Handicrafts of Great Khorasan

Handicrafts of Great Khorasan

A Comparative Study of Costume in Illustrations of Zahhak Bound in Jalayirid, Timurid, and Safavid Manuscripts

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Handicrafts, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
2 Master's Student in Handicrafts, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Re-examining costume in Persian manuscript paintings provides a fundamental framework for reconstructing the history of dress and decoding the cultural meanings embedded in textiles. Despite the significance of clothing in the representation of political authority and social hierarchy, there remains a research gap concerning the structural and semiotic analysis of costumes depicted in the Shahnameh, particularly in scenes associated with the transfer of power. This study comparatively analyzes the semiotic functions of costume in the illustrations of Zahhak Bound on Mount Damavand from the Timurid and Safavid periods, together with a Jalayirid manuscript. It seeks to evaluate, from a comparative perspective, how the design and patterns of the garments depicted in this scene were interpreted from the Jalayirid and Timurid periods to the Safavid era. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach and draws upon the concepts of discursive semiotics. The corpus consists of one Jalayirid Shahnameh manuscript (First Tabriz School), two Timurid manuscripts (Baysunghur and Ibrahim Sultan), and three Safavid manuscripts (Shah Tahmasp, Rashida, and Qarchaqay Khan). The findings indicate that, at the descriptive level and in comparison with travel accounts, there are no substantial differences between the two periods regarding the overall structure of layered garments, skirt length, and the types of undergarments. Technical pattern analysis also reveals a shorter qabā length and the addition of folded collars during the Safavid period. Finally, at the discursive-semiotic level, the binary oppositions of “nakedness/clothedness” and “formality/informality” in the costumes of Zahhak and Fereydun generate a coherent discourse of domination, subordination, delegitimization, and social hierarchy. This demonstrates that costume in these illustrations was not merely a realistic representation of historical dress but was deliberately employed by painters as a visual strategy for characterization and the polarization of power.
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  • Receive Date 03 May 2025
  • Revise Date 08 June 2025
  • Accept Date 10 July 2025