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Persian art and architecture, works of art and structures produced in the region
of Asia better known as Persia and now called Iran. Bounded by fierce mountains
and deserts, the high plateau of Iran has seen the flow of many migrations and
the development of many cultures, all of which have added distinctive features
to the many styles of Persian art and architecture.
Although earlier civilizations are known, the first archaelogical finds of
artistic importance are the superb ceramics from Susa and Persepolis (c.3500 B.C.).
On tall goblets and large bowls are symmetrical designs that cover the surfaces
with stylized abstractions of animals, particularly water birds and ibex. The
choice of subjects from nature, simplified into almost unrecognizable patterns,
may be called the formative principle of Persian art. Much of 4th-millennium Iranian
art is strongly influenced by that of Mesopotamia. The 3d-millennium art of Elam,
found at Sialk and Susa, also follows Mesopotamian styles, and this trend is continued
in the less well-known Elam and Urartu art of the 2d millennium.
The art that comes from mountainous Luristan has aroused a good deal of controversy.
Probably dated 1200-700 B.C., the many small bronze objects are thought to be
mostly weapons and horse trappings-bits, bridle ornaments, rein rings, and pole
tops. The treasure of Ziwiye (Sakiz), a hoard containing gold, silver, and ivory
objects, included a few Luristan pieces. These provide a definite link with the
art of the Scythians known as the animal style. The Ziwiye Treasure is roughly
divided into four styles: Assyrian, Scythian, proto-Achaemenid (with strong Greek
influences), and native, or provincial.
A unified style emerges in the Achaemenid period (c.550-330 B.C.). Influenced
by the Greeks, the Egyptians, and those from other provinces of the Persian Empire,
the Achaemenids evolved a monumental style in which relief sculpture is used as
an adjunct to massive architectural complexes. Foundations of the palace of Cyrus
at Pasargadae, of Artaxerxes I at Susa, and above all extensive remains of the
magnificent palace complex of Darius I and Xerxes I at Persepolis reveal plans
that characteristically show great columned audience halls. In front of the halls
were colonnaded porticoes, flanked by square towers and set on high terraces.
The palaces were approached by double flights of steps converging at the top.
Although there are marked analogies to Egyptian, Greek, and Assyrian architecture,
the style as a whole and the feeling for space and scale are distinctive. The
Persepolitan columns are slenderer and more closely fluted than those of Greece.
Bases are high, often bell-shaped; capitals are composed of the foreparts of two
bulls set back to back or of other animals above volutes with rosette ornament.
In the sculpture, of an ordered clarity and simplicity, heraldic stylization
is subtly combined with effects of realism. Typical are the low stone reliefs
of a procession of tribute bearers that adorn the great double staircase approaching
the audience hall of Xerxes I (Persepolis) and the famous Frieze of Archers (Louvre,
from the palace of Darius I at Susa), executed in molded and enameled brick, a
technique of Babylonian-Assyrian origin.
After the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.), there was turmoil in Iran
until the rise of the Parthians (c.250 B.C.). Theirs is essentially a crude art,
synthesizing Hellenistic motifs with Iranian forms. Buildings of dressed stone
and rubble and brick were decorated with sculpted heads and mural paintings. The
larger-than-life-size bronze statue from Shami of a ruler is the most outstanding
remaining Parthian monument.
Of far greater artistic importance is the contribution of the Sassanids, who
ruled Iran from A.D. 226 to the middle of the 7th cent. Adapting and expanding
previous styles and techniques, they rebuilt the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon.
There a great palace with a huge barrel vault was constructed of rubble and brick.
Sassanid architecture is decorated with carved stone or stucco reliefs and makes
use of colorful stone mosaics. Beautiful gold and silver dishes, bowls, and ewers,
often decorated with hunting scenes or animals in high relief, and textiles with
symmetrical heraldic designs also remain. The Sassanids recorded their triumphs
on immense outdoor rock reliefs scattered throughout Iran, often using the same
sites that the Achaemenids had covered with reliefs and inscriptions.
In Afghanistan at Bamian are ruins that show the great impact of Iranian art
forms on works from the 4th to the 8th cent.
Little remains from the early centuries of Islam in Iran, but the influence
of Persia on Islamic art and architecture in Syria and Palestine is very strong.
A significant innovation by the Persians is the raising of a dome over a square
hall by means of squinches. Also influential was their use of cut-stucco decoration,
various intricate motifs, and ever-apparent symmetry.
The earliest important Islamic monument extant in Iran is the mausoleum of
Ismail the Samanid at Bukhara. Dated 907, it is a solid, square building in cut-brick
style, covered by a dome. During this early period, ceramics were raised to a
major art form. The finest were the "calligraphy wares" of Nishapur
and Samarkand. The star-shaped tomb tower of Qabus (1006) presents a form with
far-reaching influence. Both pottery and metalwork were further developed under
the Seljuk Turks in the 11th and 12th cent.
The Mongol invasions of the first half of the 13th cent. destroyed many towns
and much art. We know little of Persian painting until the so-called Mongol school
of the 14th cent. The most famous work of this period is the magnificent Demotte
Shah Namah (The History of Kings). The book has been divided up, and many leaves
are in American collections. The pictures are large, somber in color, and free
and lively in execution, with landscape playing an important role. Small Shah
Namahs have simple illustrations in yellow, red, blue, and gold.
Timurid painting of the 15th cent. employs smaller figures and more static
compositions. Chinese influences have been integrated and patterned symmetry reemerges.
Bihzad, the greatest painter in this style, is renowned for his fine, firm line
and exquisite delicacy. The Blue Mosque at Tabriz, named for its brilliant faience
casing, is contemporary.
Under the Safavid dynasty (1499-1722) palaces were decorated with mural paintings,
which have been heavily restored. Single-figure portraits and ink drawings were
also made for the Safavids. In book illustrations, figures became sinuous, color
and pattern ran riot, and, at best, the effect was that of ornate jewelry. A masterpiece
of Safavid illumination was the Shah Namah of Shah Tamasp, which incorporates
the greatest developments in painting of the early 1520s to the mid-1530s (published
in facsimile as The King's Book of Kings, 1972).
In the 17th-century Persian art fell under European and Indian influences and
rapidly degenerated. Under the Qajar dynasty (1779-1925) a distinctive, theatrical
style was developed in architecture, painting, and the decorative arts. The so-called
Neo-Achaemenid style, which characterizes the public buildings of modern Tehran,
points to a conscious effort at reviving and integrating the ancient heritage
in modern Iran.
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