Geometric Analysis of Medallion Pattern in Safavid Period Carpets

Taghizadeh Borujeni, Robabeh; Abbasi Shureshjani, Roohollah

doi:10.22070/negareh.2021.5743.2571

Geometric Analysis of Medallion Pattern in Safavid Period Carpets

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Textile Design Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Hazrat – e- Masoumeh University, Qom,

² Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Humanities, Hazrat -e - Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran.

10.22070/negareh.2021.5743.2571

Abstract

Carpets with Medallion patterns are a wide and unique collection of Iranian carpets that received a lot of attention in the Safavid period. Since these carpets are among the most important Iranian carpets, it is necessary to analyze them from different aspects. Therefore, with the aim of studying the proportions and relationships in carpets with medallion designs in order to examine the layers of the presence of geometric-numerical proportions between the components of the carpet and the ratio of the area of each component to the analysis of symmetry, disciplinary lines and the presence of fractal geometry in 8 samples of the most famous carpets of the Safavid period with Medallion patterns, simultaneously an attempt has been made to answer the main questions of this research. Questions are 1- In what format and with what kind of composition are the issues of geometric proportions, order, disciplinary lines and symmetry seen in these designs? 2- How is the mystical concept of "from plurality to unity" and "from unity to plurality" manifested in these designs? 3- How is the presence of fractal geometry and its pattern similarities with the medallion design in Safavid period carpets analyzed? It is necessary to answer these questions and pay attention to the fact that in most researches related to Medallion Pattern in Safavid period carpets, only the proportions and numerical relations between the components and the whole carpet have been studied and the issues of symmetry, disciplinary lines and fractal geometry have not been studied; and the importance of this research becomes clear. This research has been done by descriptive and analytical methods and its information has been collected with a library method. Due to the importance of the design and role of Iranian carpets in the Safavid period - especially medallion pattern - the target community includes 8 examples of famous Safavid carpets all which have the same construction and 4 quarter-medallions, including: Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardebili carpet (530x1032cm) at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, a carpet known as the Sea Wave, or Portuguese rug, Khorasan texture (313x680cm) at the Vienna Museum of Handicrafts, Chelsea rug (310x549cm) at the Victoria Museum of Western Iran (360x690cm) at the Petzoli Poldi Museum in Milan, Vase rug, Kerman texture probability (171x249cm) and three samples of Kashan silk carpets (165.1x243.8cm), (148.6x221cm), (146.7x207.6cm) at the New York Metropolitan Museum. Using the two-dimensional screen roller software from the computer screen, the dimensions of the proportions inside the frame and the dimensions of the frames include the ratio of width to text length, width to total length, border width to text width, border width to total width, medallion width to full text width and the width of the medallion is calculated to the total width of the carpet and the ratios related to the area of the various components of the samples. The golden ratio obtained from the square of the index is also shown as an example for the hunting rug of the Petzoli Poldi Museum of Milan. By drawing disciplinary lines in the carpet resulting from the intersection of the diameters of the index squares, the complementary rectangle, the diameters of the main frames and the lines of symmetry of the main place in the composition of these carpets are obtained. By examining the intersection points and the resulting composition, the relations governing it have been studied. Fractal specimens found in nature are similar to those found in rugs. The method of analysis in this research is that all the obtained data are arranged and prepared in tables. Then, the rules of traditional Iranian design, the rules of golden ratio and the basic features of fractal mathematics were applied and compared. The principles and relations governing this design are extracted and analyzed in terms of geometry and golden ratio laws. The results of this research indicate that the principles of symmetry and golden ratios have been observed in designing the dimensions of the main frame of the carpet for all samples. By drawing disciplinary lines, an environment is created that shows the main place in the composition of these carpets. The presence of these locations proves that these designs are legal and based on geometric divisions. By examining the fractal geometry and its patterns in the samples of carpets, it is determined that although the carpets are composed of thousands of small and large patterns and sometimes of repetitive patterns, all these elements are in a regulated and purposeful way in a single combination. Thus, in spite of the multiplicity of components, we are finally faced with a single and regular set.

Keywords

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