The homeland is the only legacy
That can never be
Spent,
Gifted,
Or sold.
I, Amir Sharifi, believe that alongside all the daily life routines, amid all the round-the-clock preoccupations, and in the continuation of all efforts for growth and progress, one can think about the homeland. I want to, alongside all my political and social struggles for the women of my land against gender inequalities, forced hijab, child motherhood and child marriage, legal inequalities, and all the endless oppressions of oppressors, and in preserving and promoting the historical flag of my country, the Lion and Sun, which is our true and authentic flag, make an effort to introduce the 5000-year-old culture and art of Iran, and through measured planning, I want to create a regular column under the title of Iranian Art in this quarterly magazine. I am proud to announce right here that this art column under my supervision will introduce you to the seven arts in Iran without any censorship.
The Seven Arts
Art, due to the wide range of active fields in it, is divided into many sub-branches, but there is a general categorization for all artistic fields which are colloquially called “the Seven Arts”, which we will briefly introduce each of them in the world and Iran.
The First Art: The Art of Music
One of the most important pillars of today’s life includes a melody that creates a connection or even an understanding of unwritten concepts. Professor Greenberg describes the art of music as follows: “The art of music means sound in the present moment.” It can be said that by giving an identity to this art as a comprehensive concept that is understandable in time,place and any culture, we can now say that we have a better understanding of it and have created a platform for its growth. Perhaps the biggest obstacle in the way of research in the history of music in Iran before Islam, or generally the history of music in Iran, is the lack or even absence of sufficient resources. Unfortunately, for various reasons, such as numerous wars, the existing resources are very limited. This limitation in some periods goes so far that we can only refer to the existence of music in that period and nothing more.
The historical periods of Iranian music can be divided into three main periods:
- The history of music in Iran | Pre-Islamic era (mythical and ancient period) includes:
Periods of: Elamites (Elamians), Medes period, Achaemenid period, Parthian (Arsacid) period, Sassanid period
- The history of music in Iran | Post-Islamic era. Includes:
Periods of: The era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, Umayyad era, Abbasid Caliphate era
- The history of music in Iran during the contemporary era
The second Art: The Art of Performative Movements
Performative art, which began in the 17th century in Britain, means conveying a story or concept through physical movements that can take place individually or collectively. It includes dance, opera, and circus.
Different kinds of dance are popular among Iranians, including ceremonial dances, local dances, and traditional dances. Theater or performance in Iran has a long history. The theater in Iran dates back to ancient times. Later, unique Iranian performance styles such as Ta’ziyeh, Rouhowzi, tent theater, and siah bazi were formed. Modern theater took root in Iran during the Qajar era.
The Third Art: Visual Arts
The arts of painting, sculpture, design, photography, graphics, collage, and calligraphy, as well as the arts that find their place within these forms, can be considered visual arts. The artist in visual art strives, using artistic tools and drawing, which is also considered another form of visual art, to express their intended concept to the audience.
Painting: Research and study on Iranian painting began in the early 20th century. Iranian painting includes a variety of works from prehistoric times to recent centuries that were created based on various themes. The works of Iranian painting in prehistoric times were more of a religious and decorative nature, but over time, epic, mystical, ethical, romantic, religious, and spiritual themes found their way into painting works.
Calligraphy: Calligraphy, or beautiful writing, means creating visually beautiful texts and someone who possesses this art is called a caligrapher. calligraphy in Iran and territories influenced by it such as Middle Eastern countries, Afghanistan, and the Indian subcontinent, gradually formed around Iranian culture.
Sculpture: The history and tradition of sculpture in Iran date back to ancient times, and archaeologists believe the earliest works of sculpture date from five thousand years ago. In fact, the art of sculpture is a process that involves the creation of a three-dimensional figure; this three-dimensional volume is referred to as a statue, figure, or sculpture. In the past, sculpture involved carving or giving volume to materials such as stone, metal, wood, and clay, but today it is carried out with various processes and different materials.
