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Abbasi Shokat Abad A H. (2021). A Comparative Study of the Religious Components of Qajar and Pahlavi Carpets. JIC. 5(1), 19-34. doi:10.52547/jic.5.1.19
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-147-en.html

The place of religious subjects in Iranian arts is very important and most of the arts are rooted in religious culture, which is evidenced by the art of carpet weaving,  in which religious motifs are used that sometimes even represent the forgotten beliefs of the past. In this research, those religious concepts and themes that connect us directly and without intermediaries to the subject of religion will be examined. In Qajar period, due to cultural, social and artistic conditions, designs and patterns of carpets continue the previous traditions and changes have occurred in them. This period is important because of the creation of many examples in history. As carpet weaving became popular during this period, people became more involved with the motifs of this art. As a result, the art of carpet weaving in this period was the best means of conveying the concepts of Islam. Also in the Pahlavi period, trade and export in the field of carpet weaving became very important and in addition to the design process of the Qajar period, due to the royal support, carpet weavers were able to create carpets with high elegance. But in the following years, this art underwent changes and there were not many changes in Iranian carpets. Since the position of religious subjects among Muslim artists in the creation of works of art during different periods is obvious and many examples of them are observed in Iranian carpet art, the purpose of this study is to investigate the Qajar and Pahlavi period carpets in which religious motifs are used. And it is necessary, considering the commonalities that exist in the carpets of these two periods, by analyzing, adapting and classifying these carpets, to examine their commonalities and differences, and to examine their capabilities in order to determine their importance, position and manner, and show the use and attitude of the artist and the people of these two periods in this design. Questions raised in this research were: 1- What are the themes and concepts used in the Qajar and Pahlavi period carpets? What was the status of the use and durability of religious subjects in the carpets of the Qajar and Pahlavi periods? The research is a historical, descriptive-analytical one and the data has been collection through library studies which that has been done after examining samples of carpets with religious themes. The samples examined includes Qajar and Pahlavi carpets in Tehran museums that have religious motifs. Among the surveyed museums, only 7 museums had carpets with religious themes, which included: Iranian Carpet Museum, Carpet Museum of Rassam Arabzadeh Cultural and Artistic Foundation, Golestan Museum Palace, Niavaran Museum, National Museum of Iran, Malek National Museum, Ganjineh Dafineh Museum. There are 28 samples with religious themes, 11 of which are in the Iranian Carpet Museum, 6 in the Rassam Arabzadeh Museum, 4 in the Ganjineh Dafineh Museum, 2 in the Niavaran Museum, 1 in the Malek Museum, and 1 in the Golestan Museum. Seventheen samples of these carpets are related to the Qajar period and 11 samples are related to the Pahlavi period. In Pahlavi carpets, most of the religious issues have been around the events of the life of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and Shiite Imams, especially the image of Imam Ali (AS). Because Qajar society was a religious society, these images influenced the religious beliefs of the people from the beginning to the end of this period. Then, in the Pahlavi period with the change of social conditions, people's tastes towards the new conditions were formed and therefore, the religious rugs of the Qajar period had a more important place in the transmission of religious concepts than the Pahlavi period.