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A Study of Motifs Used in the Tasheer of the Golshan Album
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Hengameh Shahgholi Dastgerdi *   |
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Abstract: (24 Views) |
A “morqqa” (album) refers to a collection of valuable artworks, including paintings, calligraphy, illumination, tasheer, and other arts related to book decoration. These albums were typically commissioned or compiled by specific individuals and bound in an album format or like conventional books. The emergence of morqqa-making is attributed to the need to preserve and collect the scattered works of artists during the Timurid era. Extant morqqas from the past exhibit historical systematicity and display a general pattern. One such valuable morqqa is the Golshan Album, a unique collection of Mughal paintings reminiscent of the Gorkani era. To standardize the size and uniformity of the album’s images, Jahangir Shah ordered the margins of the folios to be adorned with motifs. These margins sometimes surpassed the original paintings in beauty, becoming masterpieces in their own right. The motifs used in the tasheer of morqqas, especially those of the Golshan Album and Indian morqqas, were primarily decorative. It can be said that the main reason for using these motifs was their ornamental aspect. Although symbolic aspects are observable in some cases, it seems that these motifs do not convey symbolic meanings, and they were used for their decorative value. The most frequent motifs used in the margins of the studied morqqas include floral designs, animals, and birds, and in some cases, human figures are also seen. This research aims to investigate the tasheer used in the Golshan Album. Given that this morqqa was decorated and illuminated in India by both Indian and Iranian artists, we aim to examine the characteristics and categorization of tasheer motifs in the Golshan Album. We seek to answer the question: “In the tasheer used in the Golshan Album, is the influence of Iranian artists (Isfahan School of the Safavid period) more evident and understandable, or do we see the greater influence of Indian artists in these motifs?” Through examining the artworks and categorizing the motifs, it was concluded that the influence of Iranian artists and the Safavid school is more significant in the tasheer of this period, and Indian artists also benefited more from the style and method of Safavid masters in this work.
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| Keywords: Book Decoration, Safavid, Gorkani India, Tasheer, Golshan Album |
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Full-Text [PDF 894 kb]
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
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