Sculpture: The art of sculpture in Iran dates 5,000 years. The surviving works have religious aspects and tribal beliefs, and special attention is paid to animal figures.
Sculpting,influenced by Assyrian art during the Achaemenid era, it is associated with Iran in a different way, delicately and naturalistically, with religious aspects and events.
Design: If we consider design as the most accessible tool of creativity and an inherently creative act to express the artist’s relationship with the environment and inner beings, its history in the West begins with the Renaissance, and in Iran, it starts approximately in the middle of the Qajar era.
Photography: The history of photography in Iran and the beginning of photography in our country, according to available documents and information, dates to the eighteenth-century, three years after the announcement of the existence of this art in France. The beginning of this art and industry in Iran was during the Qajar period, and its peak and expansion is attributed to the reign of Naser al-Din Shah.
Graphics: Graphics, in the dictionary meaning “scratching”, is a term whose concept is very broad today. The graphic industry can be considered to include all techniques and activities leading to printed work. But this concept has gone even further today and graphics can be tied to visual media. The first attempts of Iran to approach the world’s graphics might be recognized in the works of Sani’ ol Molk. In many sources, Sani’ ol Molk is mentioned as the first graphic designer in Iran.
Collage: Collage art is the act of sticking together and connecting pieces of objects such as paper, newspaper pieces, photos, etc. on a surface. Nowadays, the spirit of collage is much more important for our generation of artists than in the past. Collage describes a wide spectrum of artistic techniques that rely on the reproduction of images that have previously been created and finds materials in new combinations. Although, due to some doubts and hesitations in the past, “collage art” was considered less than painting and sculpture, its role as a tool for the avant-gardes in the twentieth century was somewhat overlooked.
The Fourth Art: Visual Arts
Visual arts can be seen as a common thread for areas such as architecture, decoration, sculpture, caricature, fashion design, glassmaking, handicrafts, and many other arts.
Because of its expansive scope within the art world, the visual arts are considered one of the most important pillars of art, portraying different situations or “points” within a set and connecting them in the best possible way.
Architecture in Iran: Architecture is one of the oldest forms of art in Iran. The remaining works of architecture indicate that Iran was one of the first centers of urbanization, dam building, and engineering. The history of this art spans at least 5,000 years before Christ, from Syria to northern India and the coasts of China, from the Caucasus to Zanzibar, and is characterized by a specific diversity.
Decoration: Iranian decoration style tends more towards traditional styles, which greatly distinguishes it from other interior styles. The main feature of Iranian decoration is the harmonious combination of simplicity and beauty, and this style is recognized among other nations precisely for this feature. If you compare Iranian decoration with other prominent world styles, you will notice that Iranian living rooms generally appear with very few vibrant colors and pay more attention to classic patterns in upholstered furniture or rugs. The main elements in Iranian houses are hand-woven carpets and rugs, which are symbols of Iranian art and culture.
Caricature: The background of the formal entry of caricature into the Iranian press is deeply connected with Molla Nasreddin weekly, which was printed on the eve of the Constitutional Revolution in the Caucasus. For the first time, press caricature, in the sense of humorous critique of political and social relations, was brought to Iran by skilled cartoonists and artists of this magazine, and it became one of the backgrounds for the emergence and growth of press caricatures in Iran.
Fashion Design: An art in which the fashion designer, knowing the needs of customers and his craft, focuses his efforts on drawing an idea of a dress. After drawing the design, with the knowledge he has of different types of fabric, he determines the fabric needed for the idea, brings out the main patterns of the dress with the knowledge of draping, and then hands it over to the tailor and seamstress for sewing. Of course, depending on the designer’s interest in sewing and executive stages, the sewing can also be done by the designer himself, but usually, this is not the designer’s job.
