Decorations of the moon, plants and angels on the Sassanid motifs of Taq-e Bostan and its comparison with the myth of creation in ancient Iran - روایت اسطوره آفرینش ایران باستان در نمادها و حجاریهای ساسانی تاق بستان (original) (raw)
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Investigating and Introducing the Sassanid Motif Founded Recently in the Ancient City of Bishabour
journal of art & civilization of the orient, 2018
In this letter, a part of a Sassanian relief that is historically of great importance has been investigated and introduced; the significance of this motif is due to the short period of the reign of this historical personality over Iran during the Sassanid era. This bas-relief belongs to Hormuz I (273-272), the Sassanid ruler; there are little historical information and consciousness of his short reign period. By examining first-order documents like bas-reliefs or coins and putting these findings together, we can understand many of the mysteries and unspoken truths of that age that have been forgotten in the mist of time, and thus explain more clearly the events of that short period for researchers and scholars.
A New Insight into Symbolic Figures and Special Badges in the Sassanian Rock Reliefs
Study of the symbolic figures and badges in the Sassanian rock reliefs is a necessity which has not been independently dealt with in detail till the present time. In the present research it is attempted to study this important issue with the aid of archaeological and historical evidence. In order to achieve this objective, symbolic figures and mysterious badges existing in the Sassanian rock reliefs located in the modern Iranian geographic boundaries were identified and precisely investigated. The current study was most importantly aimed at attempting to perform semiotic investigation for the entire symbolic figures and badges and also to reveal the actual identity and real concept of each of them individually. Results gained of the present research, w4hich is considered as a fundamental research in terms of its objective and is a historical research type regarding its nature and methodology, obviously indicate that the dominant symbolic figures and badges existing in the Sassanian rock reliefs have religious origins; these figures, although represented in numerous forms, each one is considered as a particular symbol in Zoroastrianism. A number of these badges such as the crowns of the Sassanian kings, in various forms, each one represents one of the divinities. Also, the symbolic figures and non-religious badges mainly represent themes such as victory, enemies' captivity, respect, power symbols and imperial glory.
2020
The Sassanid era is one of the brightest periods of art and civilization in Iran. There are major remains of many different types: monumental rock reliefs, silver vessels, stucco architectural decoration, and seals. Sassanid art and culture could affect on the Islamic arts in Iran, including in the field of urbanism, architecture, textiles, metallurgy, painting, pottery. There are a lot of motifs that are very similar to the Sassanid ones. The Sassanid Empire had an enduring legacy in the Islamic period. On the one hand, the continuation of certain artistic techniques, such as silk production, plate, and stucco, may be attributed to the caliph’s practical marshaling of Sassanid artists to the service of the new state. In some cases, motifs on the artwork of the Islamic era do not show only a simple pattern of previous art, but we see full compliance and a copy of the Sassanid motifs. The pottery as well as cultural and artistic works belonging to the Islamic period too show that the...
NAZAR Research Center, 2021
The Persian Sassanids Empire, were the originators of a magnificent culture and art representing the ‘Parthian’ and ‘Achaemenid’ legacy with all its naturalistic manifestations. There are numerous architectural works, reliefs, paintings, woven fabrics, antique dishes, metal objects, glass things and war ordnances that have been remained from this era due to the presence of treasured coins with symbolic engravings and the calligraphy of Pahlavi era. The Sassanid art is considered as the ‘Modern Persian Art’ comprising the past traditions, and has established the Persian Paradise or Earthly Heaven in the history of world architecture by presenting the magnificent and distinctive landscapes in the form of holy sanctuaries/worship places, palaces and hunting grounds. Additionally, in the fields of architectural decoration, relief, fabric designs, ancient utensils and objects, the Sassanids were applying the natural elements in a symbolic form. The Sassanid art has been appeared in a wide range of lands from ‘Fars’ (Persia) to ‘Ctesiphon’, ‘Kermanshah’, ‘Sistan’ and ‘Azerbaijan’, relying on the naturalistic ideas and believes in the goddess of Mehr and Anahita, and following the Zoroastrian believes, as valuable works in various branches of art has been remained accordingly. Most of the architectural works of this time, including worship places, palaces, hunting grounds and 34 ‘reliefs’, have been established t next to the Natural elements such as mountains, water and trees in the heart of Nature. The Sassanid can be considered as the greatest landscapers in the history of Iran (Persian land), as the worship places, palaces and hunting grounds, and their ‘relief’ on mountain walls and cliffs can be referred to as the great indication of these architectural works.
