Handicrafts of Great Khorasan

Handicrafts of Great Khorasan

Diversity of Zoomorphic Representation on Khorasan Metal Containers in Seljuk Art

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Affiliation: Ferdows Institute of Higher Education
Abstract
The representation of animals in Iranian works of art has had a valuable place for a long time, so that even after Islam, despite the restrictions, it has continued to exist in an innovative way in the construction and decoration of objects. One of the brilliant fields of animal representation is the Seljuk era metalwork in the Khorasan region, which is very impressive due to the variety of animal species and their creative representation. This research was carried out with the aim of identifying the variety of zoomorphic representation in the metal containers of Khorasan. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical and all available samples have been taken into consideration. The results of the research show four forms of representation: 1-Zoomorphic illustrations: they are flat pictures that are drawn with different techniques 2-Zoomorphic reliefs: embossing of animals, especially harpies, lions, hawks, eagles, and horses, are featured on the body of some dishes. 3-Zoomorphic accessories: Container accessories in the form of handles, bases, doors, locks, and gutters, or related to them. 4-Zoomorphic containers: containers that are designed in the form of an animal organ. Also, the results show that accurate identification of some animal species is not possible. Therefore, the names of animals that can be identified to some extent are also given. Real animals include: lion, cat, lynx, cheetah, cow, goat, rabbit, hound, fox, camel, horse, deer, gazelle, goose, duck, pigeon, rooster, pheasant, peacock, eagle, hawk, fish, crab And scorpions and legendary creatures include: harpy, sphinx, griffin and dragon.
Keywords

Volume 2, Issue 5 - Serial Number 5
Winter 2024
Pages 119-142

  • Receive Date 11 December 2023
  • Revise Date 17 January 2024
  • Accept Date 12 March 2024