Glassmaking: The first Iranian glass in the form of beads dates back to the end of the Bronze Age (1600 BC) and was discovered during excavations at Din-Khah Tepe in Iranian Azerbaijan by Charles Burney. Glass tubes belonging to the Middle Elamite period were discovered by French archaeologists in Chogha Zanbil. In Hasanlu Tepe and Marlik Tepe in northern Iran, mosaic glass cupsdating back to the Iron Age have been found. These cups are similar to the ones in Mesopotamia and the ones found in Susa at the end of the Elamite period.
Handicrafts in Iran:
Types of handicrafts and their subcategories
Handwoven Textiles: Iranian hand-knotted carpets are a full reflection of Iranian culture, authenticity, and art. This genuine art has been preserved throughout the past centuries by the skilled hands of Iranian artisan weavers. Iranian handwoven carpets are woven with specific knotting techniques, and the weaver ties the yarn in a particular way around the warp strands. One of the main criteria for determining the quality level of a carpet can be found in the type of fibers used in its pile (yarn). These handicrafts include the following types:
Carpets and Rugs
All-wool Rugs
Wool-silk Rugs
Silk-wool Rugs
Flower Rugs
All-silk Rugs
Kilim: Kilim is a simple handwoven textile made from warp (cotton or wool) and weft (wool) that is usually woven with domestic animal wool, and each region has its own design. It is generally used as a carpet. The weaving of Kilim may have other uses besides a carpet among tribes, with some variations. Its types include:
Double-sided Kilim
Single-sided Kilim
Single-sided Kilim with a combination of rug weaves
Gabbeh
Zilu
Machine-Made Textiles: Traditional weaving is a broad spectrum of textiles that were woven with two-harness, four-harness (harnesses in weaving machines are responsible for separating the warps and play a significant role in creating the pattern and design), hand jacquard, and pattern devices, and are still being woven in some old weaving workshops. They include the following types:
Jajim
Moj
Jajimche
Mashte
Flat-woven Gilimche
Aherami
Chente
Palas
Bath Bag
Fabrics: Iranians’ skill and ingenuity in the art of weaving have a very long history. On the blade of a hollow axe, which was found with the pottery of the first Shush era, due to the impact of copper salts, the impression of a fabric that had been wrapped around it remained. From this, it is clear that about three to three and a half thousand years BC, weaving delicate fabrics, even with an accurate spinning wheel, was common. Types include:
Luxury Fabrics: Zarbaft (Gold Fabric), Velvet, Embossed Velvet, Termeh, Daryayi- embroidery, Silk embroidery.
Other Fabrics: Aba, Bark, Karbas, Metghal, Armak-bafi, Shemad, Sherbafi, Aherami, Chadorshab-bafi, Rug Cover, and Curtain.
Traditional Embroidery: Embellishing fabric with the use of a needle and hook, with the help of colored threads, is called embroidery. The high value of this art, in addition to being hand-stitched by girls and women, is also due to the preservation of authentic traditional Iranian designs and patterns. Embroidery and production of gold-threaded fabric in Iran has a history dating back to the third century BC. Iranians stitched images of grape leaves and tendrils with golden threads on woolen fabric, and in later centuries, Byzantine needlework was a replica of Iranian products. This art includes the following subcategories:
Types of stitching on fabric:
Baluchi needlework, needlework, Darvish Tafresh needlework, Baluch needlework, Turkmen needlework,
Mamegan needlework,
Ajideh needlework,
Sistan cream embroidery,
Manjook embroidery,
Sistan black embroidery,
Naqdeh embroidery,
Pateh embroidery,
Pulak embroidery,
Bukhara embroidery,
Coin embroidery,
Naqsh embroidery,
Zogreh embroidery,
Ribbon embroidery,
Patched embroidery,
Melileh embroidery,
Golabatoon embroidery,
Khos embroidery,
Zoroastrian embroidery,
crochet and its types:
Isfahan crochet,
Rasht crochet.
