Wood carving Iran in the Abbasid era
At the beginning of the second century AH, in the year 132 AH (129 CE), a very important event took place, which was the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty by the Abbasid caliphs. This incident had a great impact on the fate of the Islamic world, especially Islamic culture and art. French writer Andre Godard writes:
With the rise of the Abbasid caliphs, the supremacy of Iranian influence emerged. With the relocation of the government headquarters to Baghdad, the Arabs were nothing less than a passionate minority among the various new nations of Islam. Fortunately, the Arab atrocities did not last long, and after the rule of Bani Abbas, a great cultural movement emerged; This means that one of the great Abbasid caliphs, Mansour, who was himself a scientist, promoted science and art and established prestigious scientific and cultural institutions in the capital, Baghdad.
Soon, the Arabs, who had lost their temper and lost contact with the people of the conquered lands and became interested in settlements and civilizations in spite of the desires and orders of Umar and other Salaf rulers, began to build buildings that competed beautifully with the buildings of their predecessors. . From this date, the mixing of Iranian art and Arab religion begins; And from now on, new Islamic art and crafts will be published from the East to India and from the West to Spain.
In spite of all this, the Center for the Art of the Islamic Nations and the custodian of the secrets and artistic secrets of Muslims has always been the country of Iran. As we have said before, in the early days of Islam there was a great deal of prominence in decorations. Instead, the use of various colors and goldsmiths played a very important role in Islamic art, which, unfortunately, has been badly damaged by many in the past. The inlays that have been made and the rest of this period are not very deep and very simple pavements have been done on them. In fact, many works have not been paved. Of course, this does not mean that they were unable to do so, but that religious prohibition could have caused it.
In their mysterious dreams, Muslims consider it absolutely impossible to see nature. Not surprisingly, Islamic artists have replaced some forms of aesthetic geometric designs such as Islamic, ivy, and geometric designs with natural flowers and nature, so that the flowers are so deformed and stylized that they are almost unrecognizable. In fact, no art has been so far removed from realism. “One of the characteristics of Islamic art is the almost complete absence of non-architectural paintings and sculptures.
These arts have a complementary and complementary aspect in architecture. It could not be otherwise, because the religion of Islam forbids any visual array of living beings. Similarly, the Prophet (pbuh) and the hadiths that complement the Qur’an state: “Do not paint the dark days of the one who paints the rulers, the human beings, or the living beings, except the trees, the flowers, or the inanimate objects.” Considering the issues raised and according to the famous narration, breaking the idols and destroying the existing paintings around the Kaaba house by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and stating verse 81 of Surah Bani Israel, “the truth has come and falsehood has been destroyed and truth has triumphed over falsehood.”
Also, “the Prophet’s protection from the painting of Hazrat Maryam Azra, who was apparently later burned in a fire,” suggests that Islam is not inherently inconsistent with illustration, which has led to associating partners with God and polytheism, and therefore almost all Muslims. Because drawing attention to living images is considered idolatry, they are not allowed to draw such maps. But the Iranians, who inherited the ancient Assyrian art, did not refrain from depicting images of living things, both human and animal, in their works of art by embracing Islam.
However, with the acceptance of Islam, artists could not create works of art as in the past, and the absence or lack of works in early Islam could not be other than the reasons given. Many researchers around the world believe that Iranians have used careful studies in nature to invent and create original and valuable works of art that have expanded the scope of their possibilities and provided them with a new horizon of materials and manufacturing system and production method. . The task of art is to chart the general and original beauty that is in nature. Muslims have based aesthetics on geometry and order, but they have stylized nature.
Muslim artists believed that nature was so diverse that man could never play the exact same role, but that he should discover the order in which it could be used to achieve beautiful forms.
“Islamic art is perhaps the most magnificent art form, and if it weren’t for the religious ban on the existence of living things in Islamic art in the form of paintings and sculptures, it would have been possible to make it one of the most perfect arts in the world,” said Martin. Let’s count.
Remains from different periods in mosques, tombs, tombs, and especially shrines show that people have always done their best to preserve, preserve, develop and expand these buildings, as far as the most valuable works are concerned. Art in various disciplines from different periods has been collected in these sacred buildings. The most exquisite and delicate tiles, woodwork and inlays, sculptures, metal works, bedding, mirrors, etc. can be searched in these buildings. Just as the gate of the palace is a view of the respectable and forbidden city behind it, the entrance of the tomb with its grandeur and beauty somehow expresses the greatness and holiness of the buried character. The gate has been one of the most prominent features of a tomb that could have surpassed another tomb in its own way.
