Analysis of Architectural Images in Banknotes of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Architecture is one of the oldest Iranian arts. It has a special place in the history and studies of art. Ancient Iranian architectural works and traditional and Islamic architectural buildings constitute a major part of the valuable treasure of world culture and art. Money is the medium of exchange, the unit of value and the store of value. Throughout the ages, banknotes have been an important means of exchange and play an important role in transmitting cultural and economic values. Images on banknotes are valuable documents for recognizing nations through socio-historical and historical studies. Because the image is always the fastest way to communicate between humans and can convey a world of information and concepts regardless of language. Architectural places have always been among the most eye-catching elements in the design of Iranian money and have played an identity-oriented role in the definition of Iranian banknotes. The manifestation of architectural works in the illustration of banknotes and the position of architectural art among the visual arts is one of the main and necessary topics in the present research. Banknotes of the Islamic Republic of Iran between 1979 and 2009, due to the difference in printing periods, had a significant structural diversity, but architectural drawings are among the continuous elements in the visual composition of these banknotes. It seems that the daily use of banknotes, with emphasis on their value in Rials, has led to users not paying attention to the images of banknotes which in turn has led to a lack of attention to the thinking of designers in selecting their images and content. Numerous, varied and interesting materials about money and its history in Iran and the world are available in the form of documents, books, articles and information on Internet websites. Lack of documented research studies on the factors influencing artists' decisions regarding the choice of images for designing banknotes in the contemporary era, both from an artistic and macro-banking perspectives on banknote printing, is one of the main necessities of addressing the issue in the present research. The main purpose of this article is to research the architectural drawings offered through Iranian banknotes. The main question of this article is to study why and how to use architectural works in the definition of Iranian banknotes after the revolution. The research method adopted in this study is the content analysis research method. Content analysis is one of the documentary methods that systematically, objectively, quantitatively and generalizably examines communication messages. The statistical population includes banknotes printed after the revolution in Iran. The sampling method is non-random and is purposeful in the form of sampling which has been described and analyzed by studying each sample. Returning to identity through studying and extracting the foundations of Iranian architectural ideas, leads to the manifestation of characteristics of respect for nature, religious sanctity and the importance of unity in Iranian thought. The results obtained from the data and analyses show that there is a close relationship between the conscious or unconscious selection of images of architectural works and their recognition as the representative of Iran in the world. Therefore, it can be explicitly confirmed that architecture can play an important role in cultural exchanges as a symbol of identity through the definition of a country's currency. Iranian-Islamic architectural works, as a symbol of Iran's identity, have always reflected the historical-political identity and religious belief-oriented identity of Iranians in the world. With the depiction of these works on Iranian banknotes, the role of its social identity will have a double effect on national maturity. Depiction of the artistic values and architectural ideas of Iran can be the basis for decisions related to tourism and cultural heritage. The results of the research show the deep connection between religious beliefs and the government's macro-policy in selecting images of ancient, traditional and contemporary Iranian architecture in the composition of the Iranian banknote building. The illustrations as architectural volumes in Iranian banknotes, printed after the revolution, according to the functional performance of buildings have been analyzed in five categories: religious architecture, memorial architecture, governmental-ritual architecture, educational architecture and residential architecture. Architectural motifs also include Islamic motifs, Khatai motifs, geometric motifs, ancient and religious symbols. Images related to religious architecture are classified into two categories: architecture of world religions and architecture of religious buildings of Islamic periods in Iran. Most of the paintings are related to Islamic architectural arrays and the architectural image of the Razavi shrine. The most important result of this article is to show the transcendent thinking of Iranians in the form of creating magnificent works of architecture and symbolic components of Iranian architecture and architectural arrays and motifs. This article tries to generalize and spread the same transcendent thought in the world by means of using the images depicted in banknotes.