Safavid art
Encyclopedia
Safavid art is the art of the Persian Safavid dynasty
from 1501 to 1722, in present day Iran. It was a high point for the art of the book and architecture; and also including ceramics, metal, glass, and gardens. While nourished by ancient Persian culture, the Safavid artists were strongly influenced by Turkmen culture
due to the origins of the dynasty, as well as Chinese, Ottoman
, and Western cultures. The Safavid Empire was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires, with artistic accomplishments, since the Muslim conquest of Persia.
The Safavid dynasty had its roots in a brotherhood called Safaviyeh which appeared in Azerbaijan
around 1301, with Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili who gave it his name. The Safavids have greatly contributed to the spread of the Twelvers branch of Shia Islam, those who consider the twelfth imam
hidden like his leader.
It was however not until 1447 that the Safavid dynasty began to show its political ambitions, with the seizing of power by Sheikh Djunayd. A system of battles and alliances with the Turkmen tribes began, leading to the extinction of the dynasty of the Kara Koyunlu
who reigned up to that time over the region of Tabriz, across from those of the Ak Koyunlu
installed in Anatolia
. Haydari, the successor of Djunayd, was quickly killed, and Shah Ismail
, then 12 years of age, took his place as leader of the movement in 1499. A vigorous propaganda was soon put in place, allowing an army to be recruited. In 1500, his 7000 soldiers defied the Turmken troops, 30,000 men strong, and in 1501, Shah Ismail
entered Tabriz
at the north-west of Iran, proclaimed the rite of imamism (Twelvers) to be the religion of state and had the first coins struck in his name.
The territorial expansion accelerated towards Baghdad
and the Ottoman empire
, but the arrival of Selim I
at the head of the Ottoman empire, which forbade the Shiah religion, and the battle of Chaldiran
(August 22, 1514), marked a stopping point. The Safavid army, unfamiliar with firearms, suffered a painful defeat. Selim I entered Tabriz—from which he withdrew several months later because of internal quarrels—and annexed a large part of the Safavid territory. Shah Ismail, whose divine ascendance had been definitely set aside, withdrew from political life, while relations with the Qizilbash Turkmen deteriorated. The settlement of the Portuguese at the Strait of Hormuz
sparked a flourishing commerce with Europe.
After the death of Shah Ismail, his 10-year-old son Shah Tahmasp
came into power. Not very smart with military plans, he ceded the city of Baghdad to Suleiman the Magnificent
, transferred his capital to Qazvin
in 1548 and finally signed in 1555 the treaty of Amaziya, which assured an enduring peace. His reign, the longest in all the history of Persia, was marked by the signing around his twentieth year of an "edict of repentance", which introduced an authoritarian religion, forbidding music, dance, alcoholic drinks and hashish.
Twelve years of confusion followed the death of Tahmasp in 1576, and it was not until the arrival of Shah Abbas
that relative calm was restored. He quickly signed an unfavourable peace with the Ottomans, to give himself time to establish an army of Ghulams (Caucasian mercenaries, Armenians and Georgians.) The Ghulams were also integrated into the centralised administration, occupying the places of Turkmen judged too contentious. These measures allowed the Shah to defeat the Ouzbeks and to retake Herat in 1598, then Baghdad in 1624. This reign, the highlight of the dynasty, supported flourishing commerce and art, notably with the construction of the new capital of Isfahan.
The period after the death of Shah Abbas was a long decline, partly due to the harem system, which encouraged intrigue and manipulation. The reign of Shah Safi (reigned 1629–1642) was notable for its arbitrary violence and territorial retreats; that of Shah Abbas II
marked the beginning of religious intolerance towards the Dhimmi
s and particularly the Jews, a situation which continued under Shah Suleiman
and Shah Husayn
. A rebellion of Afghans in 1709 led eventually to the end of the empire in 1722.
While the first Safavid Shah followed a rather intensive policy of restoration and conservation of the great Shiah places, such as Karbala
(1508), Najaf
(1508) and Samarra
in Iraq and Mashhad
in the east of Iran, etc., thus perpetuating the Timurid
and Turkmen traditions, on the other hand his participation in architectural construction was almost nonexistent, no doubt because the Safavid conquest was carried out without major destruction. Thus, at Tabriz, the new capital, all the surviving Turkmen monuments cater largely to the needs of the Shah and his court. It was nevertheless Ismail who made the city of Ardabil
(northern Iran) into a dynastic centre and place of pilgrimage, embellishing the complex surrounding the tomb of Shaykh Safi and interring there the remains of his father in 1509. He is responsible in particular for the construction of Dar al-Hadith, a hall dedicated to the study of the Hadiths, similar to the old Dar al-Huffaz, which served for reciting the Koran. It was no doubt also he himself who designed his own tomb, even though it was created shortly after his death. One can also credit Ismail with the restoration of the Masjed-e Jameh de Saveh, in 1520, of which the exterior decoration has disappeared, but of which the mihrab combines a use of ancient stucco and a delicate decor of arabesques in ceramic mosaic. Another mosque of Saveh, the Masjed-e meydan, received a similar mihrab, dated by inscriptions to between 1510 and 1518.
Dormish Khan Shamlu
, brother-in-law of Ismail, partially compensated for this lack of construction beginning in 1503. This governor of Isfahan, who lived more often at the court of Tabriz than in his city, left the reins to Mirza Shah Hussein Isfahani, the greatest architect of the period, who built there in particular the tomb of Harun-e Vilayat in 1512-1513. Described by a western traveller as a great place of "Persian pilgrimage" (as much for Muslims as for Jews and Christians), this monument is composed of a square chamber under a cupola, a completely traditional design. The cupola rests on a high drum, the muqarnas
filling the octagonal passageway. Two minarets, now gone, magnified the great porch, while the decor of hazerbaf and the ceramic mosaic, concentrated on the facade, stayed in the Timurid tradition. The facade, punctuated by blind arches, is thus unified by basic decor, as was already the case at the mosque of Yazd. One must add to this tomb the nearby mosque masjed-e Ali, completed in 1522 under the order of the same commander.
, at the beginning of his reign (1524–1555) stayed rather inactive in architectural matters, contenting himself with restorations and embellishments, always along the lines of the dynasties which preceded him. In particular, the great mosques of Kerman
, Shiraz
and Isfahan, and the sanctuaries of Mashhad
and Ardabil
benefited from his attention. In the latter place, one can cite the funeral tower of Shah Ismail, possibly ordered by this one, but which was undoubtedly created during the first years of the reign of Shah Tahmasp, even though no date is mentioned. It is situated right next to the funeral tower of the founder of the dynasty and, because of this proximity, has a restrained diameter. It looks therefore a little diminished by its neighbouring monument. Tall in measurement, it contains three small superposed cupolas, and flaunts a ceramic decor divided into numerous registers to avoid monotony. The yellow colour of the decorative ceramic is, however, a totally new element. Also at Ardabil is attributed to Shah Tahmasp the Jannat Sara, an octagonal building with accessories and gardens much degraded in the 18th century (and greatly restored). Situated at the north-east of the tomb, it dates, according to Morton, to the years 1536–1540. Its main use is still debated, because it's mentioned as a mosque in European sources, but not in Persian ones, which raises certain questions. Was it planned to place here the tomb of Shah Tahmasp, actually interred at Mashhad? From this place come the famous carpets of Ardabil (see below).
Also credited to Shah Ismail is a palace at Tabriz, his capital until 1555, of which nothing survives except a description by the Italian traveller Michele Membre, who visited Tabriz in 1539. According to him, it was composed of a garden surrounded by walls of stone and earth with two gates of a great meydan at the east, and of a new mosque.
At the end of his reign, Tahmasp organized the gardens of Sadatabad. This, like all Persian gardens, is divided in four by two perpendicular alleys and bordered by a canal, an arrangement found particularly in the tapis-jardins (literally carpet gardens) of the same period. It contains baths, four covered walkways and three pleasure pavilions: the Gombad-e Muhabbat, the Iwan-e Bagh and the Chehel Sutun. The name of the latter, built in 1556, means "palace of forty columns", a name which is explained by the presence of twenty columns reflected in a pond. In the Persian tradition, the number forty is often used to mean a large quantity. This little construction at one point served as a place of audience, for banquets and for more private uses. It was decorated with panels painted with literary Persian scenes, such as the story of Farhad and Shirin, as well as hunting scenes, festivals and polo, etc. Floral bands surrounded these panels, based on models of Shah Tahmasp himself, to paint at his hours, or again of Muzaffar Ali or Muhammadi, thus used in the royal library.