Another example of valuable works made of wood in the Islamic era is the pulpit; The pulpit was originally a chair on a platform, and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used it for the first time in Medina because many of his followers could see him and hear his words. The construction of the pulpit and the carvings on it became common during the Benjamin period. After the Prophet, the caliphs considered sitting on the pulpit to be one of the ceremonies, so carving on the pulpits showed manifestations of art at that time. In any case, what is known today as the pulpit and is seen in most mosques, after 750 AD (133 AD).
During this time, carving on various materials such as wood, ivory, etc., grew and expanded with the development of the Umayyad government and the settlement of people in government centers, and gradually approached an identity independent of the earlier arts. It was at this time that other elements entered the decoration of the mosques. One of them was a wooden wall. This wall surrounded the pulpit and the place of worship of the caliph, which is in fact the culprit. John Hugh believes that the plan to build a protective wall and add it to the mosque belongs to Mu’awiyah (664-665 AD) or Marwan (685-685 AD).
In the early days of Islam in Iran, the woodworking and woodcarving industry had its past routine, and probably the only fundamental change that occurred in them was the difference in their engraving; During this period, wood was used in the construction of buildings, columns, door sills, roof slats, inlaid doors, various types of windows, chests, steps and pulpits, agricultural tools, carts, and many other items. Remains of this period include the doors and pulpit of the mosque that Abu Muslim Khorasani built in Neishabour around 130 solar years (751 AD) and was completed during the reign of Amr ibn Laith Saffar. There are also other valuable artifacts dating back to the early second half of the third century AH, during the reign of Amr ibn Laith Saffari, including a wooden hinge belonging to the Atiq Mosque in Shiraz, which is housed in the Pars Museum. Some collectors did not provide a specific picture.
If we want to examine the cultural and artistic activities of ancient Iran, it is worthwhile to go beyond the current borders and examine the culture and art of neighboring countries that were once part of the vast land of Iran, because we are talking about current borders. Traditional art is a completely irrational work, so in examining the art of woodcarving in Iran, an attempt is made to pay attention to the areas that were considered part of Iran until a few centuries ago, and during the introduction and analysis of current Iranian wooden works, examples of countries Neighbor (Old Iran) should also be brought.
Underfood has acquired two wooden pillars in the West Turkestan region (Central Asia) in excavations dating to the third century AH. Their decorations are very similar to the plasterwork and decorations created in the Nain Grand Mosque.
In the Museum of the Islamic Era, there is a wooden inscription in Kufic script with the name of Musa Ibn Ahmad belonging to the fourth century AH. The inscription, which is carved on a piece of wood about 15 by 20 centimeters long, is very similar to the plasterwork and brickwork of its time, and the depth of its carving is about 5 centimeters; The prominence of the plant motifs around the inscription is lower, and with the grooves that have formed around the lines and the center of the stems, as well as the brittleness around the lines, it has added to the beauty of the work. At the top and back of the work, there are inscriptions in smaller Kufic lines that are less elegant than the front, but are very interesting and catchy.
The two-syllable door made of sycamore with compressed lines, patterns, and very simple in the Behbahan region was built around the fourth and fifth centuries AH, which includes verses from the Qur’an (Surah Yasin) and the prayers of Hazrat Sajjad (AS) and Sahib al-Zaman (as). Aj) which is kept in the Museum of the Islamic Era of Tehran. Plant carvings are engraved on the pieces, which have a small depth. There are also lines on the passages and bao that have relatively few pavements so that only the passage and connection of the dams are separated; The inlays are not very clean and elegant, the maps are vague and the lines and inscriptions are difficult to read.
Another important cultural and artistic center in the past was the city of Ghazni. In the fifth century AH (11 AD), the arts and crafts flourished in this city and enjoyed significant progress in the art of carving. One of the most valuable wooden works of the fifth century AH in the tomb of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni; The door, which is housed in the Arche Agre Museum in India, consists of four latches connected in pairs by metal hinges (hinges), each with seven decorative frame frames embossed beautifully with Islamic and Khatai motifs. have became.
The few pavements that have been made on these decorative frames make the surface look numerous, and this work best shows the mastery and skill of the artists of that time. The decorations of this door can be compared with the plaster designs in the mosques of Iran, such as the Nain Grand Mosque, the old part of the Ardestan Grand Mosque, and the altar designs of the Neyriz Grand Mosque.
An inlaid tombstone is housed in the Freer Gallery, which dates back to the 5th century AH (11th century AD). The decoration of this door is very busy, but it has not been paved like the previous works. The designs created on this door are done in the form of concentric and square circles and have Kufic (Mazhar) lines and Islamic and Khatai motifs. In the four squares of the corners, an Islamic role can be seen. The other four squares in the middle of the door, along with two small circles that are all around the large central circle, are decorated with the names of Allah, Muhammad, Hassan, Hussein, Ali, and Fatima, and are examples of doors that rotate on the heel.