Types of stitching inside the fabric:
Spring embroidery,
Skemeh embroidery,
Attaching other materials to the fabric such as:
Qeitan embroidery,
Dey-Yek embroidery,
Pileh embroidery.
Metal handcrafts: Generally, refers to industries that have metal as their raw material, and with the help of various tools, they can change the shape of the metal and turn it into a device or something else. It includes the following sub-branches:
Stationery making,
Copper embossing,
Ring making,
Metal engraving,
Tool making,
Composite metal works and their types:
Pen making,
Chelnegari,
Weapon making,
Metal lattice work,
Zamudgari,
Shrine making,
Melileh work,
Lock making,
Sign making,
Goldsmithing,
Casting,
Knife making,
Hammering and its types:
Jewelry making,
Gold beating,
Silver beating.
Enameling: Enameling is an art with a history of about five thousand years that is used to beautify jewelry and various vessels. This art is a combination of fire and earth that is mixed with the art of painting and creates beautiful designs. According to some experts,in the process of comparing Byzantine enamels with Iranian works, this art took shape in Iran and was then transferred to other countries. Its types include:
- Khanebandi enameling
- inlaid enamel
- painted enamel
Pottery: In Iran, pottery dates back more than 10,000 years. The oldest pottery wheel and kiln in the world were found in Shush. The oldest etched pottery vessels also originate from Iran. “In this location (Sialk Kashan), red clay vessels have been discovered, which seem to be more advanced in terms of industry than previous vessels, and it is clear that they were made in early kilns. In the fourth millennium BC, the people living in the plains of Iran made more progress in their daily lives.” Unglazed pottery includes hand pottery, wheel pottery, and embossed pottery.
Glazed pottery includes:
Slipware pottery,
Glazing,
Painting on glaze,
Painting under glaze.
Tilework: Tilework itself has several types: seven-color tile, marquetry tile, gold-fam tile, enamel tile, engraved tile.
Golden pottery, enamel pottery, beadmaking, and crockery.
Glassblowing or Glassmaking: A Greek play written by Aristophanes before Christ mentions crystal glasses in Persepolis. A necklace with blue glass beads and an age of 2250 years in northern Iran, and pieces of green glass dating back to prehistoric times in Lorestan and Shush are some of the evidence of the growth and prevalence of this industry in Iran. Methods:
Blow glassmaking,
Mold blow glassmaking,
Glass engraving, Enamel painting on glass,
Reverse glass painting, Water glasswork,
Frosting,
A combination of glass and metal.
Woodcraft: According to writings by Greshman, a famous French Iranologist, and evidence, we can observe the use of wood during periods when the Aryans had not yet migrated to Iran, approximately 4200 years BC. Research shows that at that time in the city of Shush, wood was used to make ladders. In addition, 5000 years BC, evidence of the use of wood was also observed in the city of Fasa, indicating that Iranians at that time used wood to create various tools. Different branches of this art include:
Sculpture,
Instrument-making,
Latticework,
Frame making,
Wood burning,
Marquetry,
Wickerwork,
Carving,
Inlaid marquetry,
Fretwork,
Carving,
Embossing,
Turning,
Knotting,
Painting on wood,
Weaving,
Twig weaving.
Stone Handicrafts:
Stone handicrafts are the most enduring Iranian heritage, a civilization spanning several thousand years. This ancient legacy, dating back centuries before Christ, still remains a historical and national identity for modern people. This thousand-year-old legacy, consisting of unique and diverse manifestations, can illustrate the ancient and brilliant history of this land. According to the remaining evidence, the age of Iranian stone handicrafts goes back 8,000 years to the Neolithic era. Subcategories of these crafts include stone carving, stone turning, stone inlay, stone lattice work, stone engraving, stone inlaid work, and turquoise setting.
Miniature Painting: It is a type of delicate and intricate Iranian painting that was primarily used in the past for decorating literary, scientific, and medical books or separately (inlaid). Today, it has moved beyond the scope of book decoration. The comprehensive name that encompasses all its aspects is Iranian painting.
