The art of ancient Iran

The art of ancient Iran
Sculpturing and a prominent inscription
We know that the painting on a page is set forth with only two dimensions and it is a two dimensional art, but the sculpturing is a three dimensional art which has a volume and it is for the same reason that the hand of an artist is more open in this field to show the feelings that are touchable.
This point is also more realistic in the case of the other three dimensional works such as the prominent embossed work, seals, the engravings on the walls (inscription) and even the coins. Therefore, all the three dimensional works can be accommodated in this field. The most elevated and most ancient model that has been obtained in this field is the handle of a knife that was made up of the bone, and was procured from the Sialk of the Kashan and shows the man who had worn a breechcloth and tied a belt at his waist.
A few stamps have also been attained from the same region that has much picture resemblance with the picture that we have from Susa. This is indicative of a kind of relationship between the Sialk and Susa. The next work belongs to the Elamites that is obtained from the Susa. The Elam government to a large extent has owed the civilization of Mesopotamia, therefore has many similarities with the Elamites works and the people of Mesopotamia.
From the excavations of Susa and Seven Hills a number of sculptures and plates have been obtained that indicate the art of sculpturing among the Elamites. The comparison makes the similarities between the civilization works of Elam and Mesopotamia clearer. For an example the statues that have been achieved from Susa are the indicator of the cultural characteristics of the Elamite people such as the clothes, charm and even their living conditions.
Pottery:
The material of pottery is clay. The clay will get life in the hands of a potter and turns out in different forms, such as the pot and the vessels that have prominent inscriptions. From the primitive inhabitants of the Iranian plateau the considerable earthenware has been obtained. The most popular of them belongs to Sialk and Susa. These potteries have an antiquity of as old as around 4 to 6 thousand years ago. But in the gap between these two periods, very important transformations have been taken place in the pottery and most notable of it is the invention of the pottery wheel. Almost in the same period, the heresy of cooking the potteries in the furnace also initiated. These two factors led to the considerable growth in this artistic field. Many of the researchers believe that the primitive inhabitants of the Iranian plateau were the innovators to manufacture the pottery wheel.
The works that till date have been obtained from the different regions have an antiquity of over six thousand years and the majority of them are handmade. In other words, it means that they were structured without the use of the pottery wheel. For the same reason this work is not encountered with a complete symmetry. However, if we look at the potteries that have been gained from Sialk, we will observe the work of the pottery wheel in these works. In other words, it means that the vessels and the pots are completely harmonious. The influences of this change in the potteries that have been obtained from Susa are very well visible. This is effectually because these pots are much larger than the normal sized pots and besides are encountered with a more delicate manufacturing.
In the works that have been obtained from the Susa and Seven Hills the pieces of the glazed pottery and the enamelled statutes are also seen. Probability this technique has come from Mesopotamia to the Elamites. This is because the people of Mesopotamia were much advanced in the technique of enamelling the earthenware. With the entry of the Aryans the different pottery works were made. Among which the more obtained works were discovered from the Marlik (Gilan). In this work a kind of connection was observed between the pottery and sculpturing, for an example a pot and or magic lamp could be in the form of an animal or human.
Painting:
The painting among the primitive inhabitants of the Iranian plateau includes the inscription on the potteries. The researches relate the heresy of painting on the earthenware more to the primitive inhabitants of the Iranian plateau. Except the paintings on the potteries a few of the paintings on the walls of the Lorestan caves are achieved that belong to the antiquity of over 12 thousand years ago.
The discovery of the pottery wheel and the heresy of cooking the pottery are the big developments that have occurred in the era of pottery. These two affairs provided more facilities for the painting on the pottery. The common method that is achieved in most of the potteries exists from the Sialk and Susa wherein a particular color (black color) was used in their drawing. The utilized inscriptions in these potteries consist of the forms of animals and the nature that is very simple and is drawn geometrically (important).
Metallurgy:
The discovery of the metallurgy ablation has a great effect in the human civilization. Or with the metallurgy ablation and casting one can attain any kind of form. May be this point is also set forth in the clay used in pottery. But the metal unlike earthenware is not fragile and encounters a good strength. For this reason the making of most of the tools was not possible prior to the discovery of the metals. The metallurgy ablation was discovered around 5 thousand years back. But the making of alloy was not possible up to 4 thousand years back. The alloy which is obtained from the combination of copper, zinc and tin is known as the bronze. The beautiful bronze works have been obtained from Lorestan that mostly include the daily life tools. Such as the snaffle, vessels and war tools and many others …….after this period a number of the golden works from the Marlik and Ziviyeh have been achieved that are in the rows of the most beautiful artistic works of the world.
The art of Achaemenid:
During the Achaemenid period, we faced authentic works that are located in the Pasargard of Persepolis and Susa, but we only are contented with the investigation of the works that are achieved from the Persepolis. The real name of the Persepolis is known as the Parse and today it is proven that this location has a sacred aspect for the Achaemenids. The works that have remained from the Persepolis are more inclusive of the prominent inscriptions. This embossed work inscriptions has been carved on the wall of halls among which the best and the healthiest of these inscriptions belongs to the Apadana hall.
What attracts the views of the visitors is the complete observance of symmetry in the entire Persepolis. If we observe the entire number of columns of each hall we will gain an even number. And if we carefully observe the inscription on the walls we will see that in all of them symmetry has been considered.
In the Persepolis, there exists a prominent inscription that is unique among the other prominent inscriptions. This prominent inscription is the only inscription that narrates an event. While in most of the other inscriptions there is nil aspect of narration. The inscriptions that are the narratives of the happenings we read them as the narrations. This inscription is a narration of a complaint of a person who had been oppressed and splendors about his innocence in front of the great king Darius and is known as the decent complaining. There is another prominent inscription in the Behistun which is as well encountered with the same quality. These two prominent inscriptions are the only works of Achaemenid that are enjoying the quality of narration or in other words the tradition. The theme of this prominent inscription is the defeat of the different kinfolk via the great king Darius.