In the city of Nain
, the house of the governor, designed with four iwan
s, presents a décor undoubtedly elaborated between 1565 and 1575, using a rare and very sophisticated technique: over a coat of red paint, the artist placed a white coating, and then scratched to allow motifs to appear in red silhouette—motifs reminiscent of those in books and on cloth. One finds there animal fights, throned princes, literary scenes (Khosrow and Shirin, Yusuf and Zuleykha), a game of polo, hunting scenes etc. One notices that the silhouettes curve and that the taj, the headdress characteristic of the Safavids at the beginning of the empire had disappeared, following the fashion of the time. Among the scroll patterns are calligraphic representations of the quatrains of the poet Hafiz.
For the third time in the history of the Safavids, the capital of the empire changed under Shah Abbas
: to Isfahan, a city in a more centralized location than Tabriz
or Qazvin
(which is between Tehran
and Tabriz). A new capital was thus set up beside the ancient city, organized around a meydan, a large place 512 metres long by 159 wide. On one side stands the Shah's mosque, on the other the Shah's oratory, called the mosque of Sheikh Lutfallah, while the pavilion Ali Qapu opens onto a large pleasure walkway (Chahar Bagh) and the grand bazaar led to the old mosque on Fridays. Two bridges cross the Zayandeh River, leading to an Armenian section taking the name of Nea Julfa
.
A rather tall building, opening on one side onto the meydan and on the other onto the Chahar Bagh, the Ali Qapu
pavilion was no doubt built in two stages, according to Galieri, who long studied it. One finds there traits characteristic of Iranian architecture, such as the taste for proportions in two levels: one level, the portico of the upper part (talar), or again the cruciform plan. The décor is often reminiscent of the contemporary book art, with Chinese clouds, birds in flight, and flowering trees portrayed in soft colours. The upper rooms, called music rooms, present a décor of little alcoves the shape of long-necked bottles. Ali Qapu serves as a door opening onto the processional walkway at the back, but the Shah also used it to show himself and to observe the games of polo and the military presentations which took place regularly on the meydan.
The grand bazaar is connected to the old market on one side and to the meydan on the other. On the side opening onto the meydan, its high vault with protruding ribs encloses a multi-story structure, of which the upper part was reserved for the Shah's orchestra while in the lower part were found shops and homes, organized by occupation. Ceramic mosaic decoration is evidence that the Shah had as much interest in architecture for civil purposes as for those of religion or pleasure.
This mosque was the first to be constructed in the new Isfahan, before the grand mosque of the Shah. Its construction stretched over sixteen long years, but two dates (1616 on the dome and 1618 ni the mihrab) tend to show that it was completed around 1618. The architect was Muhammad Riza ibn Husayn, and the calligrapher possibly Reza Abbasi
, a great Persian painter and calligrapher.
The plan of this mosque is rather unusual, with a winding, intentionally dim entrance which leads to a prayer room completely covered by a dome and open to a grand portal. The absence of a court is notable. The décor consists of yellow marble, with niches arranged in the sides with rich stalactites, and an outer layer of ceramic. The colouring of the exterior dome is quite unique, dominated by the colour of the earth.
The Shah Mosque was built between 1612 and 1630 under the direction of the architects Muhibb al-Din Ali Kula and Ustad Ali Akbar Isfahani. Its dimensions are colossal: 140 metres by 130, equalling a surface area of 18,000 square metres, about the size of three football fields. The plan is however much more orthodox than that of the mosque of Sheikh Luffallah: the mosque is rigorously symmetric, with four iwans and two cupolas, the minarets rising in front of the prayer room. In one part and another of the building are two Madrasah
s.
The plan of the building, like its décor, demonstrates a grand coherence. The veneer of ceramic covers all the surface of the walls, but the back of the iwans is often neglected in favour of the façade. The dominant colour is blue, almost giving the impression of a blue mantle, and gives a sense of unity to the ensemble. Comparisons to the art of the book can be made.
Datable to 1608, this bridge was constructed by the order of the Georgian prime minister of Shah Abbas. It is contained in the continuity of Chahar Bagn. With its arcades, in the sides and in the base, it also offers the possibility of strolling on several levels, according to the height of the water. It serves, of course, as a means of passage, but also as a dam, to regulate the flow of the river. As one crosses it, the water seems like a grand fountain, thanks to the "emmarchements". At the side is a talar, the kiosk of mirrors, from which the sovereign could observe the river.
This building, of which the date is much disputed, was no doubt constructed under the reign of Shah Abbas II
, then redecorated in the years 1870. According to a poem inscribed on the building and another by Muhammad Ali Sahib Tabrizi, it would have been created in 1647–48, and if some researchers believe that this building was constructed in several stages, the majority are inclined to think that it was built all at once, because it is quite coherent. It's a rectangular building, sporting columns which reflect in the ponds (chehel sotoun meaning "forty columns" in Persian).
The Chehel Sotoun is decorated with grand historic paintings, exalting the magnanimity or the courage in battle of various grand sovereigns of the dynasty: a battle scene with Shah Ismail; the Mughal sultan Humayun
is received by Shah Tahmasp, then Vali Nadr Muhammad Khan, sovereign of Bukhara between 1605 and 1608, by Shah Abbas I, and finally, one finds an evocation of the taking of Kandahar by Shah Abbas II, which must have been added later, the city not having fallen until 1649. In the secondary rooms, too, are found numerous gallant scenes and figures on foot. One notes Western influences in the décor (the opening onto a landscape; similarities with the Armenian neighbourhood) and Indian influences (a horse represented tinted in henna; iwans covered with mirrors.)
One can still evoke two buildings of Isfahan, dating from the late Safavid period. The Hasht Behesht
(the "eight paradises") is composed of a pavilion with eight little entities distributed around a large room under a cupola with four iwans. Small vaults crown the secondary rooms, decorated with mirrors which make the surfaces appear to be moving. The exterior decor, in ceramic, is remarkable for its extensive use of yellow. This building is dated to the years 1671.
The madreseh Madar-e Shah, or madreseh of the mother of the Shah, is on the Chahar Bagh and is dated 1706-1714. It carries no architectural innovation, and therefore evokes the stagnation of architecture of this period: a plan of four iwans and a dome reminiscent of the mosque of the Shah form the major part of its architectural elements. The decor, highly geometric, is on the other hand a little different from that of the 17th century, with a palette dominated by yellow, green and gold, and a denser network of vegetation than that in the Shah's mosque.
The study and dating of ceramics under Shah Ismail and Shah Tahmasp is difficult because there are few pieces which are dated or which mention the place of production. It is also known that the most powerful personages preferred Chinese porcelain
by far over locally-produced ceramics. Many locations of workshops have, however, been identified, although not with certainty:
The first five are more certain than the last four, having been cited in the sources, but no one is absolutely certain.
In general, the decors tend to imitate those of Chinese porcelain, with the production of blue and white pieces with Chinese form and motifs (curved marly, chi clouds, dragons etc.) In any case, the Persian blue is distinguished from the Chinese blue by its more numerous and subtle nuances. Often, quatrains by Persian poets, sometimes related to the destination of the piece (allusion to wine for a goblet, for example) occur in the scroll patterns. One can also notice a completely different type of decor, much more rare, which carries iconography very specific to Islam (Islamic zodiac, bud scales, arabesques) and seems influenced by the Ottoman world, as is evidenced by feather-edged anthemions (honeysuckle ornaments) widely used in Turkey.
Numerous types of pieces were produced: goblets, plates, long-necked bottles, spitoons, etc. Canteens can be noted with very small necks and bellies that are flat on one side and very rounded on the other: an example is found at Victoria and Albert Museum
, another at Winter Palace
.
Among the petrographic ceramics one can distinguish four groups, each linked to a method of production:
With the closing of the Chinese market in 1659, Persian ceramic soared to new heights, to fulfill European needs. The appearance of false marks of Chinese workshops on the backs of some ceramics marked the taste that developed in Europe for far-eastern porcelain, satisfied in large part by Safavid production. This new destination led to wider use of Chinese and exotic iconography (elephants) and the introduction of new forms, sometimes astonishing (hookah
s, octagonal plates, animal-shaped objects).
During the same time period, new figures appeared, influenced by the art of the book: young, elegant cupbearers, young women with curved silhouettes, or yet cypress trees entangling their branches, reminiscent of the paintings of Reza Abbasi
. One notes the use of beautiful yellows, and of the technique of lustre still present in some pieces in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The discovery, on the walls of houses of Kubacha, of ceramics of a very homogeneous style rapidly led historians to believe that there existed a centre of production in the city. This interpretation was however contested by Arthur Lane and many others after him, and seems today to be erroneous.
This series was produced over three centuries, in the course of which it evolved greatly, but always kept a hole in the bases for the hanging of the pieces. Schematically, one can distinguish three periods:
The Kubacha series remains very mysterious, and many centres of production have been proposed without any real resolution of the issue.
Metallic art a gradual decline during the Safavid dynasty, and remains difficult to study, particularly because of the small number of dated pieces.
