With privileged status and mystical powers, lion has constantly played a major role among human societies and different civilizations. In the Iranian culture and art, images of the animal were used in various forms and with different concepts, sometimes decoratively and symbolically, and other times politically. Religious purposes were another occasion for the appearance and application of the lion motif in the Iranian culture the most evident example of which would be the “Lion of God” as a metaphor for the first Shiite imam. Yet, another manifestation of lion in visual arts is the one related to the subjugation of the animal by the men of God, i.e. prophets, imams and mystics. This issue could be interpreted in the field of supernatural powers of such men and their inner control over physical phenomena, including wild animals. In Qajar era, as the site for the representation and the time of the development of folk religious arts, we encounter various related works in which docile lion has been subdued by the men of religion and mysticism through such supernatural powers, and consequently has become a tame animal without any fierceness or voracity. Accordingly, the present essay aims at the examination and evaluation of this subject matter both in textual and pictorial resources. The main questions proposed would be as: What is the relationship between textual resources on the issue of animals’ subjugation and their visual representation in arts? To what categories, according to textual and visual evidence, such representations would fall into? The results indicate that representation and illustration of the scenes related to bringing lion under control before holy men was based on religious, and in one case on literary, texts. Such an act could be interpreted in the realm of supernatural deeds and as a mark of honor. Further, the visual representation of the mentioned issue in this essay was principally categorized under seven groups or narratives.
Keshtgar Ghasemi, R., & Baharlou, A. (2023). A Thematic and Pictorial Study on Submissive Animals
with an Emphasis on the Docile Lion Motif in Qajar Art. Negareh Journal, (), -. doi: 10.22070/negareh.2023.17231.3158
MLA
Reihaneh Keshtgar Ghasemi; Alireza Baharlou. "A Thematic and Pictorial Study on Submissive Animals
with an Emphasis on the Docile Lion Motif in Qajar Art". Negareh Journal, , , 2023, -. doi: 10.22070/negareh.2023.17231.3158
HARVARD
Keshtgar Ghasemi, R., Baharlou, A. (2023). 'A Thematic and Pictorial Study on Submissive Animals
with an Emphasis on the Docile Lion Motif in Qajar Art', Negareh Journal, (), pp. -. doi: 10.22070/negareh.2023.17231.3158
VANCOUVER
Keshtgar Ghasemi, R., Baharlou, A. A Thematic and Pictorial Study on Submissive Animals
with an Emphasis on the Docile Lion Motif in Qajar Art. Negareh Journal, 2023; (): -. doi: 10.22070/negareh.2023.17231.3158
)