Gilding
Making adhesives and oils Inlay
Making beads
Flowers and Birds
Making parchment paper
Carpet and Kilim design
Making polishing board
Pencil Design
Knotting
Boom creation
Making pen and brush
Traditional prints: All products that are brush, mold, stencil, colored, and pattern receptive are called traditional prints. In dyeing, all parts of the fabric become monochrome, but in traditional printing, you can create the desired pattern on the background using one or several colors. In the past, traditional printing was done in cities like Isfahan, Shiraz, Borujerd, Hamedan, Rasht, Kashan, Nakhchivan, Yazd, Semnan, Gonabad, Najafabad, the villages of Farsan, Gazborkhar, Khorzarg, Barkhvar, Lenjan, Sabreh, and so on. Borujerdi Qalamkar fabrics were of utmost importance.
Printing on paper
Printing on fabric and its types: Qalamkar, Kalafei, knotted
Furrier: From 550 BC to 244 AD, Iranian clothing and armor were made of leather and leather finishing was one of the important jobs of that time and was passed on through generations. From 244 to 650 AD, tanners and leather embroiderers had a guild (professional association). In Iran throughout history, the most important leather centers were Khorasan and Transoxiana (cities like Tus, Bukhara, Neyshabur, and Merv). After Islam in Iran, the leather finishing industry flourished, and Iranian leather, especially lamb skin, gained international fame. During the Safavid period, Iranian leather, which was the finished skin of the sheep, was mainly exported to Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and India. During the Qajar period, along with the decline of many industries, the leather industry also suffered a recession. At this time, precious leathers were imported from Russia. This art has been popular in the eastern and northeastern regions of Iran since ancient times and is very similar to Afghan products.
Felt Making: Felt is a type of traditional woven underlay that is made from wool. The wool used for making felt is spring sheep’s wool with long fibers. Soap and egg yolk can also be used to improve the quality of the work. The amount of wool needed for each square meter of felt is equal to the amount of wool needed for making a carpet, but since the production time for felt is much shorter (about one day), its price is lower.
Felt making is popular in the provinces of Kermanshah, Mazandaran, Khorasan, Semnan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, etc.
Mat Weaving: It means weaving strands obtained from plant fibers (cellulosic) using hands and simple tools, resulting in various products such as mats, straw tablecloths, various baskets, various containers, etc. Handmade mats in different parts of Iran vary according to the type of raw materials available. For example, in the southern strip of Iran, date palm fibers are used, and in the northern strip, rice and wheat stalks are used. On the other hand, the use of the produced items varies in shape and size according to the needs of the people of that region.
Types of Mat Weaving:
Boria weaving
Chigh weaving
Bamboo weaving
Kapo weaving
Torkeh weaving
Argavan weaving
Marvar weaving
Cham weaving
Leather Handicrafts: Ancient Iranians used animal skins such as buffalo, cow, and sheep to write on them, and Ibn Yamin referred to the writing of Darius’s commands on leather in his writings. Writings related to after the Mongol invasion, from Khwaja Rashid al-Din, indicate that the leather and skin trade in Iran was booming, these documents testify to the fame of some cities like Tabriz and Shiraz during this period. During the Qajar period, various types of leather were produced in large quantities in Iranian cities. Hamedan was an important center for the production of a type of leather known as Hamedani leather, which was made from sheepskin.
The first leather factory in the country was built by the late Sadeghiani, named Khosravi Leather Making, in 1929 in the city of Tabriz.
Related fields to this form of art are:
Leather engraving
Saddle making
Burning on leather
Leather marquetry
Traditional Coloring: The use of mineral and organic materials (plant and animal), for the purpose of using their colors in Iran, has a long history and at least the communities living in Iran from the 8000 BC used colorants. Gradually with experience, the range of color use expanded and was used in various forms.