Under Shah Ismail, one notes a perpetuation of the shapes and decorations of Timurid inlays: motifs of almond-shaped glories, of shamsa (suns) and of chi clouds are found on the inkwells in the form of mausoleums or the globular pitchers reminiscent Ulugh Beg
' jade one.
Under Shah Tahmasp, inlays disappeared rapidly, as witnessed by a group of candlesticks in the form of pillars. On the other hand, one notices the appearance of coloured paste (red, black, green) to replace the multicolouration previously supplied by the inlays of silver and gold. One notes also the beginning of steelwork, in particular by piercings, to actualize the elements of plating of doors and of standards.
s, most often datable to the 16th century. A series of pitchers with globular bellies also exists, mounted on a little ring-shaped base and having wide, short necks. Two of these (one in black jade inlaid with gold, the other in white jade) are inscribed with the name of Ismail I. The handle is in the shape of a dragon, which betrays a Chinese influence, but this type of pitcher comes in fact directly from the preceding period: its prototype is the pitcher of Ulough Beg. We also know of blades and handles of knives in jade, often inlaid with gold wire and ingraved.
Hardstone serves also to make jewels to inlay in metal objects, such as the great zinc bottle inlaid with gold, rubies and turquoise dated to the reign of Ismail and conserved at the museum of Topkapi
in Istanbul
.
Numerous carpets (between 1500 and 2000) have been conserved since the Safavid period, but the dating and establishment of the origin of these carpets remains very difficult. The inscriptions are a valuable indicator for determining the artists, the places of fabrication, the sponsors etc. In addition, once a carpet has been made and has stayed in a particular place, it allows other pieces related to it to be identified.
It is generally accepted among specialists that it was the Safavids who transformed the carpet from production by artists assured by nomadic tribes to the status of a "national industry" of which the products were exported to India, into the Ottoman Empire and to Europe. During the Safavid period, the export of carpets flourished, to destinations in Europe (sometimes via the Portuguese colony of Goa
) and to the Mughal Empire
, where Persian carpets stimulated local production. Some Safavid carpets were also transported by the Dutch East India Company
towards Jakarta
, Sri Lanka
, Malaysia, Kochi, India as well as even to Holland. European orders came to the Persian Empire for the weaving of special carpets: for example, the group of "Polish carpets" was undoubtedly knotted in Isfahan, but certain ones carry the arms of Poland.
Based on accounts by travellers and other written sources, it appears that workshops for royal carpets existed in Ispahan, Kashan and Kerman. These workshops produced carpets for the palace and mosques of the Shah, but also to be offered to neighbouring monarchs or to foreign dignitaries, or pieces made on order for the nobility or ordinary citizens. Such sponsorship provided capital in the form of raw materials and provided a salary for the artisans for the duration of the weaving.
The rapid development of the carpet industry in the Persian Empire during the Safavid period seems to be due to the sovereigns' taste for this art form. Ismail I, then Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas I are known for having been personally interested in carpet production. One has also supposed that the two latter sovereigns were personally invested in the production of carpets, notably by the design of the motifs. During their reigns, the production of Persian carpets was the most prominent out of the whole Safavid period.
It was in this period and particularly since Shah Tahmasp that the first carpets with floral decoration were created, in order to satisfy the taste of the Safavids. The difference between the carpets of the nomads and the floral ones is due to the role of the "master" (ostad), who draws the pattern which will be reproduced by the knotters. The designs of the carpets of the nomads are themselves transmitted by tradition.
The production of carpets was strongly influenced by the leadership of the art of the book, which provided the patterns. Thus, on comparing them with bookbindings and illuminations, specialists have been able to discern a stylistic evolution. Thus, the majority of the carpets produced during the 16th century, that is, principally under Shah Ismail and Shah Tahmasp, are called "with medallion" because they are organized around a large central multi-lobed medallion sometimes called Shamsa, that is "sun", and the corner decorations each carry a quarter of a medallion which is strongly reminiscent of that in the centre. The most famous carpets of this type are the pair of carpets said to be of Ardébil, of which one, conserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is dated 946 since the Hijra
, that is 1539–40 A.D. and signed "Work of the humble servant of the court of Mahmud Hashani".
From the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, that is with the coming into power of Shah Abbas, the medallion tended to disappear, since the corner decorations could already have been eliminated by the second half of the 16th century, as is shown by the carpet of Mantes. It's the flowering of "vase carpets", which, as their name indicates, display a vase from which springs a floral arrangement. The garden, which is associated with paradise, equally gives place to a type of composition which appeared in the 17th century in Persia in imitation of the gardens of the Shah, divided in rectangular parcels or squares by alleys and irrigation canals (chahar bāgh).
There are also carpets with the theme of hunting, an activity prized by the Shahs and requiring address, strength, and knowledge of nature. This theme is also linked to paradise and to spiritual activities, because the hunt often unfolds in a wilderness which can be reminiscent of the gardens of paradise. One of the finest is undoubtedly the apparently tabrizi carpet, currently conserved at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli
, and dated 1542–43. The carpet of Mantes, dated to the second half of the 16th century and conserved at the Louvre, is equally of this exemplary calibre.
The village of Kashan
for its part was distinguished by a very particular production of relatively small carpets entirely of silk, with a blue or red base, showing fights between fantastic animals borrowed from the Chinese (kilins, dragons, phoenixes). As with the large carpets, those of the 16th century display a medallion (carpet of the Gulbenkian Foundation), which disappeared in the following century. The Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum are each freely conserving an example.
painting, constituted the essential driving force of the arts. The ketab khaneh, the royal library-workshop, provided most of the sources of motifs for objects such as carpets, ceramics or metal.
Various types of books were copied, illuminated, bound and sometimes illustrated: religious books – Korans, but also commentaries on the sacred text and theological works—and books of Persian literature
– Shahnameh
, Nizami's Khamsa, Jami al-Tawarikh
by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Timur nāmeh—encyclopedias and scientific treatises of Sufism
. Paper
, a Chinese invention arriving early in Iran (13th century), was always used. One notes the frequent use of coloured papers. Towards 1540, a marbled paper also appeared, which however rapidly disappeared again.
The bindings were mostly accomplished with tinted maroquin of very fine quality. They could be gilded and stamped with geometric, floral or figurative motifs, or embossed in blue. In the second half of the 16th century, they pierced the leather covers to allow the coloured paper or silk pages to be seen. In the same period, at Shiraz
, appeared lacquered bindings, which remain however very rare and highly valued in Iran.
The decoration of the margins was realised in various ways: sometimes they were inserted in a different paper, (a tradition that appeared in the 15th century); sprinkled with gold, following a Chinese custom; or painted with colours or gold.
The style of illustrations varied greatly from one manuscript to another, according to the period and centre of production.
Tabriz, capital of the Safavid empire from 1501 to 1548, again also used artists of the Ak Koyunlu
ketab khaneh. The illustrations show a double heritage: that of the Ak Koyunlu and that of the Timurid dynasty. The latter benefitted from the taking of Herat
in 1501, but did not really manifest itself until the year 1525. The various directors of the ketab khaneh are:
Many great painters, such as Aqa Mirak, Mir Sayyid Ali or Dust Muhammad worked in the book-workshop, and produced great royal manuscripts. The first of which we have some trace is the unfinished Shah Nameh commissioned by Ismail for his son Tahmasp, for whom alone four paintings were created including Raksh defends a sleeping Rustam. This last is undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces of Safavid painting, which shows the strong prominence of Turkmen art in the treatment of very dense vegetation, like a carpet, and in the messing up of perspective. It is thought that it was when Shah Tahmasp returned to Tabriz in 1522 that work on this painting stopped in 1522, when, moulded by the influence of his masters Behzād
and Sultan Muhammad, he got work started on his great Shah Nameh
. He also commissioned other exceptional works, including a Hamsa
and a Iskandar Nameh. Other patrons employed artists of the royal ketab khaneh: prince Braham Mirza (1517–1549) had an album (muhaqqa) made for him by the painter Dust Muhammad.
The art of calligraphy was at that time dominated by a very prominent man, named "Zarrin Qalam", which means "golden reed pen", who excelled in the six canonical calligraphies.
The royal workshops of Tabriz were very influential, and the non-royal manuscripts, illuminated and illustrated, spread throughout the whole empire, distinguishing the provincial centres such as that of Shiraz.
Shiraz
is the capital of Fars Province and a very active provincial centre of the south of Iran. The artists were always the same as those employed by the Ak Koyunlu
, and produced volumes in small formats, copies of the Qur'an
and of grand poetic texts, destined for the most part for commerce with the Ottoman Empire (Syria
, Egypt
). In spite of the blockade imposed by this empire in 1512, the production did not weaken, which suggests that it turned towards other poorly-identified buyers, given the absence of local patronage. Under the influence of Tabriz, one notes the evolutions between 1501 and 1525: the silhouettes became slimmer; the taj, the characteristic Qizilbash headgear, started to appear, with a red baton and twelve folds corresponding to the twelve imams of the Twelver Shi`ism. From 1525 forward, the workshops of Shiraz produced nothing but copies of the works of the royal workshops of Tabriz, then of Qazvin and Isfahan.
