalware continued to be manufactured, and Sassanian designs strongly
influenced artists in Byzantium to the west and as far as Eastern
Turkistan to the east. Architecture The
Mosque became the major building type in Iranian
architecture. The established style of  vaulted construction was
continued; common features were the pointed arch, the ogee arch, and the
dome on a circular drum. Outstanding examples of early Islamic Iranian
architecture include the Mosque of Baghdad built in 764, the Great
Mosque at Samarra erected in 847, and the early 10th-century mosque at
Nain. The Mongols destroyed much of the early Islamic architecture in
Iran, but after their conquest of Baghdad in 1258, building was resumed
according to Iranian traditions. Subsequently, a number of the most
notable buildings in the history of Iranian architecture were erected.
They include the Great Mosque at Veramin, built in 1322; the Mosque of
the Imam Reza at Mashad-e-Murghab, erected in 1418; and the Blue Mosque
at Tabriz. Other major structures include the mausoleums of the Mongol
conqueror
Tamerlane and his family at
Samarqand,
the Royal Mosque at Mashad-e-Murghab, and the vast madrasahs, or
mosque schools, at Samarqand, all of them erected during the 15th
century.
Under the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722), a vast number of mosques,
palaces, tombs, and other structures were built. Common features in the
mosques were onion-shaped domes on drums, barrel-vaulted porches, and
pairs of towering minarets. A striking decoration was the corbel, a
projection of stone or wood from the face of a wall, used in rows and
tiers. These corbels, arranged to appear as series of intersecting
miniature arches, are usually called stalactite corbels. Color was an
important part of the architecture of this period, and the surfaces of
the buildings were covered with ceramic tiles in glowing blue, green,
yellow, and red. The most notable Safavid buildings were constructed at
Esfahan (Isfahan), the capital at that period. The city, laid out in
broad avenues, gardens, and canals, contained palaces, mosques, baths,
bazaars, and caravansaries.
Since the 18th century, the architectural styles of western Europe have
been adopted to an increasing degree in Iran. At the same time,
traditional forms have remained vital, and native and imported elements
have often been combined in the same building. Recently, unadorned steel
and concrete structures, similar to those seen in other parts of the
modern world, have been built as dwellings, public buildings, and
factories.
Painting
Painting in fresco and the illumination of manuscripts were
practiced in Iran at least as early as the Sassanian period, but only fragments
of the work have survived. In Islamic Iran,  painting was one of the most
important arts. Manuscripts of the
Qoran in the Arabic Kufic
script were executed on parchment rolls at Al Basrah and Al Kufah at the end of
the 7th century. These manuscripts did not contain painted scenes but depended
for their effect on the beauty of the
Calligraphy. Ornamental calligraphy was widely
practiced in the 8th and 9th centuries. Painting and illumination became
important elements in the decoration of manuscripts in the 9th century. With the
introduction in the 10th century of paper for making books, the forms and
varieties of religious and secular books increased greatly.
In the 12th century, a school of painting at Baghdad became known for
its manuscripts of scientific works, fables, and anecdotes, illustrated
with miniature paintings. In the 13th century the influence of Chinese
landscape painting, introduced after the Mongols came to power in Iran,
became apparent. Paintings of stories, legends, and historical events,
often occupying whole pages and pairs of pages, illustrated books
devoted to poems and world histories. The text was usually written in
Persian rather than Arabic as had previously been customary. In the 14th
century Baghdad and Tabriz were the main centers for painting.
Subsequently, Samarqand, Bukhara, and
Herat also became
important centers. In general the paintings consisted of figural scenes
of hunting, warfare, or palace life and of landscapes of jagged rocks,
single trees, and little streams bordered by flowers. At the beginning
of the 14th century the backgrounds of the paintings were usually red;
later they were more often blue, and at the end of the century gold
backgrounds became common.The best-known Iranian miniature painter was Behzad, the greatest artist
of the end of the Mongol and the beginning of the Safavid periods. He
was head of the academy of painting and calligraphy at Herat until 1506,
when he went to Tabriz and became the royal librarian. Behzad's
paintings are characterized by rich color and realistic figures and
landscapes. He differentiated the figures in group scenes, and his
portraits are strongly individual. Many painters studied with him,
including the celebrated artists Mirak and Sultan Mohammed, and his
style was imitated throughout Iran, Turkistan, and India. Among the few
extant manuscripts illustrated by Behzad are the
History of Tamerlane
(1467), now in the Princeton University Library, and the
Fruit Garden (1487),
a book of poems now in the Egyptian Library, Cairo.Portrait painting became an important art form during the 16th century.
One of the most distinguished portraitists was Ali Reza Abbasi, who
delineated his figures with spare but expressive brush strokes. Most of
his paintings represent single figures, but he also painted realistic
group scenes of pilgrims and dervishes. In the late 16th century and in
the 17th century, monochrome ink drawings brightened with touches of red
and gold replaced the jewel-like polychrome paintings of the earlier
manuscripts. After the 17th century, Iranian artists copied European
paintings and engravings, and the native traditions declined. Paintings
of conventional Iranian themes in brilliant colors on lacquer boxes and
book covers became a handicraft industry in the 19th century, and the
lacquer ware was exported in large quantities to western Europe. This
industry was still flourishing in the late 20th century. Modern
imitations of 16th-century miniature paintings were also common, but no
contemporary national style of painting had emerged.
Decorative Arts
Techniques of weaving, metalwork, and pottery, developed during the
Sassanian period, were practiced throughout subsequent Iranian history. The
weaving of rugs, for which Iran has been especially noted, was encouraged by the
Sassanids and has continued to be an important artistic skill until the present
time. Rugs were made in small villages and in court workshops. The design of
carpets used in mosques or for private prayer usually consisted of a medallion
or arch within a field surrounded by a border, the whole covered with delicate
floral forms. Carpets for secular use might have animal or human figures.
Metalwork was also
important. Fine bronze, brass, and copper wares inlaid with silver and
engraved were made in Mosul and other centers.
Pottery of
outstanding quality was made during the Islamic period, especially in
the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. The potters of Kashan made
mina ware with delicate polychrome figures, lusterware with metallic
glaze decoration, and wares with strong, dark naturalistic motifs under
a clear or turquoise glaze.Home >
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