Types of traditional color production:
Making plant-based colors
Making animal-based colors
Making mineral-based colors
Making chemical-based colors
Ink making and types: miniature ink, calligraphy ink.
Traditional dyeing: Traditional dyeing refers to introducing thecolor to the fibers and natural materials in a dye bath with dyes and auxiliary materials in order to create color diversity.
Types of traditional dyeing are classified into two types: cold baths and hot baths. The cold bath is used for dyeing various types of paper and wood, and the hot bath is used for fibers and fabrics.
Dyeing on paper
Dyeing on silk
Dyeing on wood
The fifth art: Literary Arts
Literature can be seen as a symbol of the various dimensions of society and the culture of its past and present. Literature has long been the best way to convey emotions and create connections with other humans. Therefore, humans throughout history have decided to give a new aspect to this ancient relationship. Arts such as writing, poetry, storytelling, travelogues, screenplays, and many other derivatives in this field can all be considered part of literary art.
Persian literature refers to literature written in Persian. Persian literature has a history of eleven hundred years. Persian poetry and Persian prose are the two main types of Persian literature. Some old books on non-literary subjects such as history, prayer, and various sciences also have literary value and have become classic works of Persian literature over time.
The reputation of some Iranian poets and writers has extended beyond Iran’s borders. Poets and writers like Ferdowsi, Saadi, Hafez Shirazi, Rumi, Omar Khayyam, and Nezami have international fame. Among the recognized figures of contemporary Persian literature in the world, one can refer to Sadegh Hedayat in story writing and Ahmad Shamlou in poetry.
The Sixth Art: Performing Arts
According to scholars in this field, “one of the most prominent features in humans is the establishment of communication through stories and listening to and remembering them and teaching and learning in their context.”
Arts such as theater, play performance, storytelling, and poetry, as well as derivatives of this type of art, are considered performing arts. Generally, this art is associated with elements such as role, audience, performance time, text, and performance location, which, together, become a conceptual amalgam that presents a role and a story to the audience.
Theater or performance in Iran has a long history. The history of theater in Iran dates to ancient times. Later, distinctive Iranian theatrical styles like Ta’zieh, Rouhozi, Khaymah-Shab-Bazi, and Siah-Bazi were formed. Modern theater took root during the Qajar era. Today, theater in Iran is one of the most advanced arts.
Theater in Iran has manifested in native forms. Iranians had a special kind of drama; a significant performance style, known as Naqqali, which is an ancient storytelling art and sometimes includes music. Iran’s theatrical tradition owes much to native forms of theater like Naqqali and puppetry, but religious plays have also added another aspect to this tradition. Ta’zieh (in which the tragedy of Karbala is depicted) has played a significant role in Iranian theater. Mourning Siavash, Khaymah-Shab-Bazi, and Siah-Bazi are also famous Iranian plays.
The Seventh Art: Cinematic Arts
Cinema should be considered the turning point and evolution of all arts combined and their fusion. Cinema, literally means “movement,” but in modern terminology, it refers to the combination of moving images and bringing a story to life through these images for a better understanding for the audience.
Cinema has considered various aspects of human life from realistic to surreal to reach a focal point in the theme of a general understanding. In other words, by categorizing different cinematic styles that can be known as genres, it brings a fresh spirit and different narratives to the screen.
The first film camera came to Iran during the time of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah. The first Persian sound film, “Dokhtar-e-Lor”, was made in 1938 by Abdolhossein Sepanta. The arrival of the first cinematograph in Iran in 1900 by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah is considered the beginning of Iranian cinema, although the first public cinema was not built until 1912. Until 1929, no Iranian film was made and the few established cinemas were showing Western films, some of which had Persian subtitles. The first Iranian feature film named “Abi and Rabi” was made in 1929 by Ovanes Ohanian, with cinematography by Khan Baba Motazedi.
Compiler: Amir Sharifi