Bukhara
was not properly speaking a Safavid centre, given that the city was at the centre of an independent state led by the Uzbek dynasty Shaybanid from 1500 to 1598. But the nomadism of the artists, due to frequent political changes and to the nomadism of the sovereigns, implicated notable influence on the part of the Safavid centres. The manuscripts of this school are characterized by their margins richly decorated with the technique of encartage. Their bindings had a counter-plate with a large decoration of perforated leather and a plate with large rectangular plaques with animal motifs or arabesques, according to the ancient Timurid tradition. The painting used a harmonious palette, with airy compositions, but an absence of new models and the repetition of poncifs (pointillism?) creates a certain aridity.
The school of Bukhara reached its peak between 1530 and 1550, and directly influenced Mughal
art.
With the transfer of the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin in 1548, the khetab khaneh was in large part dismantled, following edicts of repentance published by the Shah for religious and economic reasons. The artists fled to provincial or foreign courts (Mughal
or Ottoman). Only Aqa Mirak resisted this series of departures. Other artists, such as Siavush Beg the Georgian or Sadiqi Beg
took the place of the preceding generation. New grand calligraphers, Mir Ali ou Malik Dayalami appeared and gave birth to the "rule of the two quills", which defined identical rules for calligraphy and painting. Illumination and bookbinding evolved in parallel from the art of tapestry, given that the templates used were identical. In manuscripts, most often the paintings were double pages with no connection with the text, but images of servers of drinks, young women, princes, and dervishes filled the albums (muhaqqa).
If the end of the reign of Shah Tahmasp was not very fruitful, (we know, however, of a Fāl Nāmeh dating from these years with the signatures of Aqa Mirak et Abd al-Aziz), Shah Ismail II (1576–77) exercised a beneficial influence, ordering a grand Shah Nāmeh and an Ajayibnāmeh (book of wonders). Unfortunately, his short reign prevented a real renaissance, even if it did establish new foundations, marking the beginning of the proliferation of pages of albums. His successor, Shah Mohammed Khodabanda
, being blind, took little interest in books,
ending the restart which had been set in motion. The renewal of the art of the royal book would only take place partially under Saha Abbas I the Grand, who ordered, as, it seemed, was the custom, a grand Shah Nāmeh on transferring the court to Isfahan.
The provincial workshop of Shiraz
continued to flourish until 1620, but continued most often to recopy the models issued by the royal workshops of Tabriz, then of Qazvin and Khorasan
. The ornamentation was bountiful, illustration was abundant in manuscripts and the colours were vibrant, although without much variation. The drawings represented people with round faces and long noses. The illumination remained very repetitive, and the calligraphy, most often nastaliq, was copied from one to another. Most of the manuscripts were not signed.
The workshops said to be of Khorasan were situated in Herat
in the district of Bakharz. Under the patronage of the brother of Braham Mirza, Ibrahim Mirza, they revitalized the school of Qazvin, employing artists such as Shaykh Muhammad, Muzaffar Ali or Muhammadi, specialized in drawings. The most famous manuscript that came out of these workshops is a copy of the Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami, and is marked by the profound originality of the creations of the official workshops.
, the number of illuminated and illustrated manuscripts dropped considerably, leaving room for a new form of manuscript: the album page. The albums, or muhaqqa, were created most often under the direction of a painter or calligrapher. They grouped together drawings, calligraphy and also ancient miniatures. Reza Abbasi
, who directed the kitab khaneh between 1597 and 1635, (having been transferred, in 1602, to Isfahan), is undoubtedly the greatest representative of this genre. The people illustrated on these album pages are most often elongated silhouettes, with little rounded heads. The subjects could be courtesans, servers of drinks being prominent, but also peasants and dervishes. Although Reza resisted European influence, right up to his death in 1635, other artists did not hesitate to draw inspiration from, or to copy, the engravings brought by merchants from Holland. Other great painters of albums from this period were Safi Abassi, son of Reza, known for his paintings of birds, and Mo’in Musavvir, Muhammad Qasim and Muhammad Ali, his disciples.
This taste for the album did not entirely put a permanent end to manuscripts of paintings. The Shah Nāmeh for Shah Abbas, the two Divan of Navai or again the manuscript of Khosrow and Shirin (1632, Victoria and Albert Museum) are examples of the perpetuation of this tradition, which the provincial workshops abandoned less readily than the royal ketab khaneh. The school of Herst, notably, still regularly produces copies of great illustrated Persian texts.
This article is in the process of being translated from the French Wikipedia version.
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
from 1501 to 1722, in present day Iran. It was a high point for the art of the book and architecture; and also including ceramics, metal, glass, and gardens. While nourished by ancient Persian culture, the Safavid artists were strongly influenced by Turkmen culture
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
due to the origins of the dynasty, as well as Chinese, Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and Western cultures. The Safavid Empire was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires, with artistic accomplishments, since the Muslim conquest of Persia.
Historical context
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
around 1301, with Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili who gave it his name. The Safavids have greatly contributed to the spread of the Twelvers branch of Shia Islam, those who consider the twelfth imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
hidden like his leader.
It was however not until 1447 that the Safavid dynasty began to show its political ambitions, with the seizing of power by Sheikh Djunayd. A system of battles and alliances with the Turkmen tribes began, leading to the extinction of the dynasty of the Kara Koyunlu
Kara Koyunlu
The Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu, also called the Black Sheep Turkomans , were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, north-western Iran, eastern Turkey and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468.The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans at one...
who reigned up to that time over the region of Tabriz, across from those of the Ak Koyunlu
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
installed in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. Haydari, the successor of Djunayd, was quickly killed, and Shah Ismail
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
, then 12 years of age, took his place as leader of the movement in 1499. A vigorous propaganda was soon put in place, allowing an army to be recruited. In 1500, his 7000 soldiers defied the Turmken troops, 30,000 men strong, and in 1501, Shah Ismail
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
entered Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
at the north-west of Iran, proclaimed the rite of imamism (Twelvers) to be the religion of state and had the first coins struck in his name.
The territorial expansion accelerated towards Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and the Ottoman empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, but the arrival of Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
at the head of the Ottoman empire, which forbade the Shiah religion, and the battle of Chaldiran
Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran or Chaldoran occurred on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire of Persia . As a result, the Ottomans gained immediate control over eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq...
(August 22, 1514), marked a stopping point. The Safavid army, unfamiliar with firearms, suffered a painful defeat. Selim I entered Tabriz—from which he withdrew several months later because of internal quarrels—and annexed a large part of the Safavid territory. Shah Ismail, whose divine ascendance had been definitely set aside, withdrew from political life, while relations with the Qizilbash Turkmen deteriorated. The settlement of the Portuguese at the Strait of Hormuz
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman....
sparked a flourishing commerce with Europe.
After the death of Shah Ismail, his 10-year-old son Shah Tahmasp
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
came into power. Not very smart with military plans, he ceded the city of Baghdad to Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
, transferred his capital to Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
in 1548 and finally signed in 1555 the treaty of Amaziya, which assured an enduring peace. His reign, the longest in all the history of Persia, was marked by the signing around his twentieth year of an "edict of repentance", which introduced an authoritarian religion, forbidding music, dance, alcoholic drinks and hashish.
Abbas I of Persia
Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
that relative calm was restored. He quickly signed an unfavourable peace with the Ottomans, to give himself time to establish an army of Ghulams (Caucasian mercenaries, Armenians and Georgians.) The Ghulams were also integrated into the centralised administration, occupying the places of Turkmen judged too contentious. These measures allowed the Shah to defeat the Ouzbeks and to retake Herat in 1598, then Baghdad in 1624. This reign, the highlight of the dynasty, supported flourishing commerce and art, notably with the construction of the new capital of Isfahan.
The period after the death of Shah Abbas was a long decline, partly due to the harem system, which encouraged intrigue and manipulation. The reign of Shah Safi (reigned 1629–1642) was notable for its arbitrary violence and territorial retreats; that of Shah Abbas II
Abbas II of Persia
Shah Abbas II was Shah of Iran from 1642 to 1666. He was the seventh Shah of the Safavid Dynasty. He was the son of Shah Safi I and a Circassian, Anna Khanum, and originally bore the name Sultan Muhammed Mirza before his coronation on May 15, 1642...
marked the beginning of religious intolerance towards the Dhimmi
Dhimmi
A , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
s and particularly the Jews, a situation which continued under Shah Suleiman
Suleiman I of Persia
Suleiman I was a Safavid shah of Persia who reigned between 1666 and 1694. He was the elder son of the previous shah Abbas II and a Circassian slave, Nakihat Khanum....
and Shah Husayn
Husayn (Safavid)
Sultan Husayn was a Safavid king of Iran . He ruled from 1694 until he was overthrown in 1722 by Shah Mahmud Hotaki, an Afghan warrior of Pashtun ethnic background...