Tile work in the age of the Achaemenid:
The glazed tiles that are achieved from the Susa and Persepolis are made quite delicate and beautiful. The works of Susa during the period of Achaemenid were made with the same style of Mesopotamia tile making and this itself is another reason for the influence of Mesopotamia art on the art of Achaemenid.
Metallurgy in the age of the Achaemenid:
The golden works of the period of Achaemenid are not many. But what has been achieved is encountered with a very delicate structure, and the remarkable point of them is their similarity with the prominent inscriptions in the Persepolis.
Patchwork in the age of the Achaemenid:
The patchwork also was prevalent in this period that was the manifester of the work skills of the artisans of this era. The patchwork includes the embedding work of the precious stones on the metals, gold and or the other materials.
The art of Sasanian:
The prominent inscriptions of the Taq Bostan:
The prominent inscriptions of the Taq Bostan, are all presenting the incarnation of the events and or the drama of the grandeur and the authority and only in the hunting ground scene of the of Taq Bostan we are not facing the grandeur spectacle.
The Iranian art after the Islam:
The zenith of the Islamic art was during the era of Seljuq
The art of Seljuq:
After the dominance of Umayyad and Abbasi rulers on Iran the painting faced a sort of contradiction. The Umayyad and Abbasi rulers with the citation that portraying is forbidden in Islam; prevented the growth of painting among the people and created some hindrances for the artists. While they in their palaces were using the painting and even the portrayal of the human and in fact they brought about the painting as their patent. The models in the palace of the Seljuq Khaghani were achieved from the era of Abbasid, however, this point is quite clear in this painting wherein the simple colors had been used and the painting style of Manicheans had been used (the Mani ethic) in the peripheral of the original design of dark colored lines. The oldest work that has been obtained in Iran is the graffiti that is observed from the second Hegira century where this painting has the peculiarities of the Abbasi palaces.
Calligraphy and illumination in the age of the Seljuq:
The manuscript that was written in the beginning of the sacred Quran was the Kufic script and in this manner for some time the same script was even used in the writing. Calligraphy is accounted as one of the main pillars for designing of a book. In the early Hegira centuries the books except the sacred Quran and religious books were rewritten and designed. But with the passage of time, almost around second Hegira century onwards with the translation of the Greek, Syriac and Indian works and also with an emergence of the effects of Islamic scholars and thinkers the rewriting and designing of the different books became prevalent.
The script that was used to write in the first Hegira century in Iran was the Arabic script that was prevalent in two modes one was the Kufic script whose alphabets were hooked. The development of the calligraphy of the Iranian Kufic script was moving ahead with such an intensity that in the age of the Seljuq it reached to a particular eloquence. In the same era, we also witnessed the illumination in the folds of the words in the scripts and lines. The forms that were used in the illumination mostly included the plant inscriptions and especially the famous arabesque (Islamic art) design.
Binding in the age of the Seljuq:
The binding of book besides being a protector of the book pages with its engraving structure makes the valuation of the book more visible. For binding of a book mostly the leather was used, because leather not only had a plasticity nature but also was long lasting. Often they were working on different segments of the book binding. In other words, it means that the outer coverage binding (the back cover – the inner coverage binding – lining – and the reference of the binding and sometimes on the lingual of the binding that was folded on the binding) was engraved on the binding of the books in different forms. But in all these modes, the leather that had been used in the outer binding was kept under pressure so that the desired form was achieved. When the leather was used to get a form the empty corrugations were filled up with gold embossing. In the inner section or the lining of the binding for engraving, the designs that were cut on the paper or leather were used. But on the reference of the book they were carrying out the work in the same mode as it was carried out for the back of the book binding. Thus, in a common method we are facing two kinds of leather binding.
A burnt binding method and the other was the contusion binding method:
In the contusion binding method the raw leather used for binding was kept under the pressure of the contusions so that the prominent inscriptions were achieved and in the case of the burnt binding method the raw leather used for binding was heated up so that the desired inscription was engraved on the metal and with the use of the pressure it was achieved as a prominent inscription on the binding. The inscriptions that are achieved of the first Hegira centuries from the back of the bindings were more subjected under the influence of the Coptic binding (Upper Egypt) and the same mode continued till the time of the age of the Seljuq. The inscriptions that were used in these bindings were the geometrical inscriptions.
Pottery in the age of the Seljuq:
With the arrival of the Islam the use of the gold and silver vessels were abolished, so the potters endeavored to create the pottery works in order to compensate the lack of the beauty and the charm of the gold and silver vessels and in this manner carried out valuable creativeness such as the terra cotta enamelled potteries and the golden vessels.
The first sample that had been achieved was the earthenware pots, from the second Hegira century. In this pot, the technique of glazing was not used and the inscriptions on it have a special simplicity. But from this period onwards the glazing of the potteries found a place for itself. The glazing of the potteries was basically carried out in two modes. Either the required inscriptions were engraved on the body of the pottery and later were glazed and or after glazing the surface of the pottery was painted.
The enamelling was also a kind of the glazing and in this form the potteries were covered with the thin sheets of enamel (a kind of the glaze that attracts the color well to itself).
After the cooking, the pottery was painted on the enamel with the other glazes that contained the other metallic oxides and later the pottery was kept in the fire and due to the effect of chemical actions and reactions the oxidative glazes were mixed with the initial glaze and in the meantime the colors of metals was displayed.