BULLETIN of MIHO MUSEUM, 2021
One of the starting points for this third essay, "Sacred symbols from ancient West Asia and Western Central Asia," is the iconography of the corpse-attacking beasts and birds of prey found in the 3rd millennium BC Jiroft Style (JS) stone artifacts. This corpse is an expression of cloven-hoofed animals lying on their backs, which appears in the designs carved on stone artifacts. These are distinguished from the so-called "animal battling scenes" of ancient Mesopotamia, and it is conceivable that they represent the process of "purification" of a kind of death by beasts and birds of prey. These expressions are important elements that lead to the Bactria-Margiana (BMAC) seal in Central Asia from the end of the 3rd millennium BC to the early 2nd millennium BC, as well as the design of metalware in northern Iran at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. In Essay (1), I considered the elements of wings and horns that appear in the designs of seals, stone vessels, and metal vessels. In Essay (2), I attempted to unravel one aspect of their spiritual world from the sacred tree expressions expressed on JS stone vessels and BMAC pottery. What has become apparent there is that the idea structure symbolized by the three sacred trees of JS in particular is rooted in the three sacred trees in the spiritual world of ancient Iran, which were later transcribed as Bundahishn and Avesta. In this essay I begin with a consideration of the symbolism of animal designs in JS stone vessels, and is an attempt to explore the spiritual world contained in the design of MIHO MUSEUM's "Vase with divine figures" (SS1498), which has the style of JS stone vessels.
The recent discovery of Sasanian figural capitals only slightly damaged-which have been kept in the park at Taq-i Bustan (Kermanshah)-allowed for a series of new identifications of the divine images represented there together with royal figures. Although the royal figures seem to point always at the same king (a very important hint that would suggest one date for all the figural capitals), the divinities have different attributes and also wear different clothes and headgears. In the past, all those divinities have been identified as representations of the goddess Anahita, a hypothesis not to be regarded since at least one god has even a beard. Enigmatic descriptions of those divinities in Avestan literature can be useful for their identification. The textual analysis can be also cautiously adopted to study the iconography of mythological fantastic creatures of Persian traditions such as the Senmurv/Simurgh. INTRODUCTION AND DESCRIPTION OF TAQ-I BUSTAN
Pre-Islamic religious motifs (550 BC to 651 AD) on Iranian minor art with focus on rug motifs
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies
This review research focuses on the influence of religion on pre-Islamic carpet designs, which were prevalent during the beginning of the Achaemenid period (550 BC) through to the end of the Sassanid period (651 AD). The main intention of rug production at that time was to provide comfort, show wealth (status) and, as considered in this article, demonstrate its position in cultural standing (burial ceremonies). In this study, rug design motifs of the periods mentioned above are reviewed together with other handicraft forms to determine the type of rug motifs and symbols employed to decorate rugs with their spiritual meaning in the overall design (geometric designs). Research background The tendency to create art as a form of cultural production is one of the inherent traits of human beings, as can be seen in the extant artworks from ancient times to the present. In Iran, artworks reflect cultural, traditional and religious beliefs. The quality of the Persian rugs and their motifs This article reviewed the influence of pre-Islamic religions such as Mithraism and Zoroastrianism on decorative elements of ancient Persian rugs. The article then evaluated the effect of the Islamic religion on Persian rugs. This was examined through extant evidence from pre-Islamic empire artefacts and publications in Persian carpet history, iconography and religious studies. Using spiritual motifs on some ancient rugs results from the important position of rugs in ancient Iranians' lives. Believing the existence of religious motifs on Persian carpets is because the first carpet in history (Pazyryk) was attributed to the ancient Achaemenians, decorated with symbolic motifs from Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. Pazyryk shows how rug-weaving evolved during the Achaemenids, and it represented spiritual foundations through visual concepts. This article reviewed the symbolic Persian rug motifs from ancient religions through Pazyryk, with support from museum collections. With the emergence of religions, these effects are seen in all aspects of life, including the production of rug design. Contribution: The main contribution of this research was that it investigated the effects of religion on Persian art focusing on the Persian rug. The findings showed that religion had directly influenced the decorative motifs of the Persian rug among high-class families that might have cascaded into visual elements found on commoners' rugs.
Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 2023
Stamp seals are incredibly significant as a category of archeological finds because of their various motifs and functions, and inquiry into such glyptic evidence will help reconstruct different aspects of human life. During the Sassanian period, stamp seals were made of precious and semi-precious stones in different shapes and designs. In this descriptive, comparative and analytical study, the data was collected through library research, and the authors attempted to study, analyze and compare the designs on several Sassanian stamp seals with the depictions of constellation signs in Abd al-Rahman Sufi’s famous book Sovar al-Kavakeb. The results show strong similarities between the considered glyptic designs and astronomical symbols. On account of the Sassanian’s deep belief in astrology and the role the constellations played in their lifestyle and ruling system, it is conceivable that such stamp seals served apotropaic purposes and were related with Sassanian’s astrological beliefs connected with predicting good and bad days. The main purpose behind the application of these designs was most probably to seek the support and protection from constellations. Associating these glyptic designs with constellations is further supported by a series of animal motifs such as scorpions, snakes and bears which did not held any position in the Sassanian belief system, demonstrating that these motifs were designed for astrological prognostications. For example, from the Sassanian point of view, the motif of scorpion and snake form the class of vermin, and devilish animals and bears symbolize ruin and corruption. Therefore, such evil representing motifs were employed for no reasons other than their relation to the constellations and astrological prophecies.