Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• الهه Panjehbashi ¹
• Shaghayegh Godazgar ²

¹ associate alzahra uni

² Art Research, Art, Alzahra, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Pictorial carpets, the result of combining tradition with modernity, peaked during Qajar rule. The themes of these carpets include literary stories, religious motifs, animal depictions, ancient Iranian relics, and portraits of monarchs. A distinctive category also emerged, where the image of a woman replaced traditional patterns. This research aims to identify a rare hand-woven carpet design from the Qajar period featuring the bust of a woman and investigate the creation of the design from Panofsky's iconographic point of view. The research questions are: what was the catalyst for the emergence of women’s images in Qajar pictorial carpets, and what concealed messages do these images convey? The objective of this research is fundamental, and the methodology is descriptive-analytical. Data was collected through library resources, and three carpets depicting the bust of a woman were the studied samples. The appearance of women’s images in Qajar carpets was influenced by the concurrent creation of these carpets with the Qajar era, the expansion of relations with Europe, the prevalence of lithographic printing, the introduction of photography and postcards, naturalistic painting, humanistic thought, changes in clothing style, social and political roles of women, and the abundance of women’s images in Qajar art. The imagery of these carpets is in harmony with numerous advancements of their era, as evidenced by the alignment of artists with the movements of the time. influenced by the social, political, and cultural conditions and unaware of Europeans Orientalism, Qajar carpet weavers reflect the currents and developments of the society in carpets.

Keywords

• Erwin Panofsky
• Pictorial Carpet
• Qajar
• Woman's image

Main Subjects

• Art Research