Title Transformation of Natural Elements in Persian Art: the Flora

Author(s) Farrokh, Shayesteh

名桜大学紀要 = THE MEIO UNIVERSITY BULLETIN(13): Citation 63-80

Issue Date 2007

URL http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12001/8061

Rights 名桜大学 名桜入学紀要 13号 63-80(2007) TransfbmationofNaturalElementsin PersianArt:theFlora

FarrokhShayesteh

ABSTRACT ThlSpaperisthefirstofatwo-partstudyonthetransformationofdifferentelementsofnora andfaunainPersianart. Usingcomponentsofnatureasmotifsisnotu】1uSualamongdi丘erentcultures;however,in Persiancultureitiswidespreadanduniquelyrepresentational.UnlikeWesternartthatwaspre- sentationalupuntilmoderntime,Persiana rt,evenbebretheadventofIslam,hasbeenrepresen- tational.Accordingly,throughalteration,deformation,andsimplificationofcomponentsofnature , abstractdesignshavebeencreated. Duringthecourseofthispaper,floraindiverseartformsisdiscussedinordertodemonstrate thecreativebreadthofabstractdesigns.Examples丘.omancienttimestothepresentareexamlned tosupportthisconclusion.

Keywords:Abstraction,presentatiorVrepresentation,Persian ar t,Dora

ペルシャ美術における自然物表現に関する研究 : 植物表現について

フアロック ･シャイヤステ

要旨 本論文はペルシャ美術における動植物表現に関する 2 部か ら成る研究の第 1 部である｡ 様々な文化において､自然物 をモチーフとして取 り入れることは決 して稀ではない｡ペルシャ 文化においては､自然 をモチーフとする表現は多 く､それらは独特な表象性 をもっている｡描 写的な表現 を追及 し続けて きた西洋美術 とは異 な り､ペルシャ美術 はイスラム前 も後 も常に表 象的であ り続けた｡その結果､自然物を修正､変形､そ して単純化することを通 して､抽象化 されたデザ インを創 り出 した｡様々な芸術表現 に見 られる植物 デザ インが､抽象的デザインの 創造へ と発展 してい く過程 を検証することで本研究は進められる｡古代から現代 までの例を挙 げなが ら結論へ と導いてい く｡

キーワー ド:抽象化､描写性/表象性､ペ ルシャ美術 ､植物

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Introduction

Plants and flowers have been extremely important to Persians since ancient times. Most no­ tably the Persian garden was thought of as a place to cultivate, protect, and preserve flora. Among flowers, one of the most beloved in Iran is the rose. The English noun "rose" ultimately comes from Old Persian warda, which was borrowed into Assyrian as wurtinnu, which passed into Aramaic as wurrda, then into Greek (d. Aeolic wrodon) , appearing in the colonial Greek spoken in south­ ern Italy as rhodon, then into Oscan, and from there into Latin as rosa (Wikipedia Encyclopedia). Nevertheless, gol is the word that has not only been used to refer to the rose but also used as as a common name for all flowers. Classical Persian poetry often mentions gol to sig­ nify love metaphorically, such as in the following poem by Hafez:

At dawn, to the garden, to inhale the perfume of the rose Like the nightingale loudly exhale the cure of my head and nose. I was watching the beautiful unfolding of the rose Like a light, the secrets of the night disclose. Proudly its own youth and beauty would transpose Its songs, the nightingale to the peaceful rose owes. Jealous tear of the narcissus ceaselessly flows The tulip submits itself to the heart's throws. The lily's sharp and reproachful tongue grows, The rebellious poppy would loudly oppose. One, in worship of the wine, to the jug, goes on tip-toes One, the drunk bearer, cup in hand, knows with repose. The one who knows joy, youthfully glows Hafiz's is the message the prophets propose. (200)

Rose has been cultivated in Iran, particularly in Fars province, where golab or rosewater is being produced for centuries. The other equally beloved flower is narcissus, or narges as it is called in Persian and which can plentifully be found in and around Shiraz. This flower is originated in Iran and introduced to the outside. The Chinese nai-gi and the Greek narkissos and its English derivative all come from the Persian narges (wikipedia Encyclopedia).

As motifs in Persian art, flora has been used consistently since 2500 B.c. (Figure 1). These motifs have been employed to create beauty in all sorts of art forms from large build­ ings (Figure 2) to small-sized jewelry (Figure 3).

