Iranian innovations in mosque lighting techniques: A historical survey

From the viewpoint of preserving the values of sustainable architecture, daylight in the interiors of mosques in hot and dry climates has always faced limitations. The need to use daylight to provide the required lighting and, in contrast, to prevent the scorching desert sun from entering the spaces led to innovative techniques in Iranian architecture. These techniques have gradually evolved along with the development of semantic concepts of space in different periods of Islamic architecture, which has resulted in slight differences in their application in mosque buildings. In this article, while analysing the place of light in mosque architecture, the standard techniques in lighting mosques located in Iran’s hot and dry climate are studied. The employed research method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. As the current historic-architectural research cannot be based solely on perception-based definitions, authors had to convert the conceptual features into a measurable index. To achieve this, a numerical index with the scale from 0 to 3 has been defined. The scoring was based on documents such as plans, images, etc. Although most case study objects were built over the centuries, they have general characteristics that distinguish them from a specific historical era. The authors studied the application of these techniques in some examples of selected mosques from four periods of Islamic architecture and present the results in the form of trend charts. Furthermore, they observed the principle of continuity in Iranian architecture from the historical period from the beginning of the Islamic period to the Qajar period, and, in accordance with the theoretical foundations of research, analysed the reasons for the ups and downs of each of the techniques.

Paper Foxing Stains on a Historic Manuscript from the Early Qajar Era: Abiotic or Biotic Foxing?

The aim of this study was to identify the nature and cause of foxing spots in a historical manuscript. This manuscript was a Holy Quran from the beginning of the Qajar period and the end of the 18th century. Samples were incubated for 14 days and were evaluated for the presence of fungal activity. UV fluorescence photography, micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were also used to investigate the characteristics and causes of foxing spots. The results showed that there was no fungal activity in the foxing spots of this manuscript. Based on the morphology of the stain in UV fluorescence photography, these foxing stains are of the Bullseye type, usually associated with metal ions. µXRF spectroscopy also showed a high accumulation of iron and copper at the site of these spots. This indicates abiotic foxing in this manuscript. Based on FTIR spectroscopy and peak deconvolution and fitting by Gaussian function, abiotic foxing increases the cellulose oxidation rate. Intensification of cellulose oxidation in foxing stains can be considered as one of the reasons for paper discoloration.

The Study and Analysis of The Prevailing Elements and Patterns in The Background of The Works of Mirzababa, A Qajar Painter

The Qajar period is the beginning of many important and long-lasting developments in Iran's contemporary era. Among these developments, we should mention the changes in Iranian arts and the aspects that these arts had with them. Planning and backgrounding were among the aspects that entered Iranian painting with the entrance of Western art elements. Mirzababa was one of the most important painters of the first Qajar period, and the way he used these elements became an unwritten and frequently used pattern among artists. The purpose of the present article is to analyze the background of his works and to understand his backgrounding. The research is a theoretical and a descriptive-analytical research. The statistical population of the research consists of the works of Mirzababa and because the number of works that have reached us is limited, the sample size is all of his works. The research data show that Mirzababa had been backgrounding according to the type of art or used medium. Backgrounds have a general pattern or contractual elements that have an interior, exterior, or a combination of both spaces rather than the used medium.

Performance Objects of Muḥarram in Iran: A Story through Steel

Some Muḥarram ceremonies in Iran today, such as taziyeh (ritual theatre) and dasteh (procession), often involve metal artifacts. They are commonly made of steel (mainly armor elements, arms, sculptures, and vessels). Many objects of similar types, generally without any historical data on their original contexts, are preserved in Islamic art collections. The present research proposes to identify these objects as Muḥarram performance objects. Based on two large collections (Paris, Musée du Louvre and Musée des Arts Décoratifs), this article aims to relocate them in their likely ritual contexts, especially those developed in the late Qajar period (from 1850 onward), and to look further into the past of their Safavid (1501–1722) models. Made of forged steel and inlaid with precious metals, these productions from the late Safavid period to the present day suggest the durability of some models with a strong visual identity and highlight the recurring use of this metal in Shiʿ⁠a devotional art in Iran.