WEST ASIAN ARTFORMS

BY: PRECIOUS SAMANTHA F. DOMINGUEZ

WEST ASIAN ART

● West Asia is rich in cultural heritage, and this is clearly evident in the variety and quality of regional arts and crafts
● It includes: embroidery, ceramics, wood carving, inlaid wood designs, calligraphy, Hammered metalwork, Blown
glassworks
● Although these are some of the most acclaimed art forms contributed by West Asia, their aesthetics can be seen in almost
any product from the region even including such things as handmade soap from Syria or Lebanon.
IRAN
● Formerly known as Persia
● Officially the Islamic Republic of
Iran since 1980
● Capital: Tehran
● Religion Shia Islam
● Area: 1,648,195 km2
PERSIAN ARTS
= Persian arts, or Iranian arts is one of
the richest art heritages in world history
and encompasses many disciplines
including architecture,
painting,weaving, pottery, calligraphy,
metalworking and stonemasonry. There
is also a very vibrant Iranian modern
and contemporary art scene.
THE FLAG
COLORS = Green stands for Islam, White for Peace, and
Red for the Martyrs
EMBLEM = Designed by Hamid Nadimi, and officially
approved by Parliament and the Leader Grand-Ayatollah
Khomeini on 9 May 1980, this Emblem is a highly stylized
composite of various Islamic elements
Kufic Script = Written in white and repeated eleven times on
the inner edges of each the green and the red band is the
phrase Allahu Akbar ("God is great") in a stylized version of
the kufic script and symbolizes the calls of Allahu Akbar in
the night of the 22nd of Bahman, the eleventh of February
1979 the day the national radio broadcast: "From Tehran,
the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and marked the
unofficial beginning of the Islamic Republic (The official day
being the 2nd of May). This writing renders the flag non-
reversible.
IRANIAN ARCHITECTURE AND MONUMENTS
ZIGGURAT MINARETS
● One of the most ● Islamic-era Minarets Basically, a
glamorous citadels still
extant in the south-
west of present-day
Iran (Province of
Khouzestan) is
Ziggurat "Chogha
Zanbil" which was
built by the Elamite
Empire in 1250 BCE.
This temple was built
in the shape of a
stepped pyramid,
originally having five
stories
HISTORICAL CHURCHES IN IRAN
minaret is a slender tower built at the
side of a mosque from which the call
to prayer is given for Muslims. The
tall structures built on roadsides or
near caravansaries, schools, or other
gathering places were originally
watch-towers that also provided
lighting for the surrounding areas.
The word minaret is a derivative of
noor meaning light referring to a
place from where light is emitted.
Thus minarets were initially light-
towers purported to guide travelers
during the day and in the night time.
● Saint Stepanous Church = The general structure mostly
resembles Armenian and Georgian architecture and the inside
of the building is adorned with beautiful paintings by
Honatanian, a renowned Armenian artist. Hayk Ajimian, an
Armenian scholar and historian, recorded that the church was
originally built in the ninth century AD, but repeated
earthquakes in Azarbaijan completely eroded the previous
structure. The church was rebuilt during the rule of Shah
Abbas the Second.
● The Armenian Church in Shiraz = In the eastern section of
Ghaani Avenue, in a district called "Sare Jouye Aramaneh",
an interesting building has survived from the era of Shah
Abbas the Second. Its principal structure stands in the midst
of a garden-like compound and consists of a prayer hall with a
lofty flat ceiling and several cells flanking the two side of the
building. The ceiling is decorated with original paintings from
the Safavid era and the adjoining cells are adorned with
niches and arches and plaster molding, also in the Safavid
style. This is considered a historical monument at Shiraz and
definitely worth a visit.
PERSIAN RUG

● The art of dog weaving in has its roots in the culture and customs
of its people and their instinctive feelings. Weavers mix elegant
patterns with a myriad of colors. The Iranian carpet is similar to
the Persian garden: full of florae, birds, and beasts.
● The colors are usually made from wild flowers, and are rich in
colors such as burgundy, navy blue, and accents of ivory. The
proto-fabric is often washed in tea to soften the texture, giving it a
unique quality. Depending on where the rug is made, patterns and
designs vary. And some rugs, such as Gabbeh, and Gelim have a
variations in their textures and number of knots as well. Out of
about 2 million Iranians who work in the trade, 1.2 million are
weavers producing the largest amount of hand woven aritistic
carpets in the world. Exported $517 million worth of carpets in
2002..
● The exceptional craftsmanship in weaving these carpets and silken
textile thus caught the attention of the likes of Xuanzang, Jean-
Baptiste Tavernier, and Jean Chardin.
PAINTING AND MINIATURE

● Oriental historian Basil Gray believes "has offered a

particularly unique [sic] art to the world which is
excellent in its kind".
● Caves in Iran's Lorestan province exhibit painted
imagery of animals and hunting scenes. Some such as
those in Fars Province and Sialk are at least 5,000
years old.
● Painting in Iran is thought to have reached a climax
during the Tamerlane era when outstanding masters
such as Kamaleddin Behzad gave birth to a new style
of painting.
● Paintings of the Qajar period, are a combination of
European influences and Safavid miniature schools of
painting such as those introduced by Reza Abbasi.
Masters such as Kamal-ol-molk, further pushed
forward the European influence in Iran. It was during
the Qajar era when "Coffee House painting" emerged.
Subjects of this style were often religious in nature
depicting scenes from Shia epics and the like.
CALLIGRAPHY