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Figure 1. Ceramic, Lorestan (Okayama Orient Museum Publication 24)

Figure 2. Stairway of Apadana Palace at Persepolis (Iran Chamber Society)

Figur 3. Gold Pomegranate earring (7000 Years of Iranian Art 119)

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Pre-Islam

A unified style emerges in the Achaemenid period (c. 550-330 B.C.). The Achaemenids evolved a monumental style in which relief sculpture is used as an accessory to massive archi­ tectural complexes. One of the earliest examples of such can be found in the remains of the Persepollis palace, which was set on fire by the hand of Alexander. In the sculptural ornaments one can find ordered clarity and simplicity of stylized floral elements (Figures 4 & 5).

Figur 4. Persepollis Palace

Figur 5. Persepollis Palace, detail Figur 4. Persepollis Palace

After the death of Alexander (323 B.C.), there was turmoil in Iran until the rise of the Parthians (c. 250 B.C.). This period provides effectively a fundamental art form, which amalga­ mates Hellenistic motifs with Persian forms. The elaborate floral decoration of a Parthian silver bowl (Figure 6) reflects the political turmoil of the area. An elaborate leaf calyx design--eight long, pointed leaves placed over four ivy leaves--adorns the central medallion on the interior. Just below the lip, a frieze of stepped battlements and tiny leaves encircles the interior of the cup.

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Figure 6. Silver and Gold Bowl 200 B.C. (The Getty Villa)

Throughout these political changes, artists retained stylistic traits of earlier regimes. Although made in a time of established Parthian control, this bowl incorporates elements of Achaemenid Persian and Hellenistic Greek art in its decoration. Of far greater artistic importance is the contribution of the Sassanids, who ruled Persia from 226 A.D. to the middle of the 7th century. Adapting and expanding previous styles and techniques, they rebuilt the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon. There a great palace with a huge barrel vault was constructed using rubble and brick. Sassanid architecture is decorated with carved stone or stucco relief and makes use of colorful stone mosaics. Beautiful gold and silver-gilt vessels (Figure 7), bowls, and ewers were often decorated with hunting scenes or flora in high relief (Figures 8&9), and textiles were decorated with symmetrical heraldic designs (Porada 200-216).

Figure 7. Silver-gilt Vessels, 5th-7th Century (Iran Chamber Society)

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Figure 8. Capital ornamentation Behistan (Khansari, Moghtader and Yavari 48)

Figure 9. Detail of the ornamentation Taq-i-Bustan (Khansari, Moghtader and Yavari 50) The same stylized floral elements are used in Islamic art.

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Paisley

Among the trees, the most loved and represented both in art and literature is the cypress or sarv: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Cypress treer Sa'di Tomb

On the whole, Persian art, both pre-Islamic and Islamic, is representational. Therefore, the keywords for this paper could be deformation, simplification, transformation, and stylization. Perhaps a good example of this kind of transformation is the famous boteh or paisley design. Its basic shape is based on the movement of a cypress tree in the wind (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Cypress tree in the wind

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The distinctive shape of boteh was formed from the convergence of stylized flora and a cress tree. It has been suggested that paisley is also a representation of fractals. The boteh design often incorporates pregnant leeches and a body cavity containing baby leeches (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Cypress tree and branches in the wind

Its Western name derives from the town of Paisley, in Scotland. Paisley was a major site for the manufacture of printed cotton and wool in the 19th century. In Indian culture, boteh was originally an illiterate way for village people to communicate that it was harvest time. In India, the boteh design motif is also known as cashmere. The pattern was adapted in India to its fa­ miliar shape and spread to Scotland when soldiers returning from India brought home cash­ mere wool shawls with boteh design. Scotland adapted the design to weave woolen shawls; hence, the design became known as the Paisley pattern (Figures 13&14).

Figure 13. Boteh

Figure 14. Boteh on fabric

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From the Safavid era (1501-1722/37), the pattern was used to decorate royal regalia, crowns, and court garments, as well as textiles used by the general population. The pattern is still widely popular in Iran; it is woven using gold or silver threads on silk or other high quality textiles for gifts, for weddings and special occasions. In Iran its use goes beyond clothing--­ paintings, jewelry, frescos, curtains, table-clothes, quilts, carpets, garden landscaping, and pot­ tery. Paisley is one of the most recognized patterns in the world. For decorating cheaper cotton fabric, hand stamps were used for printing (Figure 15).

