Identifying the visual capabilities of the inscriptions of the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (a.s.)

Academic Thesis for Master's Degree

Field of Visual Communication

Introduction

Iranian art in the Islamic era is a sacred art that has signs of knowledge and thought in its smallest parts. One of the dimensions of Islamic art is architecture, and inscriptions are considered part of Islamic architectural decorations. By examining the inscriptions left from the Islamic architecture of Iran, one can get a complete and deep understanding of religious art and understand its historical references. In addition, by examining the artistic and visual aspects of these inscriptions, its visual capabilities are known and the different styles of writing used in it are recognized. Since Islamic inscriptions have been mostly used in religious buildings, especially tombs, schools, mosques, and pilgrimage complexes, the pilgrimage complex of Imam Reza (a.s.) is no exception to this rule, and it has always been the focus of researchers by removing countless decorations from architecture. This pilgrimage complex, which was created at the same time as the building of the holy dome of Ali bin Musa al-Reza (AS), was created in the city of Mashhad, over time, it has undergone countless renovations and restorations in many periods of history, and inscriptions have always been considered an important part of the visual and decorative aspects of this pilgrimage complex. In this regard, by focusing on the subject of epigraphy, the lines used in the inscriptions of this collection can be identified and categorized based on their visual characteristics, and these inscriptions can be examined from the perspective of shape, structure, color, and the type of compositions used in them. The necessity of research, questions, background of research, method and tool collection, method of conducting research and method of data analysis are given, and then a brief history of the physical construction process of the pilgrimage complex of Imam Reza (a.s.) and the inscriptions formed from different periods of history in the blessed places of this holy place have been discussed and about the construction process of each of the scenes, porticoes and inscriptions created in each period from the beginning of the formation of this complex to the contemporary period, and the names of the artists and founders have been investigated. Each of the buildings in this pilgrimage collection is mentioned and then in another part of the same chapter, some definitions used in this treatise are defined. In the second chapter, the inscriptions are classified from the point of view of text, format and general shape, line and combination of lines in the inscription, materials and construction materials and color, so as to introduce religious, building and religious-building inscriptions from the point of view, and from the point of view of format and general shape, the inscriptions are examined in scroll, framing and tablets sections, and the process of using Kufi, Thuluth and Nastaliq fonts, which are among the most useful lines used in the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (A) They are mentioned in inscriptions. Also, in the investigation of the composition of the script in the inscription, the inscriptions have been studied in terms of text, mother and child, two-story and three-story scroll, and belt inscriptions. In the studies that have been done about the materials and materials, the inscriptions have also been studied from the point of view of the technique of execution in various types of tiling, stone, plaster, wooden decorations, metal work and mirror work. In the third chapter, the visual capabilities of the inscriptions of this pilgrimage collection from different perspectives such as: visual qualities that include: visual composition, balance, contrast, composition and proportion, and the characteristics of the inscriptions' letters, which include: raised letters, elongated letters, rounded letters, and short letters, as well as the spaces created between the letters, have been studied and analyzed. The fourth chapter, which includes the results of the entire research process, includes a general summary of the contents, answers to the initial research questions, and suggestions. It should be noted that in the attached section, some of the inscriptions of this pilgrimage collection are listed in tables from the perspective of: text, date of the inscription, artists, founders, type of writing and technique of execution. You can refer to this section to get more information about the inscriptions.     

The aforementioned thesis has been supported by the artistic creations of Astan Quds Razavi, which is the result of the author's personal interest and several months of effort. In this way, according to the library and field studies and despite the obstacles such as: lack of sources and chronicles on the subject of epigraphy and images, which was on the way of this research, this research was carried out.In any case, the above treatise is subject to criticism, it is mentioned in advance that this research is not without flaws and it is hoped that it will be considered a positive step in the direction of enhancing the culture and art of this region. 

Chapter 1

Generalities of the research

1 statement of the problem

Khorasan has always contributed significantly to the creation of Iran's history, culture, civilization and art, as the remaining historical monuments from this region testify to this claim. In the pre-Islam era, Khorasan had the greatest importance during the time of the Aryans of the Iranian plateau. Due to the events that happened in Khorasan over the centuries, its boundaries have been repeatedly changed and in some ages it has found other boundaries. (Molvi, 1349: A) After the martyrdom and burial of Ali Ibn Musial Reza (AS) in the garden of Hamid Ibn Qahtaba outside one of the cities of Khorasan called Noghan and near the village of Senabad, Shahr Noghan was known by changing its name to Mashhad al-Reza and has always enjoyed special importance, as it has been very important among the people since around the third century AH when the body of the Holy Prophet was buried in this area. In this regard, the sanctity and importance of this place prompted people and artists to put their science and art at its service, and by using various materials and decorations throughout history, they achieved unique and accurate collections of old and new buildings in this pilgrimage complex, and built schools, mosques, tombs, stages, porticoes and various institutions in its breadth, so that by looking at this pilgrimage complex, one can see full-fledged examples of various arts. saw in it. The art of calligraphy, which is considered one of the most important elements in Islamic architecture, has been used for decoration, and various forms of it have been engraved in the form of inscriptions during different historical periods in this holy place. By carefully studying and studying these inscriptions, one can understand many features and characteristics of these inscriptions. Based on this, several questions are raised in relation to these inscriptions, the answers to which can open the way for other researches in this field. In this research, questions related to inscriptions have been mentioned, which have been answered in line with this research. The main question in this research is, what are the characteristics of the inscriptions of Imam Reza's (PBUH) pilgrimage collection in terms of visual capabilities? In addition to that, there are other sub-questions, such as; What categories do the inscriptions include in terms of format and general shape? In terms of line composition in the inscription, how many parts are divided? Inscriptions are divided into how many general categories from the point of view of content? What materials were used to make these inscriptions? And what visual characteristics are included in the letters used in the inscriptions of the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (a.s.)?

Therefore, in this research, it has been tried with a descriptive-analytical method, to examine the visual characteristics and type of lines used in the inscriptions of this pilgrimage collection, to identify the visual capacities of these inscriptions, and to categorize the inscriptions from the perspective of format, combination of lines in the inscription, materials, materials, and colors. The structure of the inscriptions is analyzed in terms of their visual capabilities and the effective factors in shaping these inscriptions are studied. 2 Research Objectives 1-2-1 The main objective: to identify the visual capabilities of the inscriptions of the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (AS). 1-2-2 Sub-objectives:

Inscriptions used in the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (a.s.).

- Identifying the format and general shape of the inscriptions used in the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (a.s.).

- Identifying the composition of the script in the inscriptions of the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (a.s.).

- Identifying the most materials used in the inscriptions of the pilgrimage collection of Imam Reza (a.s.). (AS).

1-3 Importance and Necessity of Research

Islamic art is always a manifestation of beauty and the embodiment of the inner and truth that was based on the word of revelation, it can be said that it is one of the most valuable achievements of mankind in the field of art. A part of Islamic art is in the collection of rich culture and a region of artists of different eras, through the discovery and intuition of which one can achieve countless truths of the historical process.