. A rebellion of Afghans in 1709 led eventually to the end of the empire in 1722.
Under Shah Ismail
Karbala
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....
(1508), Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
(1508) and Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
in Iraq and Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
in the east of Iran, etc., thus perpetuating the Timurid
Timurid Dynasty
The Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
and Turkmen traditions, on the other hand his participation in architectural construction was almost nonexistent, no doubt because the Safavid conquest was carried out without major destruction. Thus, at Tabriz, the new capital, all the surviving Turkmen monuments cater largely to the needs of the Shah and his court. It was nevertheless Ismail who made the city of Ardabil
Ardabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
(northern Iran) into a dynastic centre and place of pilgrimage, embellishing the complex surrounding the tomb of Shaykh Safi and interring there the remains of his father in 1509. He is responsible in particular for the construction of Dar al-Hadith, a hall dedicated to the study of the Hadiths, similar to the old Dar al-Huffaz, which served for reciting the Koran. It was no doubt also he himself who designed his own tomb, even though it was created shortly after his death. One can also credit Ismail with the restoration of the Masjed-e Jameh de Saveh, in 1520, of which the exterior decoration has disappeared, but of which the mihrab combines a use of ancient stucco and a delicate decor of arabesques in ceramic mosaic. Another mosque of Saveh, the Masjed-e meydan, received a similar mihrab, dated by inscriptions to between 1510 and 1518.
Dormish Khan Shamlu
Shamlu
The Shamloo, Shamlu, shomloo Tribe was one of the 7 original and the most powerful Qizilbash Tribe of Turcoman origin in Iran.-Pre-Safavid Era:...
, brother-in-law of Ismail, partially compensated for this lack of construction beginning in 1503. This governor of Isfahan, who lived more often at the court of Tabriz than in his city, left the reins to Mirza Shah Hussein Isfahani, the greatest architect of the period, who built there in particular the tomb of Harun-e Vilayat in 1512-1513. Described by a western traveller as a great place of "Persian pilgrimage" (as much for Muslims as for Jews and Christians), this monument is composed of a square chamber under a cupola, a completely traditional design. The cupola rests on a high drum, the muqarnas
Muqarnas
Muqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture. The term is similar to mocárabe, but mocárabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole.Muqarnas takes the form of small pointed niches,...
filling the octagonal passageway. Two minarets, now gone, magnified the great porch, while the decor of hazerbaf and the ceramic mosaic, concentrated on the facade, stayed in the Timurid tradition. The facade, punctuated by blind arches, is thus unified by basic decor, as was already the case at the mosque of Yazd. One must add to this tomb the nearby mosque masjed-e Ali, completed in 1522 under the order of the same commander.
Under Shah Tahmasp
Like his predecessor, Shah TahmaspTahmasp I
Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
, at the beginning of his reign (1524–1555) stayed rather inactive in architectural matters, contenting himself with restorations and embellishments, always along the lines of the dynasties which preceded him. In particular, the great mosques of Kerman
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
, Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
and Isfahan, and the sanctuaries of Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
and Ardabil
Ardabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
benefited from his attention. In the latter place, one can cite the funeral tower of Shah Ismail, possibly ordered by this one, but which was undoubtedly created during the first years of the reign of Shah Tahmasp, even though no date is mentioned. It is situated right next to the funeral tower of the founder of the dynasty and, because of this proximity, has a restrained diameter. It looks therefore a little diminished by its neighbouring monument. Tall in measurement, it contains three small superposed cupolas, and flaunts a ceramic decor divided into numerous registers to avoid monotony. The yellow colour of the decorative ceramic is, however, a totally new element. Also at Ardabil is attributed to Shah Tahmasp the Jannat Sara, an octagonal building with accessories and gardens much degraded in the 18th century (and greatly restored). Situated at the north-east of the tomb, it dates, according to Morton, to the years 1536–1540. Its main use is still debated, because it's mentioned as a mosque in European sources, but not in Persian ones, which raises certain questions. Was it planned to place here the tomb of Shah Tahmasp, actually interred at Mashhad? From this place come the famous carpets of Ardabil (see below).
Also credited to Shah Ismail is a palace at Tabriz, his capital until 1555, of which nothing survives except a description by the Italian traveller Michele Membre, who visited Tabriz in 1539. According to him, it was composed of a garden surrounded by walls of stone and earth with two gates of a great meydan at the east, and of a new mosque.
At the end of his reign, Tahmasp organized the gardens of Sadatabad. This, like all Persian gardens, is divided in four by two perpendicular alleys and bordered by a canal, an arrangement found particularly in the tapis-jardins (literally carpet gardens) of the same period. It contains baths, four covered walkways and three pleasure pavilions: the Gombad-e Muhabbat, the Iwan-e Bagh and the Chehel Sutun. The name of the latter, built in 1556, means "palace of forty columns", a name which is explained by the presence of twenty columns reflected in a pond. In the Persian tradition, the number forty is often used to mean a large quantity. This little construction at one point served as a place of audience, for banquets and for more private uses. It was decorated with panels painted with literary Persian scenes, such as the story of Farhad and Shirin, as well as hunting scenes, festivals and polo, etc. Floral bands surrounded these panels, based on models of Shah Tahmasp himself, to paint at his hours, or again of Muzaffar Ali or Muhammadi, thus used in the royal library.
In the city of Nain
Nain, Iran
Nain is a city in and the capital of Nain County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 24,424, in 6,950 families.It has one of the earliest remaining mosques in Iran, and has a Sassanid era fort, now in ruins, called Narin Ghal'eh....
, the house of the governor, designed with four iwan
Iwan
An iwan is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called pishtaq, a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and...
s, presents a décor undoubtedly elaborated between 1565 and 1575, using a rare and very sophisticated technique: over a coat of red paint, the artist placed a white coating, and then scratched to allow motifs to appear in red silhouette—motifs reminiscent of those in books and on cloth. One finds there animal fights, throned princes, literary scenes (Khosrow and Shirin, Yusuf and Zuleykha), a game of polo, hunting scenes etc. One notices that the silhouettes curve and that the taj, the headdress characteristic of the Safavids at the beginning of the empire had disappeared, following the fashion of the time. Among the scroll patterns are calligraphic representations of the quatrains of the poet Hafiz.
Under Shah Abbas
The reign of Shah Abbas marked the explosion of Safavid architecture, with the construction of a new Isfahan.Isfahan
Abbas I of Persia
Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
: to Isfahan, a city in a more centralized location than Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
or Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
(which is between Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and Tabriz). A new capital was thus set up beside the ancient city, organized around a meydan, a large place 512 metres long by 159 wide. On one side stands the Shah's mosque, on the other the Shah's oratory, called the mosque of Sheikh Lutfallah, while the pavilion Ali Qapu opens onto a large pleasure walkway (Chahar Bagh) and the grand bazaar led to the old mosque on Fridays. Two bridges cross the Zayandeh River, leading to an Armenian section taking the name of Nea Julfa
New Julfa
New Julfa is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the river Zayandeh River....
.
Ali Qapu
- Main article: Ali QapuAli QapuĀlī Qāpū is a grand palace in Isfahan, Iran. It is located on the western side of the Naghsh-i Jahan Square opposite to Sheikh lotf allah mosque, and had been originally designed as a vast portal. It is forty-eight meters high and there are seven floors, each accessible by a difficult spiral...
.
A rather tall building, opening on one side onto the meydan and on the other onto the Chahar Bagh, the Ali Qapu
Ali Qapu
Ālī Qāpū is a grand palace in Isfahan, Iran. It is located on the western side of the Naghsh-i Jahan Square opposite to Sheikh lotf allah mosque, and had been originally designed as a vast portal. It is forty-eight meters high and there are seven floors, each accessible by a difficult spiral...
pavilion was no doubt built in two stages, according to Galieri, who long studied it. One finds there traits characteristic of Iranian architecture, such as the taste for proportions in two levels: one level, the portico of the upper part (talar), or again the cruciform plan. The décor is often reminiscent of the contemporary book art, with Chinese clouds, birds in flight, and flowering trees portrayed in soft colours. The upper rooms, called music rooms, present a décor of little alcoves the shape of long-necked bottles. Ali Qapu serves as a door opening onto the processional walkway at the back, but the Shah also used it to show himself and to observe the games of polo and the military presentations which took place regularly on the meydan.
The Qaysarieh, or grand bazaar
The grand bazaar is connected to the old market on one side and to the meydan on the other. On the side opening onto the meydan, its high vault with protruding ribs encloses a multi-story structure, of which the upper part was reserved for the Shah's orchestra while in the lower part were found shops and homes, organized by occupation. Ceramic mosaic decoration is evidence that the Shah had as much interest in architecture for civil purposes as for those of religion or pleasure.