Figure 15. Hand stamp for printing traditional "Boteh" designs

Post-Islam

As Islam spread from nation to nation and region to region, Persian artists combined their geometry with existing traditions, and created a new and distinctive Islamic art form. One char­ acteristic of this era is that one cannot see where a particular pattern starts and where it ends. This effect was intended to express the apparition of the universe (Figure 16) . • " , ".""."t!"~'Dr ·~~fl. ~ '. .~ .~.6:·,Sz. , ~~" .

ill' Figure 16. Tile Work Royal Mosque Esfehan

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Also profound use of mathematical and spiral contour branches along with leaves and flowers was stylized to generate movement (Figure 17).

Figure 17. Arg Ceiling

An interesting representational painting of nature is called gol-o-bolbol or rose and nightin­ gale. Although gol-o-bolbol paintings are not quite abstract, they are beautifully stylized (Dury 219­ 223). The nightingale and rose theme was a traditional one in both painting and poetry well be­ fore the Safavid period. The origins of this theme may be traced to the beginnings of Persian manuscript illustration in the 14th century, where the rose first appears as a discrete motif. Persian painters represented the rose as a metaphor for love and beauty to generate emblematic compositions when creating cover designs (Figure 18).

Figure 18. Lacquer Book-Cover 19th Century (Robinson XV)

In Persia after the advent of Islam, like in other parts of the Moslem world, presentation of living beings was prohibited. Therefore mathematical and geometrical patterns became predomi­ nant motifs. Geometric motifs became popular with Persian artists and designers for decorating almost every surface, whether walls and ceilings (Figure), containers, lamps, book covers or car­ pets (Columbia).

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Carpet

More than any other Persian art forms, carpet design is related to floral elements. There is even a type of Persian carpet called garden carpet (Figure 19). It is natural, therefore, to cover this more extensively.

Figure 19. Garden Carpet (Khansari, Moghtader and Yavari 155)

The history of the Persian carpet--a culmination of artistic magnificence--dates back 2,500 years. The Iranians were among the pioneer carpet weavers of the ancient civilizations, having achieved a superlative degree of perfection through centuries of creativity and ingenuity. Fathers have handed down the skill of carpet weaving to their sons as a closely guarded family secret. To trace the history of Persian carpet is to follow a path of cultural growth of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever seen (Ruedin 12-13). In the beginning, carpets were simply functional articles to cover floors and so on. However, as the splendor and elegance of design mounted, carpets could be found in new settings such as the interior of royal courts and mansions of aristocrats, who regarded them as signs of pres­ tige and distinction. The earliest and the oldest known rug discovered in its entirety dates back to the 5th cen­ tury B.C. It was discovered frozen in 1949 in a Scythian burial site in the mountains of Siberia near the northeastern border of Mongolia. The design of this important carpet, called Pazyryk, named after the valley in which it was found, derives from Achaemenid motifs (Figure 20).

Figure 20. Pazyryk carpet (CAIS)

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Historical records show that the Achaemenid court of Cyrus the Great at Pasargade was decked with magnificent carpets. Alexander II of Macedonia was dazzled by the carpets in the tomb area of Cyrus the Great at Pasargade. By the sixth century Persian carpets of wool or silk were renowned in court circles throughout the region. In the eighth century larger centers of carpet making were created all over Iran; however, the Safavid era (1501-1722/37) is considered to be the era most advanced in carpet making (Figure 21).

Figure 21. Carpet safavids

There is much variety among classical Persian carpets of the 18th and 19th centuries. There were numerous sub-regions that contributed distinctive designs to Persian carpets of this period such as Shiraz (Figures 22 a, b, c). Common motifs include scrolling vine networks, arabesques, palmettos, medallions, and overlapping geometric compartments of floral compounds (Figures 22 d, f).

Figure 22 a Figure 22 b

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Figure 22 c

Figure 22 d Figure 22 f

Conclusion

For Persians, the beauty of nature has been of utmost importance. That is why gardens play such an important role in Persian culture---a place to preserve flora for as long as possi­ ble. Nevertheless, flora die and only artists, such as Khayyam in the following poem, have been able to immortalize them through representation:

Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! One thing at least is certain-This Life flies: 0, One thing is certain and the rest is lies; The Flower that once is blown forever dies. (78)

Abstract art in the West did not make its appearance until the beginning of the twentieth century. However, it has been progressing and spreading ever since. Henri Matisse (1869­ 1954) is one of the greatest contemporary abstract painters (Figure 27). He adopted decora­ tive motifs from ancient Persian art. Even some of his works, such as the illustrated book Jazz, published in 1947, "if not based directly on Persian lllustrated manuscripts," shows his