● Says writer Will Durant: "Ancient Iranians with an alphabet of

36 letters, used skins and pen to write, Instead of ear-then
tablets". Such was the creativity spent on the art of writing. The
significance of the art of calligraphy in works of pottery, metallic
vessels, and historic buildings is such that they are deemed lacking
without the adorning decorative calligraphy.
● Illuminations, and especially the Quran and works such as the
Shahnameh, Divan Hafez, Golestan, Bostan et al. are recognized
as highly invaluable because of their delicate calligraphy alone.
Vast quantities of these are scattered and preserved in museums
and private collections worldwide, such as theHermitage Museum
of St. Petersburg and Washington's Freer Gallery of Art among
many others. Styles: • Shekasteh • Nas’taliq • Naskh • Mohaqqaq
● It is really important to note that unlike its ancestors, Nas’taliq
follows natural curves. In other words, unlike Arabic scripts that
follow logical/geometrical designs, Nas’taliq follows the nature
and natural curves. There are a lot of resemblances found between
the curves used in Nas’taliq and natural curves and a few
examples are shown here. It is interesting that it may not be the
preliminary intention of Mir-Ali or the others to write the letters
in such a form that they look like natural curves; but rather later
these similarities have been found. Therefore, it shows that it is
because of the initial spirit of Nas’taliq and its tendency toward
nature that it looks so intimate and beautiful. But it is harder to
read than Naskh.
TILEWORK
The tilework is a unique feature
of the blue mosques of . In the old
days, Kashan (kash + an which
literally means "land of tiles")
and Tabriz were the two famous
centers of Iranian mosaic and tile
industry.
PERSIAN WORK
● Inspired by ancestral nomad
tribes (such as geometrical
motifs used in kilims or
gabbehs).
● Islam influenced, with an
advanced geometrical
research.
● Oriental based, also found in
India or Pakistan
KHATAM-KARI MINA-KARI

Delicate and meticulous marquetry, produced since the Safavid

period: at this time, khatam was so popular in the court that princes
Enamel working and decorating metals
learned this technique at the same level of music or painting. In the with colorful and baked coats is one of
18th and 19th centuries, katahm declined, before being stimulated
under the reign of Reza Shah, with the creation of craft schools in the distinguished courses of art in
Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz. "Khatam" means "incrustation", and
"Khatam-kari" ,"incrustation work". This craft consists in the Isfahan . Mina, is defined as some sort
production of incrustation patterns (generally star shaped), with thin
sticks of wood (ebony, teak, ziziphus, orange, rose), brass (for golden
of glasslike colored coat which can be
parts), camel bones (white parts). Ivory, gold or silver can also be stabilized by heat on different metals
used for collection objects. Sticks are assembled in triangular beams,
themselves assembled and glued in a strict order to create a cylinder, particularly copper. Although this
70 cm in diameter, whose cross-section is the main motif: a six-
branch star included in a hexagon. These cylinders are cut into
course is of abundant use industrially
shorter cylinders, and then compressed and dried between two for producing metal and hygienic
wooden plates, before being sliced for the last time, in 1 mm wide
tranches. These sections are ready to be plated and glued on the dishes, it has been paid high attention
object to be decorated, before lacquer finishing. The tranche can also
be softened through heating in order to wrap around objects. Many by painters, goldsmiths and metal
objects can be decorated in this fashion, such as: jewellery/decorative
boxes,chessboards, cadres, pipes, desks, frames or some musical
engravers since long times ago. In the
instruments. Khatam can be used on Persian miniature, realizing world, it is categorized into three kinds
true work of art.
as below: • painting enamel •
Coming from techniques imported from China and improved by
Charkhaneh or chess like enamel •
Persian know-how, this craft existed for more than 700 years and is
still perennial in Shiraz and Isfahan. Cavity enamel.
RELIEF AND SCULPTURE
Relief carving has a history dating back
thousands of years. Elamite reliefs are
still to be found in Iran with Persepolis
being a mecca of relief creations of
antiquity.
PERSIAN JEWELS
Iran (Persia) possesses an
extraordinary treasure of royal jewelry,
including a copious amount of mother-
of-pearl from the Persian Gulf. The
Iranian crown jewels are among the
largest, most dazzling and valuable
jewel collection in the world. The jewels
are displayed in the vaults of the
Central Bank of Iran in Tehran, and are
one of the most appealing tourist
attractions in Iran. Akik is also
exported from Iran to various countries
including the Indian subcontinent.
IRANIAN CROWN JEWELS

The Imperial crown jewels of Iran (also known as the Imperial crown
jewels of Persia) include several elaborate crowns and decorative
thrones, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejeweled
swords and shields, a vast number of unset precious gems, numerous
plates and other dining services cast in precious metals and encrusted
with gems, and several other more unusual items (such as a large
golden globe with the continents made of emeralds and the latitudes
and longitudes marked in diamonds) collected by the Iranian monarchy
from the 16th century (Safavid dynasty) on. The collection is housed at
The Treasury of National Jewels (the official name) but is known
colloquially as the Jewellery Museum. It is situated inside the Central
Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Tehran's Ferdowsi Avenue. The
Imperial crown jewels of Iran are the largest set of displayed jewels in
the world in state ownership in one location. The museum is open to the
public from 14:00 to 16:30 hrs except on Wednesay,Thursday and
Friday. The museum has onsite guides with knowledge of Persian,
English, French and Russian languages. There are also guide booklets
available in English, Persian, French, Russian, German, Japanese and
Arabic.
POTTERY AND CERAMICS

● Prominent archeologist Roman

Ghirshman believes "the taste and
talent of this people [Iranians] can
be seen through the designs of their
earthen wares".
● Of the thousands of archeological
sites and historic ruins of Iran,
almost every single one can be
found to have been filled, at some
point, with earthenware of
exceptional quality. Thousands of
unique vessels alone were found in
Sialk and Jiroft sites.
● The occupation of the potter
("kuzeh gar") has a special place in
Persian literature.