The mosque of Sheikh Luffallah, or the oratory of the Shah
This mosque was the first to be constructed in the new Isfahan, before the grand mosque of the Shah. Its construction stretched over sixteen long years, but two dates (1616 on the dome and 1618 ni the mihrab) tend to show that it was completed around 1618. The architect was Muhammad Riza ibn Husayn, and the calligrapher possibly Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi
Riza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually "Riza" or Reza Abbasi also Aqa Riza or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I...
, a great Persian painter and calligrapher.
The plan of this mosque is rather unusual, with a winding, intentionally dim entrance which leads to a prayer room completely covered by a dome and open to a grand portal. The absence of a court is notable. The décor consists of yellow marble, with niches arranged in the sides with rich stalactites, and an outer layer of ceramic. The colouring of the exterior dome is quite unique, dominated by the colour of the earth.
The Shah Mosque
- Main article: Shah MosqueShah MosqueImam Mosque, is a mosque in Isfahan, Iran standing in south side of Naghsh-i Jahan Square.Built during the Safavid period, it is an excellent example of Islamic architecture of Iran, and regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture. The Shah Mosque of Esfahan is one of the...
.
The Shah Mosque was built between 1612 and 1630 under the direction of the architects Muhibb al-Din Ali Kula and Ustad Ali Akbar Isfahani. Its dimensions are colossal: 140 metres by 130, equalling a surface area of 18,000 square metres, about the size of three football fields. The plan is however much more orthodox than that of the mosque of Sheikh Luffallah: the mosque is rigorously symmetric, with four iwans and two cupolas, the minarets rising in front of the prayer room. In one part and another of the building are two Madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
s.
The plan of the building, like its décor, demonstrates a grand coherence. The veneer of ceramic covers all the surface of the walls, but the back of the iwans is often neglected in favour of the façade. The dominant colour is blue, almost giving the impression of a blue mantle, and gives a sense of unity to the ensemble. Comparisons to the art of the book can be made.
The Allaverdikhan bridge
The Chehel Sotoun
Abbas II of Persia
Shah Abbas II was Shah of Iran from 1642 to 1666. He was the seventh Shah of the Safavid Dynasty. He was the son of Shah Safi I and a Circassian, Anna Khanum, and originally bore the name Sultan Muhammed Mirza before his coronation on May 15, 1642...
, then redecorated in the years 1870. According to a poem inscribed on the building and another by Muhammad Ali Sahib Tabrizi, it would have been created in 1647–48, and if some researchers believe that this building was constructed in several stages, the majority are inclined to think that it was built all at once, because it is quite coherent. It's a rectangular building, sporting columns which reflect in the ponds (chehel sotoun meaning "forty columns" in Persian).
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
is received by Shah Tahmasp, then Vali Nadr Muhammad Khan, sovereign of Bukhara between 1605 and 1608, by Shah Abbas I, and finally, one finds an evocation of the taking of Kandahar by Shah Abbas II, which must have been added later, the city not having fallen until 1649. In the secondary rooms, too, are found numerous gallant scenes and figures on foot. One notes Western influences in the décor (the opening onto a landscape; similarities with the Armenian neighbourhood) and Indian influences (a horse represented tinted in henna; iwans covered with mirrors.)
Khaju Bridge
The second large[st] bridge of Isfahan, built 50 years after the Pol-e Allahverdikhan, the Khaju bridge presents a structure which is similar but slightly more complex, with [brise-flots] in a fan-shaped pattern, allowing for more spectacular water effects.The end of the period
Hasht Behesht
Hasht Behesht is a Safavid era palace in Isfahan.It was built in 1669 and is today protected by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.-Links:*...
(the "eight paradises") is composed of a pavilion with eight little entities distributed around a large room under a cupola with four iwans. Small vaults crown the secondary rooms, decorated with mirrors which make the surfaces appear to be moving. The exterior decor, in ceramic, is remarkable for its extensive use of yellow. This building is dated to the years 1671.
Under Shah Ismail and Shah Tahmasp
Chinese porcelain
Chinese ceramic ware shows a continuous development since the pre-dynastic periods, and is one of the most significant forms of Chinese art. China is richly endowed with the raw materials needed for making ceramics. The first types of ceramics were made during the Palaeolithic era...
by far over locally-produced ceramics. Many locations of workshops have, however, been identified, although not with certainty:
- NishapurNishapurNishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...
- Kubachi (for architectural ceramic)
- KermanKerman- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
(moulded monochromatic pieces) - MashhadMashhadMashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
- YazdYazdYazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
(based on a cistern at the British Museum) - ShirazShirazShiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
(cited by Chardin) - Bordabas
- Gambrun
- NainNain, IranNain is a city in and the capital of Nain County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 24,424, in 6,950 families.It has one of the earliest remaining mosques in Iran, and has a Sassanid era fort, now in ruins, called Narin Ghal'eh....
The first five are more certain than the last four, having been cited in the sources, but no one is absolutely certain.
In general, the decors tend to imitate those of Chinese porcelain, with the production of blue and white pieces with Chinese form and motifs (curved marly, chi clouds, dragons etc.) In any case, the Persian blue is distinguished from the Chinese blue by its more numerous and subtle nuances. Often, quatrains by Persian poets, sometimes related to the destination of the piece (allusion to wine for a goblet, for example) occur in the scroll patterns. One can also notice a completely different type of decor, much more rare, which carries iconography very specific to Islam (Islamic zodiac, bud scales, arabesques) and seems influenced by the Ottoman world, as is evidenced by feather-edged anthemions (honeysuckle ornaments) widely used in Turkey.
Numerous types of pieces were produced: goblets, plates, long-necked bottles, spitoons, etc. Canteens can be noted with very small necks and bellies that are flat on one side and very rounded on the other: an example is found at Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, another at Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
.
Between the reign of Shah Abbas and the end of the empire
- Lias
- Mashhad
- Tabriz (a centre which remains hypothetical, possibly with a workshop supported by royal beneficence)
- an unidentified centre which produced blues and whites imitating wanli ceramic (kraak porcelain)
With the closing of the Chinese market in 1659, Persian ceramic soared to new heights, to fulfill European needs. The appearance of false marks of Chinese workshops on the backs of some ceramics marked the taste that developed in Europe for far-eastern porcelain, satisfied in large part by Safavid production. This new destination led to wider use of Chinese and exotic iconography (elephants) and the introduction of new forms, sometimes astonishing (hookah
Hookah
A hookah A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari, (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe or narghile, is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water. The tobacco smoked is referred to...
s, octagonal plates, animal-shaped objects).
During the same time period, new figures appeared, influenced by the art of the book: young, elegant cupbearers, young women with curved silhouettes, or yet cypress trees entangling their branches, reminiscent of the paintings of Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi
Riza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually "Riza" or Reza Abbasi also Aqa Riza or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I...
. One notes the use of beautiful yellows, and of the technique of lustre still present in some pieces in the 17th and 18th centuries.
An exceptional case: the ceramic of Kubacha
This series was produced over three centuries, in the course of which it evolved greatly, but always kept a hole in the bases for the hanging of the pieces. Schematically, one can distinguish three periods:
- In the 15th century, two-coloured with green glaze and motifs painted in black.
- In the 16th century, two-coloured with turquoise glaze and motifs still in black.
- In the 18th century, multicoloured (cobalt, soft red [rouge terne], orangish-yellow), with influences from the art of the book and from Ottoman and Indian [art].
The Kubacha series remains very mysterious, and many centres of production have been proposed without any real resolution of the issue.
Metallic art
Under Shah Ismail, one notes a perpetuation of the shapes and decorations of Timurid inlays: motifs of almond-shaped glories, of shamsa (suns) and of chi clouds are found on the inkwells in the form of mausoleums or the globular pitchers reminiscent Ulugh Beg
Ulugh Beg
Ulugh Bek was a Timurid ruler as well as an astronomer, mathematician and sultan. His commonly-known name is not truly a personal name, but rather a moniker, which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" or "Patriarch Ruler" and was the Turkic equivalent of Timur's Perso-Arabic title Amīr-e...
' jade one.
Under Shah Tahmasp, inlays disappeared rapidly, as witnessed by a group of candlesticks in the form of pillars. On the other hand, one notices the appearance of coloured paste (red, black, green) to replace the multicolouration previously supplied by the inlays of silver and gold. One notes also the beginning of steelwork, in particular by piercings, to actualize the elements of plating of doors and of standards.
