Wood carving in Iran during the Ilkhanate period
In the year 616 AH, equal to 598 A.D. (1219 AD), with the advent of Genghis Khan, one of the most formidable Mongols, the devastating Mongol invasion begins. These savages did not spare anything in their invasions, and by killing and looting wherever they went, they brought destruction and left nothing.
They destroyed the largest works of art, looted mosques and set fire to libraries; This Mongol savagery lasted for nearly a century, until eventually, with the rise of Buddhism and then Islam, and especially Shiism, construction and development once again replaced savagery, plunder, and plunder. In fact, after a century of contact with the traditions and beliefs of the Iranian people, they gradually took on a human and Iranian temperament and began to build. During this period, huge buildings were built that were twice as large as those of the Seljuk era, with huge doors and windows.
Among the wooden works of the Ilkhanate period, we can mention the wooden tomb, which dates back to 678 AH, equal to 658 solar (1279 AD) and is kept in the Konya Museum. The carved decorative and plant designs of this shrine have Islamic motifs on the middle part and inscriptions of prophetic hadiths on the edge of the shrine.
Other wooden works of the period include “Three wooden doors in the Istanbul Museum, which are beautiful in terms of extravagant decoration and on them are engraved not only the design of plant shapes but also the shape of lions and peacocks and human figures.” Which is similar to the contemporary decorations of Baghdad and Mosul. Other examples include the Seljuk style of wood carving in the coffin of the tomb of Seyyed Mahmoud al-Hirani in Agh Shahr, and several wooden doors in the Istanbul Museum and the Islamic Museum in Berlin, all of which have beautiful designs and inscriptions in Arabic script.
In the mosque of Bayazid Bastami, belonging to the early eighth century AH, is another exquisite work of this region. This door is very delicately carved and decorated with plant shapes and inscriptions in Kufic script. The noses of these are engraved in geometric, Islamic and building lines with a very precise composition and are considered to be one of the most valuable inlaid works of their time in terms of carving.
Nain Mosque is a combination of Sassanid architectural traditions, consisting of crescent-shaped arches and Sassanid-style decorations. In one of the naves of this mosque, there is a wooden pulpit that dates back to 721 AH, equal to 700 solar years. The pulpit has rectangular inlaid pieces decorated with geometric and Islamic motifs and a third line.
At the time of Oljaito, the beautiful city of Soltanieh was built. Among the buildings built, one of them was Behesht Mansion, and it seems that it was built by the order of Khajeh Taj al-Din Ali Shaw, which had very beautiful and significant decorations. Abu al-Qassem Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Qashani (Kashani) describes it in his History of Oljaito:
“In front of the castle of Amardi Khald, the ritual of building the roof of the roof is all so precious and its doors and walls are made of gold, gold, silver, and jewels, and its surfaces are made of ruby, jewelry, turquoise, and plurals of numbers, teak, gold, ebony, ivory, and flat ivory.” In the Shah, there is a wide screen engraved with a parable that does not fit the forms of allegory and images and its explanations in trickery and expression. “They used it to make furniture and interior decorations.”
One of the greatest achievements of Iranian architecture is the huge dome of Soltanieh. The construction of this building, which is also called Al-Jaito Tomb, was started in 702 AH by the order of Al-Jaito, who took the name of Sultan Mohammad Khodabandeh due to his conversion to Islam, and was completed in 713 AH.
In this building, wood has been used for coiling, making doors with metal cladding, mesh windows (making knots), as well as making fences with eight straight knots and inlaid borders, examples of which have been left today. The knotted fences, which have Islamic motifs on their edges, are made of teak wood, and with the pavements on which they are made, the maps can be clearly distinguished from each other despite their busyness. It is noteworthy that these motifs can be seen on the inlaid entrance of Qassem Lorestan Shrine and also in the technique of engraving that is created centuries later and plays a major role.
