Study of Formal and Decorative Features of Naghoosan Mosque’s Pulpit in Tafresh

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student in Archaeology, Art and Architecture Faculty, Bu Ali Sina University

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Literature and Humanities Faculty

10.22070/negareh.2020.1236

Abstract

Art of wood working is one of the most important and beautiful arts of Islamic period. Artists of this era have created some of the most refined and precise ornaments on the rude surfaces of wooden artifacts. Because these artifacts are exactly a part of Islamic art, one can see influences of this culture on them. Unfortunately despite its importance, we do not have more samples of this wooden art in Islamic period. Because of their potentially destructible nature, these artifacts are rarely preserved during the time. Though, because wood is inexpensive and abundant, it is plausible to assume wooden artifacts are one of common artifacts in the history of past humans. One of these groups of Islamic arts is pulpits. Beside formal and decorative features, because pulpits at the same time have some social-political roles in Islamic world, these artworks have a prominent position in comparison with other Islamic artworks. For example some of Islamic sources mentioned that some of kings carried their pulpits whenever they traveled. History of these artworks goes back to the early decades of Islamic period. Thanks to Islamic sources, there is some information about structure of the first pulpits in Islamic period. Interestingly, structure of Islamic pulpits did not change much in this period. There are plenty of Islamic sources that let us know about this group of Islamic arts; from the first pulpits, their features and political-social roles to their religious and cultural importance.
Pulpit of Naghoosan is exactly a true representation of wood art in Islamic era. This pulpit has been found by authors in a mosque warehouse in Naghoosan village in the Tafresh County, in a dreadfully badly preserved situation. This pulpit is damaged with cracks and even some parts of it have recently been burnt. It is really necessary to say that thanks to Markazi Heritage Organization, the preservation process of this pulpit is being carried out right now. Naghoosan pulpit has been made of walnut and celtis australis woods. These trees still exist in Naghoosan village which make one think that Naghoosan pulpit was built in this area with some woods from these trees. Creation technique of this pulpit is tongue and groove with use of glue and nail. The main frame of this pulpit is fretwork and pierced work which is common in most of Islamic pulpits. On the surface of this pulpit, some ornaments, as well as Kufic and Naskh calligraphic scripts of Quranic verses, some information about name of the patron and date of pulpit are carved.
Naghoosan pulpit, thanks to its inscription, is dated 540 AH which makes it one of the oldest pulpits in the history of Iran. Since this pulpit has a great value in history of Islamic wood studies, this study aimed to investigate this pulpit in terms of some of its aspects. Firstly, it has been tried to introduce this pulpit as one of the most important and the oldest pulpit in Islamic world. Secondly, it is attempted to show some features of that from formal and decorative points of view. This study compares Naghoosan pulpit to its contemporary pulpits in the Seljuk period as well. The research questions are as follows: What is the feature of Naghoosn pulpit from formal and decorative points of view? To what extent is this pulpit influenced by the Pre-Islamic art of Iran? What are the similarities and differences between the Naghoosan pulpit and other Seljuk pulpits in terms of forms and decorations? What is its significance and status in the Islamic-era wood art in Iran? These questions have been answered to in this paper using a descriptive-analytical method. The data was collected using library and field research methods. The results indicate that the Naghoosan pulpit dates back to the Seljuk period (540 AH) which is the second oldest pulpit in the Islamic-era history of Iran after the Abyaneh pulpit. Besides, decorations of this pulpit reflect the influence of Sassanid art in the Seljuk period. However, despite some differences in decorations, Naghoosan pulpit has some common features with Seljuk pulpits in terms of structural forms. As it was mentioned, this pulpit has been found in a dreadfully bad situation. It is plausible to think this pulpit could potentially indicate more, had it been preserved in a good situation. Though thanks to these cracked remains of Naghoosan pulpit, here is more information about wooden arts and pulpits in Islamic period and the Seljuk dynasty. Based on the date and features of this cracked pulpit, this artwork is considered as one of the masterpieces of wood arts in Islamic world and the Seljuk period in Iran. It is hoped that after preservation and registration on national monuments’ list, this pulpit would gain its true position among wooden artifacts of Islamic world and the Seljuk dynasty.

Keywords

References

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Negareh Journal
Volume 15, Issue 54
July 2020
Pages 41-53

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 February 2020
  • Revise Date: 08 February 2020
  • Accept Date: 18 April 2020

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