Congressional altar plan; An identity identifier in the formation of the art of the Zendieh era

Statement of the problem: Each of the kings during their periods of government tried to influence visual culture from intellectual and ideological bases. In some periods, the changes were explicit and specific, and in others, they were implicit and gradual. Zandid era also has certain artistic characteristics; One of these features is a special type of altar design. The original "altar" design of Zand has unique features that are considered as a visual identifier in the visual culture of the Zand era, which, along with other visual components, make up the artistic features and coordinates of that period. The discovery of such special emblems explains the necessity of research because deep insight in the studied frame will lead to the attribution of works without birth certificate to the era of Zand or the first years of Qajar rule. Handicrafts without a date of the Zend era will serve as identifiers. Although designs inspired by arches and arcades are very visible in Islamic art; But the attitude of the current research is that the novel design of the "altar" considered in this article is a feature of the visual characteristics of Zendid art.
The aim of the research: The purpose of the article is to firstly introduce, classify and study the original form of "Mihrabi" in the art works of Zand in order to define one of the visual elements and signs of the visual culture of that period, and the second is to consider the design of " new design Mihrab of Zand" as an identity identifier.
Research question: The question of how can be explained the achievement of artists of the Zand era in the formation of "innovative mihrabi" form? How can the special work of " new design Mihrab of Zand" be explained as an identity identifier in the works of the second half of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century? How is the expression of the identity symbol of "Zandiyeh's original design" interpreted beyond innovation in the design of the mihrabi motif?
Hypothesis: There is a suspicion that the original design of "altar" is considered as one of the visual-identity identifiers of Zand art.
Research method: The current research is based on the purpose of theoretical research, because it is in search of discovering a visual phenomenon called the original design of "Zandid Altar" and has made efforts to explain the features and characteristics of the mentioned design. From the point of view of the nature and method, the present article has studied a sign of the Zand era in a historical context with a descriptive and analytical method. Information and concepts were collected through library studies, document digging and visual observations in virtual space and field presence in the form of sheets and images. Targeted sampling was done and only the works from the Zand era, which had the innovative "Mihrabi" frame, were studied. Parts of the arrays of Vakil Mosque, Kolah farangi(Pars Museum), Haft tanan Mansion and objects and works such as carpet, tomb stone, wooden door located in Qazvin City Museum and a piece of fabric are study samples of the opposite research.
Result: The result of the research, from a quantitative point of view, showed the abundance of "new design Mihrab of Zand" in Vakil Mosque compared to other buildings and works of art of the mentioned period. The study of the evolution of the design of " new design Mihrab of Zand" based on the chronological point of view shows the innovation and prosperity of the painting in the second half of the 12th century of Hijri and the continuation of the use of the design until the first half of the 13th century of Hijri.
Another result of the research is that; Although the plan studied in this article contains spiritual concepts; But in the era of Zand, it has undergone a transformation from the point of view of use, and it is also manifested in buildings and non-religious works. It has been used in works such as Vakil mosque (religious), Kolah farangi and Abdul Razzaq Khan mansion (palace), Vakil school (educational) and tombstones and decoration of objects. The artists of the Zandiyeh era designed with innovation and combined a new shape of the mihrab arch, then repetition and harmony in using the role and finally benefiting from the principle of diversity, they made the " new design Mihrab of Zand " is one of the identity elements of Zand. That is, in addition to the invention of the mihrabi design studied, the repetitiveness and diversity of the use of the form in various types of arts and different types of buildings has caused it to become a spiritual form to an identity symbol of Zand and a part of visual culture.