Work in hard stone
We know of several hardstone carvingHardstone carving
Hardstone carving is a general term in art history and archaeology for the carving for artistic purposes of semi-precious stones, also known as gemstones, such as jade, rock crystal , agate, onyx, jasper, serpentine or carnelian, and for an object made in this way. Normally the objects are small,...
s, most often datable to the 16th century. A series of pitchers with globular bellies also exists, mounted on a little ring-shaped base and having wide, short necks. Two of these (one in black jade inlaid with gold, the other in white jade) are inscribed with the name of Ismail I. The handle is in the shape of a dragon, which betrays a Chinese influence, but this type of pitcher comes in fact directly from the preceding period: its prototype is the pitcher of Ulough Beg. We also know of blades and handles of knives in jade, often inlaid with gold wire and ingraved.
Hardstone serves also to make jewels to inlay in metal objects, such as the great zinc bottle inlaid with gold, rubies and turquoise dated to the reign of Ismail and conserved at the museum of Topkapi
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
Persian carpets
It is generally accepted among specialists that it was the Safavids who transformed the carpet from production by artists assured by nomadic tribes to the status of a "national industry" of which the products were exported to India, into the Ottoman Empire and to Europe. During the Safavid period, the export of carpets flourished, to destinations in Europe (sometimes via the Portuguese colony of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
) and to the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, where Persian carpets stimulated local production. Some Safavid carpets were also transported by the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
towards Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Malaysia, Kochi, India as well as even to Holland. European orders came to the Persian Empire for the weaving of special carpets: for example, the group of "Polish carpets" was undoubtedly knotted in Isfahan, but certain ones carry the arms of Poland.
Based on accounts by travellers and other written sources, it appears that workshops for royal carpets existed in Ispahan, Kashan and Kerman. These workshops produced carpets for the palace and mosques of the Shah, but also to be offered to neighbouring monarchs or to foreign dignitaries, or pieces made on order for the nobility or ordinary citizens. Such sponsorship provided capital in the form of raw materials and provided a salary for the artisans for the duration of the weaving.
The rapid development of the carpet industry in the Persian Empire during the Safavid period seems to be due to the sovereigns' taste for this art form. Ismail I, then Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas I are known for having been personally interested in carpet production. One has also supposed that the two latter sovereigns were personally invested in the production of carpets, notably by the design of the motifs. During their reigns, the production of Persian carpets was the most prominent out of the whole Safavid period.
It was in this period and particularly since Shah Tahmasp that the first carpets with floral decoration were created, in order to satisfy the taste of the Safavids. The difference between the carpets of the nomads and the floral ones is due to the role of the "master" (ostad), who draws the pattern which will be reproduced by the knotters. The designs of the carpets of the nomads are themselves transmitted by tradition.
The production of carpets was strongly influenced by the leadership of the art of the book, which provided the patterns. Thus, on comparing them with bookbindings and illuminations, specialists have been able to discern a stylistic evolution. Thus, the majority of the carpets produced during the 16th century, that is, principally under Shah Ismail and Shah Tahmasp, are called "with medallion" because they are organized around a large central multi-lobed medallion sometimes called Shamsa, that is "sun", and the corner decorations each carry a quarter of a medallion which is strongly reminiscent of that in the centre. The most famous carpets of this type are the pair of carpets said to be of Ardébil, of which one, conserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is dated 946 since the Hijra
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
, that is 1539–40 A.D. and signed "Work of the humble servant of the court of Mahmud Hashani".
From the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, that is with the coming into power of Shah Abbas, the medallion tended to disappear, since the corner decorations could already have been eliminated by the second half of the 16th century, as is shown by the carpet of Mantes. It's the flowering of "vase carpets", which, as their name indicates, display a vase from which springs a floral arrangement. The garden, which is associated with paradise, equally gives place to a type of composition which appeared in the 17th century in Persia in imitation of the gardens of the Shah, divided in rectangular parcels or squares by alleys and irrigation canals (chahar bāgh).
There are also carpets with the theme of hunting, an activity prized by the Shahs and requiring address, strength, and knowledge of nature. This theme is also linked to paradise and to spiritual activities, because the hunt often unfolds in a wilderness which can be reminiscent of the gardens of paradise. One of the finest is undoubtedly the apparently tabrizi carpet, currently conserved at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Museo Poldi Pezzoli
The Museo Poldi Pezzoli is an art museum in Milan, Italy.The museum was originated in the 19th century as private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli and his mother, Rosa Trivulzio, of the family of the condottiero Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, and has a particularly broad collection of Northern...
, and dated 1542–43. The carpet of Mantes, dated to the second half of the 16th century and conserved at the Louvre, is equally of this exemplary calibre.
The village of Kashan
Kashan
Kashan is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families....
for its part was distinguished by a very particular production of relatively small carpets entirely of silk, with a blue or red base, showing fights between fantastic animals borrowed from the Chinese (kilins, dragons, phoenixes). As with the large carpets, those of the 16th century display a medallion (carpet of the Gulbenkian Foundation), which disappeared in the following century. The Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum are each freely conserving an example.
The art of the book
Under the Safavids, the art of the book, especially the Persian miniaturePersian miniature
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts...
painting, constituted the essential driving force of the arts. The ketab khaneh, the royal library-workshop, provided most of the sources of motifs for objects such as carpets, ceramics or metal.
Various types of books were copied, illuminated, bound and sometimes illustrated: religious books – Korans, but also commentaries on the sacred text and theological works—and books of Persian literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
– Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
, Nizami's Khamsa, Jami al-Tawarikh
Jami al-Tawarikh
The Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh, , or Universal History is an Iranian work of literature and history written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani at the start of the 14th century.-The author:...
by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Timur nāmeh—encyclopedias and scientific treatises of Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. Paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, a Chinese invention arriving early in Iran (13th century), was always used. One notes the frequent use of coloured papers. Towards 1540, a marbled paper also appeared, which however rapidly disappeared again.
The bindings were mostly accomplished with tinted maroquin of very fine quality. They could be gilded and stamped with geometric, floral or figurative motifs, or embossed in blue. In the second half of the 16th century, they pierced the leather covers to allow the coloured paper or silk pages to be seen. In the same period, at Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
, appeared lacquered bindings, which remain however very rare and highly valued in Iran.
The decoration of the margins was realised in various ways: sometimes they were inserted in a different paper, (a tradition that appeared in the 15th century); sprinkled with gold, following a Chinese custom; or painted with colours or gold.
The style of illustrations varied greatly from one manuscript to another, according to the period and centre of production.
1501–1550: Heritage
Three centres were active in this period:- Tabriz
- Shiraz
- BukharaBukharaBukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
Tabriz, capital of the Safavid empire from 1501 to 1548, again also used artists of the Ak Koyunlu
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
ketab khaneh. The illustrations show a double heritage: that of the Ak Koyunlu and that of the Timurid dynasty. The latter benefitted from the taking of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
in 1501, but did not really manifest itself until the year 1525. The various directors of the ketab khaneh are:
- Sultan Muhammad (1515–1522)
- Bihzad (1522–1540)
- Mir Musavvir
Many great painters, such as Aqa Mirak, Mir Sayyid Ali or Dust Muhammad worked in the book-workshop, and produced great royal manuscripts. The first of which we have some trace is the unfinished Shah Nameh commissioned by Ismail for his son Tahmasp, for whom alone four paintings were created including Raksh defends a sleeping Rustam. This last is undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces of Safavid painting, which shows the strong prominence of Turkmen art in the treatment of very dense vegetation, like a carpet, and in the messing up of perspective. It is thought that it was when Shah Tahmasp returned to Tabriz in 1522 that work on this painting stopped in 1522, when, moulded by the influence of his masters Behzād
Kamal ud-Din Behzad
Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād , also known as Kamal al-din Bihzad or Kamaleddin Behzad , was a painter of Persian miniatures and head of the royal ateliers in Herat and Tabriz during the late Timurid and early Safavid periods.-Biography:...
and Sultan Muhammad, he got work started on his great Shah Nameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
. He also commissioned other exceptional works, including a Hamsa
Hamsa
Hamsa or Khamsa can refer to:*Arabic "five, quintet"** Ḫamsa, a Near Eastern symbol often used as a protective amulet** a commonly used alternative name for the Panj Ganj or Quinary, ie quintet of Nizami's first five great epics*Sanskrit ...
and a Iskandar Nameh. Other patrons employed artists of the royal ketab khaneh: prince Braham Mirza (1517–1549) had an album (muhaqqa) made for him by the painter Dust Muhammad.
The art of calligraphy was at that time dominated by a very prominent man, named "Zarrin Qalam", which means "golden reed pen", who excelled in the six canonical calligraphies.
The royal workshops of Tabriz were very influential, and the non-royal manuscripts, illuminated and illustrated, spread throughout the whole empire, distinguishing the provincial centres such as that of Shiraz.
Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
is the capital of Fars Province and a very active provincial centre of the south of Iran. The artists were always the same as those employed by the Ak Koyunlu
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
, and produced volumes in small formats, copies of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and of grand poetic texts, destined for the most part for commerce with the Ottoman Empire (Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
). In spite of the blockade imposed by this empire in 1512, the production did not weaken, which suggests that it turned towards other poorly-identified buyers, given the absence of local patronage. Under the influence of Tabriz, one notes the evolutions between 1501 and 1525: the silhouettes became slimmer; the taj, the characteristic Qizilbash headgear, started to appear, with a red baton and twelve folds corresponding to the twelve imams of the Twelver Shi`ism. From 1525 forward, the workshops of Shiraz produced nothing but copies of the works of the royal workshops of Tabriz, then of Qazvin and Isfahan.
Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
was not properly speaking a Safavid centre, given that the city was at the centre of an independent state led by the Uzbek dynasty Shaybanid from 1500 to 1598. But the nomadism of the artists, due to frequent political changes and to the nomadism of the sovereigns, implicated notable influence on the part of the Safavid centres. The manuscripts of this school are characterized by their margins richly decorated with the technique of encartage. Their bindings had a counter-plate with a large decoration of perforated leather and a plate with large rectangular plaques with animal motifs or arabesques, according to the ancient Timurid tradition. The painting used a harmonious palette, with airy compositions, but an absence of new models and the repetition of poncifs (pointillism?) creates a certain aridity.
The school of Bukhara reached its peak between 1530 and 1550, and directly influenced Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
art.
1550–1600: Transition period
The years 1550–1600 were marked by numerous changes in the organization of the empire and therefore in the production of books among the Safavids. With the transfer of capital in 1548, the royal workshop moved, and it was Quazvin which took over the royal production. In any case, the provincial centres such as that of Shiraz (in the south) or Khorasan (in the east of Iran) continued to produce manuscripts, more or less rich.With the transfer of the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin in 1548, the khetab khaneh was in large part dismantled, following edicts of repentance published by the Shah for religious and economic reasons. The artists fled to provincial or foreign courts (Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
or Ottoman). Only Aqa Mirak resisted this series of departures. Other artists, such as Siavush Beg the Georgian or Sadiqi Beg
Sadiqi Beg
Sadiqi Beg was a Persian poet, biographer, draftsman, soldier and miniaturist of the Safavid period.-Biography:Born in Tabriz into the Afshar tribe, one of the Turkish tribal groups that engendered the Safavid rise to power, Sadiqi was a soldier by family tradition...
took the place of the preceding generation. New grand calligraphers, Mir Ali ou Malik Dayalami appeared and gave birth to the "rule of the two quills", which defined identical rules for calligraphy and painting. Illumination and bookbinding evolved in parallel from the art of tapestry, given that the templates used were identical. In manuscripts, most often the paintings were double pages with no connection with the text, but images of servers of drinks, young women, princes, and dervishes filled the albums (muhaqqa).
If the end of the reign of Shah Tahmasp was not very fruitful, (we know, however, of a Fāl Nāmeh dating from these years with the signatures of Aqa Mirak et Abd al-Aziz), Shah Ismail II (1576–77) exercised a beneficial influence, ordering a grand Shah Nāmeh and an Ajayibnāmeh (book of wonders). Unfortunately, his short reign prevented a real renaissance, even if it did establish new foundations, marking the beginning of the proliferation of pages of albums. His successor, Shah Mohammed Khodabanda
Mohammed Khodabanda
Mohammed Khodābande or Khudābanda, also known as Mohammed Shah or Sultan Mohammed , was the fourth Safavid Shah of Iran. He was the son of Shah Tahmasp I by a Turcoman mother, Sultanum Bekum Mawsillu...
, being blind, took little interest in books,
ending the restart which had been set in motion. The renewal of the art of the royal book would only take place partially under Saha Abbas I the Grand, who ordered, as, it seemed, was the custom, a grand Shah Nāmeh on transferring the court to Isfahan.
The provincial workshop of Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
continued to flourish until 1620, but continued most often to recopy the models issued by the royal workshops of Tabriz, then of Qazvin and Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
. The ornamentation was bountiful, illustration was abundant in manuscripts and the colours were vibrant, although without much variation. The drawings represented people with round faces and long noses. The illumination remained very repetitive, and the calligraphy, most often nastaliq, was copied from one to another. Most of the manuscripts were not signed.
The workshops said to be of Khorasan were situated in Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
in the district of Bakharz. Under the patronage of the brother of Braham Mirza, Ibrahim Mirza, they revitalized the school of Qazvin, employing artists such as Shaykh Muhammad, Muzaffar Ali or Muhammadi, specialized in drawings. The most famous manuscript that came out of these workshops is a copy of the Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami, and is marked by the profound originality of the creations of the official workshops.
1600–1660: The decline of illuminated manuscripts and the development of a specific genre: the album page
During the reigns of Shah Abbas I and Shah SafiSafi of Persia
Shah Safi was Shah of Iran from 1629 to 1642. He was the sixth ruler of the Safavid dynasty.Safi was given the name Sam Mirza when he was born. He was the son of Mohammed Baqir Mirza, the eldest son of Shah Abbas I, and Dilaram Khanum, a Georgian wife. In 1615, Abbas had Mohammed Baqir killed,...
, the number of illuminated and illustrated manuscripts dropped considerably, leaving room for a new form of manuscript: the album page. The albums, or muhaqqa, were created most often under the direction of a painter or calligrapher. They grouped together drawings, calligraphy and also ancient miniatures. Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi
Riza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually "Riza" or Reza Abbasi also Aqa Riza or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I...
, who directed the kitab khaneh between 1597 and 1635, (having been transferred, in 1602, to Isfahan), is undoubtedly the greatest representative of this genre. The people illustrated on these album pages are most often elongated silhouettes, with little rounded heads. The subjects could be courtesans, servers of drinks being prominent, but also peasants and dervishes. Although Reza resisted European influence, right up to his death in 1635, other artists did not hesitate to draw inspiration from, or to copy, the engravings brought by merchants from Holland. Other great painters of albums from this period were Safi Abassi, son of Reza, known for his paintings of birds, and Mo’in Musavvir, Muhammad Qasim and Muhammad Ali, his disciples.
This taste for the album did not entirely put a permanent end to manuscripts of paintings. The Shah Nāmeh for Shah Abbas, the two Divan of Navai or again the manuscript of Khosrow and Shirin (1632, Victoria and Albert Museum) are examples of the perpetuation of this tradition, which the provincial workshops abandoned less readily than the royal ketab khaneh. The school of Herst, notably, still regularly produces copies of great illustrated Persian texts.
1660–1722: The end of illustrated manuscripts
With the emergence of Ali Qoli Djebbeh Dar and Muhammad Zaman, two very Europeanistic painters, the role of the illustrated book in the art of the book declined still further. A great activity of calligraphy and illumination was put into practice, with a true regrowth of interest for the former and an abundant style, very fine and rich in plant elements for the second.Conclusion
The Safavides were the last sovereigns to promote a Persian national art. Thanks to them, in present-day Iran a new art is taking flight, particularly notable in urbanism: Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun have their treasure-troves in verdant parks laid out according to precise perspectives, such as the monumental boulevard of Tchehar Bagh (or avenue of the four gardens) which crosses the city of Isfahan in a 3-kilometre stretch. Guardians of the ancient Iranian artistic tradition more than innovators, they carry out a refined and sumptuous art of the court, with an affected manner filled with great poetic charm. Their fall led to a rapid degeneration of art in Iran.This article is in the process of being translated from the French Wikipedia version.
See also
- Qajar artQajar artQajar art refers to the art and art-forms of the Qajar dynasty of the Persian Empire, which lasted from 1781 to 1925. Most notably, Qajar art is recognizable for its distinctive style of portraiture...
- Safavid architecture - index
Bibliographie
Yves Bomati, Houchang Nahavandi, "Shah Abbas, empereur de Perse – 1587–1629", Perrin, 1998, "Prix Eugène Colas" de l'Académie française 1999, ISBN 2-262-01131-1 « Safawides » in Encyclopédie de l’Islam, vol. IX, Brill F. Richard, Splendeurs persanes, (exposition Paris 1997), BNF, Paris, 1997, 239 p. ISBN 2-7177-2020-0 Ghulam Sarwar, History of Shah Ismail Safawi, New York : AMS Press, 1975, 1 vol. (xii-126 p.), S. Canby, The golden age of Persian art 1501 - 1722 Londres, British Museum Press, 2002, S. Canby, J. Thompson, Hunt for paradise, courts arts of Safavid Iran 1501 - 1576, (exposition New-York 2003-2004 et Milan 2004), Skira, 2003, 340 p.- (Persian) Negārkari irāni (« Persian painting »), Sheila R. Canby, tr. M. Shayestehfar, Téhéran, 1992, ISBN 964-92904-8-6
- (Persian) Naqāshi irāni (« Persian painting »), Basil Gray, tr. Arabali Sherveh, Téhéran, 1995, ISBN 964-6564-86-0<>span>