Since the eighth century, a number of wooden works have been available in museums in Iran and around the world, which show the evolution of woodcarving. One of the examples of works that were inlaid in 719 AH (698 AH) and reached us is the wooden covering of the tomb of Nasra Khatun in Saruq, Arak. The box is adorned with an inscription in Kufic script on its upper border and abstract patterns engraved on the knot. The third line engraved on the edge of the box is not very elegant, and the artist has not put much effort into smoothing the background. Also, not a lot of masters have been used and the maps have very little pavement on a slope.
Other works of this period include a wooden door with two inlaid inscriptions with inscriptions in Kufic script, which was obtained from the Fars region and the year of its construction is 720 AH. Therefore, in some verses of Surah Al-Imran, along with Islamic and Khatai motifs, it is depicted in the same way as in the previous period, and that is the absence of pavements on the inscriptions, which are considerably simpler.
In this work, what attracts the most attention is the performance of Khatai’s very delicate motifs on Islamic motifs; The patterns created on the pieces are deeper, while the patterns on them are very uniform and proportionate to each other. The Islamic, Khatai motifs, inscriptions, and wicker patterns seen on the edges of the pieces all have considerable power in performance, but cleanliness and polish have not yet been used as they deserve.
The inlaid door of Imamzadeh Ghasem in Aligudarz is another valuable wooden work that has been carved and decorated with intertwined Islamic motifs and geometric designs along with Quranic verses. On the nose of the door, Surah Tawhid with geometric motifs and in the passages the history of Islamic construction and motifs that are very similar to the bedrock of the Seljuk era are seen. They were built about two decades ago.
Another valuable work of the eighth century AH is a box made of sandalwood, which seems to have been the work of Isfahan artists. Decorated with Khetai motifs and legendary birds and animals, the box has simple pavements and no background of deep motifs, but the fit of the maps is very commendable.
Due to being located on the shores of the Caspian Sea and having vast forests with beautiful and hardwoods, Gilan, Mazandaran and Gorgan have always been considered as places that have many wooden works. Most of the surviving artifacts dating to the eighth century AH are mostly found in mosques, tombs and shrines.
The inlaid door of Imamzadeh Ghasem in Aligudarz is another valuable wooden work that has been carved and decorated with intertwined Islamic motifs and geometric designs along with Quranic verses. On the nose of the door, Surah Tawhid with geometric motifs and in the passages the history of Islamic construction and motifs that are very similar to the bedrock of the Seljuk era are seen. They were built about two decades ago.
Another valuable work of the eighth century AH is a box made of sandalwood, which seems to have been the work of Isfahan artists. Decorated with Khetai motifs and legendary birds and animals, the box has simple pavements and no background of deep motifs, but the fit of the maps is very commendable.
Due to being located on the shores of the Caspian Sea and having vast forests with beautiful and hardwoods, Gilan, Mazandaran and Gorgan have always been considered as places that have many wooden works. Most of the surviving artifacts dating to the eighth century AH are mostly found in mosques, tombs and shrines.
The wooden pulpit of the Syrian Mosque of Bavanat Fars, which was built in 771 AH, is another masterpiece of woodcarving. This pulpit was built by Khajeh Izz al-Dawla, the parents of Muzaffar al-Molk. Has used a combination. The side fences with the role of Shamsha Hasht are made in a simple way and the sides and stairs of the pulpit are made using the role of Hasht Tabardar with the combined method of pen and lat. The inlaid works on the margins and fragments include plant and geometric motifs that have been paved with extraordinary elegance.
Cleaning and polishing of the designs and background of the work is another prominent feature; On the sides of the upper border and at the entrance to the pulpit, there are beautiful Islamic motifs that are painted with red and blue backgrounds and could have emphasized the decoration of the work. The presence of a low-rise pulpit can be examined.
Undoubtedly, the sanctity of the preacher’s place, which was once the Prophet’s place, could have been a reason for the existence of the door, and the reason for the short height was that the preacher put aside arrogance and pride when he entered, bowing to the Creator and the place. After the ceremony, he bowed his head in front of the audience and left the pulpit, which is one of the signs of the presence of morality, greatness and greatness of the people of Iran.