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life-long interest in Persian art (Blair and Bloom 308-9). Flora in Persian art has been transformed steadily throughout years of evolution. And this evolution has always been aiming at transforming natural elements into representations of pure abstract forms. Vegetal elements are stylized and applied as decoration on architectural surfaces (Figure 23) in order to achieve a harmony with the surroundings. Deliberation of simplified patterns, as a unique art form, is functional as well (Figure 25). Moreover, manu­ script illustrations depicting outdoor episodes always treat landscapes not naturalistically but rather through symbolic patterns (Figure 24). These works of art demonstrate a gradual application of alteration, deformation, and simpli­ fication of the components of nature in order to create ornamental vocabularies for abstract de­ signs (Figure 26) and, ultimately, offer themselves as the models for modem abstract art forms.

Figure 23. Painted Stucco (Sims 26)

Figure 24. Painting in an Anthology of Persian Poetic (Khansari, Moghtader and Yavari 59)

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Figure 25. Zand Mosque

Figure 26. Tile Work from Zand Mosque

Figure 27. Henri Matisse, Ivy in Flower (Morgan 88)

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List of illustration

Photographs, unless otherwise indicated, are by the author.

Figure 1. Ceramic, Lorestan 2500 B.C.

Figure 2. Stairway of Apadana Palace at Persepolis, Achaemenid Ceremonial Capital, 5th-4th Century BC.

Figure 3. Gold Pomegranate Earring 1200-1000 B.c.

Figure 4. Relief Apadana Palace

Figure 5. Relief Apadana Palace Detail

Figure 6. Silver and Gold Bowl Parthian 200 B.C.

Figure 7. Sassanids Silver-gilt Vessels, 5th-7th Century

Figure 8. Capital Ornamentation Behistan

Figure 9. Detail of the Ornamentation of Taq-i-Bustan, 5th Century

Figure 10. Cypress Trees Sa'di Tomb

Figure 11. Cypress Tree in the Wind

Figure 12. Cypress Tree in the Wind and Branches

Figure 13. Boteh

Figure 14. Boteh on Fabric

Figure 15. Hand Stamp for Printing Traditional "Boteh" Designs

Figure 16. Tile Work Royal Mosque Esfehan

Figure 17. Arg Ceiling

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Figure 18. Lacquer Book-Cover 19'h Century

Figure 19. Garden Carpet, Seventeenth Century

Figure 20. Pazyryk Carpet, Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, Russia, 5th Century B.c.

Figure 21. Carpet Safavids

Figure 22 a, b, c, d, f. Carpet Examples

Figure 23. Painted Stucco, Nishapur 9th _10th Century

Figure 24. Painting in an Anthology of Persian Poetic, Fars, 1398

Figure 25. Zand Mosque, Shiraz, 19'h Century

Figure 26. Tile Work from Zand Mosque, Shiraz

Figure 27. Henri Matisse, Ivy in Flower, 1953

Works Cited

Blair, S. Sheila and Bloom, M. Janathan. The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994.

Dury, J. Carel. Art of Islam. New York: Harry N. Abrams, INC. Publishers, 1970.

Fitzgerald, Edward. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Milano: Crown Publishers, INC. 1979.

Hafez, Shamseddin. Divan. Tehran: Iranian Study Foundation Press. 1950.

Khansari, Mehdi, M. Reza Moghtader, and Minouch Yavari. The Persian Garden: Echoes of Paradise. Washington DC: Mage Publication, 1998.

Morgan, Genevieve. Matiss the Artist Speaks. San Francisco: Collins Publishers, 1996.

Porada, Edith. The Art of Ancient Iran. New York: Greystone Press, 1969.

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Robinson, B. W. Persian Painting In the India Office Library. London and Bradford: Philip Wilson Publishers, 1976.

Ruedin, E. Gans. The Great of Oriental Carpets. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1983.

Sims, Eleanor. Peerless Images. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002.

Lorestan ceramics. Okayama: Okayama Orient Museum Publication, 1991.

7000 Years of Iranian Art. Washington DC: Smithsonian Publication No. 4535, 1964.

Iran Chamber Society http://w\yw.iranchamber.com!art/ cite visited October 6 2007.

The Columbia Encyclopedia http://www.encyclopedia.com!cite visited November 17 2007.

The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) http://www.cais-soas.com cite visited December 28 2007.

The Getty Villa http://www.getty.edu/ cite visited November 14 2007. wikipedia Encyclopedia http://www.wikipedia.org/ cite visited October 24 2007.

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