Chapter 2: Dr. Mohammad Taqi Hashemian
Factors in the Flourishing and Endurance of Iranian Culture and Art
In Iranian design, a form of Islamic symbolism with mystical roots is present, and aesthetic values are observed in the form of designs and patterns with the features of pure decorative art. Abstract art gains a special place in Iranian design, and the role of the human figure is replaced by Islamic arabesques, vegetal motifs, and other abstract patterns.
Titus Burckhardt’s words perfectly illustrate this cultural evolution in arts like carpet weaving in Iran and other Islamic lands. He writes about the source of realism in Islamic art: “The absence of images in Islam is not merely a negative aspect but has a positive value. Islamic art, by eliminating any anthropomorphic images, at least in the religious sphere, helps humanity to be completely themselves. Instead of reflecting their spirit externally, they can remain at the center of their own being, where they are both the caliph and the servant of God. The goal of Islamic art is generally to create a space that helps humanity in the path of knowing their primordial dignity. Therefore, it avoids any object or form that could become an idol, even relatively or temporarily. Nothing should come between humanity and the hidden presence of God.”
Islamic art thus creates an empty space. It removes all the anxieties and unbridled temptations of the world and, in their place, creates an order and a system that expresses balance, purity, and tranquility. In fact, besides the painter, designer, and artist’s effort to move their creative realm beyond the confines of individuality in an Islamic context, this departure requires drawing from a knowledgeable source that is not explicitly revealed to them within the religion. Before they embark on creation, mysticism has already entered the field of literature, especially poetry, and their words have been able to break the walls of individuality and reach another world, and from the human being in a general sense, create something like pure humanity, the Caliph of God. Thus, the Iranian Muslim artist draws from this source and, by entering the path of mysticism, is able to create the arabesque (Sepehri, 1369, 44). This is the very permanence that is sought, as it has deep roots in religious and mystical thoughts and principles.
The arabesque, or eslimi, is a pattern that has influenced Iranian artistic works more than any other. Arabesques fall into two categories, whose mystical twists and turns Burckhardt beautifully describes. There are two specific types of arabesque designs. The first is formed by the intertwining and interlocking of a great number of geometric stars, whose rays join together to create an intricate and endless pattern. This design is a wonderful symbol of a stage of thought and contemplation during which one comprehends “unity in multiplicity” and “multiplicity in unity.” The other type, generally referred to as the arabesque design, consists of vegetal motifs and simply follows the rules of rhythm. These motifs are so stylized that they have lost any resemblance to nature. In fact, the science of rhythm takes on a graphic quality, and every line, according to a regular rule, is repeated at specific intervals in its complementary forms, and every surface is accompanied by and identical to its inverse (Chitsazian, 1382, 107-108). The arabesque design is logical, balanced, mathematical, and rhythmic, and these features are highly significant for the spirit of Islam, which seeks a balance between intellect and love. The prominent feature of vegetal arabesques is the depiction of movement and genesis that is seen in the heart of nature, be it plant or animal.
In Iranian art, arabesques play an essential role in explaining the mystical concept of multiplicity to unity and the formation of the Shamsa (sunburst medallion). This applies to both the first type of arabesques composed of geometric stars and the vegetal arabesques which, with their special twists, lead all movements and directions to a single path and a unifying point, which is the ultimate symbol of monotheism (Burckhardt, 1365, 68-71).
This principle has provided the basis for the design of a group of arts, especially carpets without animal figures, based on a medallion of shamsa and a background full of arabesque motifs and diverse patterns. The most exquisite of these can be observed during the first Safavid period.
