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DolgariSharaf M, Attarzadeh A. (2021). Analysis of glass enamel techniques and designs in the Qajar Museum in Tabriz. JIC. 5(1), 145-158. doi:10.52547/jic.5.1.145
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-136-en.html

The glass enameling is one of the artistic skills with a long history in Iran, which at the same time with the Qajar period, with the arrival of donated and custom works from Europe, was influenced by their techniques, designs, and the manifestations of these effects continue to this day. The combination of decorative techniques and patterns and similarities between domestic and imported products sometimes obscures whether they are Iranian or non-Iranian. In the Qajar Museum of Tabriz, a precious treasure of such glassware with a wide range of colors and designs is kept, which has been analyzed in the present study. The purpose of this study is to identify the technical characteristics of enamel (execution methods) of the glass of this collection and analyze the role of the ink used on them. This research sought to answer the question that what technical characteristics (execution methods) and visuals (designs) do the enamel works of Tabriz Qajar Museum have and what message do they have in their visual arrays? The necessity of the forthcoming research arises from the fact that so far no detailed and comprehensive study has been done to extract and analyze the techniques and patterns of glazed glass in this collection. The purpose of this study is to identify the technical and artistic characteristics of glazed glass in this collection and analyze the pattern used on them. The present research is of basic-applied type and descriptive-analytical method. The method of data collection is based on observations of works in museums and library studies. The samples examined include 30 enameled glass works of Qajar Museum in Tabriz. Tables and diagrams have been used to show the technical and decorative features of the works and the frequency of each of the variables. The results of the study and description of the variables led the research to analyze the data based on library resources. The results showed that the enamel glass of Qajar Museum of Tabriz has been applied on all kinds of decanters, vases, jewelry boxes, inks, teapots, glass bowel, hookahs, vases, glass candlesticks and oil lamps. The glass of this collection is made of opaline, Cameo glass and colorless and clear colored glass and their enamel is done using opaque, luster glaze and gold enamel paints. The director of the Qajar Museum in Tabriz introduced two pairs of straits in this collection as a gift from Napoleon Bonaparte to Fath Ali Shah Qajar. The high quality of the enamel of this collection indicates that the mentioned works were produced by famous factories in European countries and Turkey in the field of glassmaking and were sent as gifts to the Qajar kings or by order of Iranian merchants and statesmen. The main motifs of the enamels in this collection include human motifs (the role of European men and women, Qajar kings and politicians), plant motifs (western ivy plant, which the Iranians call Kondan, various leaves, rosette, medallions which the Iranians call bergamot, five feathers flower, pomegranate flower), the lion and the sun and the inscription. The works of this collection are luxurious, donated and imported. In some of them, features of Western aristocratic art styles such as Rococo can be seen, and in another category, according to the motifs of Qajar kings, politicians and the role of lions are onsetved. The sun has been a propaganda tool in the service of showing the glory of Shah Qajar and the discourse of government power.