Sociological Reading of Metal Ornaments on the Door of Saheb Al-Amr Mosque in Tabriz

Saheb Al-Amr Mosque is one of the historical-religious buildings of Tabriz, which is of great importance and sanctity among the people of this city from the past to the present. One of the features that make this place stand out is the existence of metal inscriptive ornaments such as Qur'anic verses and prayers, also visual metal ornaments, including hand or human icons, and other objects that are installed on the entrance door of this historical monument. Based on observations, most of the ornaments, especially human icons were installed on the door by different strata of the people in the Qajar era. Therefore, this place can be considered of significant artistic importance, regardless of its historical and religious values. Moreover, one of the necessities of conducting this research is neglect of these arrays as works of folk art, also the role they can play in reflecting the culture and thought of the people over some time is valuable. Metal ornaments installed on the door can reflect the social, cultural, and economic status of the society of that era. Given that in Iran during the Qajar period, most people were influenced by and adhered to national prejudices and religious slogans.
On the other hand, superstitious thoughts and ideas have been prevalent among the people and even the Qajar courtiers, and considering the important place of this construction in the social life of the people of this era, the present research intends to study and analyze the ornaments installed on this door as part of common visual culture in the society of Tabriz in the Qajar era based on the reflection approach in the sociology of art and with emphasis on components such as social and cultural structure. The Abundance of various arrays on the door, and on the other hand, their meaningful application in a particular period and society, indicate that one of the important features of the study of this phenomenon is that it makes it possible to analyze ornaments with a reflective approach to the image and a close reflection of the social and cultural conditions of society. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to achieve the currents and ideas that have led to the formation and emergence of such ornaments. In this regard, research questions are raised in this way:  What currents and ideas are reflected in the arrays of the door of Sahib Al-Amr Mosque in Tabriz? What do the ornaments contain?
The present research is historical and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method and has been done with reflection approach and content analysis method and using historical data through collection of library and field documents. The results of this study showed that on the door of Saheb Al-Amr Mosque in Tabriz, we encounter two major groups of ornaments from a content perspective. First group is ornaments with themes influenced by religion, especially Shiite culture, which explicitly refer to Islamic and Shiite traditions and texts, and most of them can be seen in the form of written ornaments. The second group includes ornaments with a combination of Shiite themes and non-religious signs under the influence of superstitious sciences, which in many cases appear with a seemingly religious aspect and in different forms. In fact, with the emergence or strengthening of new beliefs and mentalities in society and changes in culture, the possibility of the emergence of new forms and content in works of art is provided.
Existence of icons with the name of Cheshm Abbasi, on which in some cases the words "Ya Abbas Dakhilam" and "Ya Hossein Mazlum Dakhilam" are engraved, seems to have had a religious function from the point of view of a group of people in Tabriz during the Qajar period, and is considered as a clear example of this change. In this period, we are faced with cultural and social conditions that affect the whole society, including the kings and most of the people, the most important of which are a superficial reading of religion and more attention to the appearance of religious rituals and ceremonies, and another case is the spread of popular beliefs and beliefs of non-religious origin, which in many cases are practiced in combination with religion by fortune tellers, and dervishes. Tabriz, as the most influential city of this period, is no exception to this principle. The people of this city, in addition to having religious prejudices and special devotion to the infallible Imams, especially "Hazrat Abbas" and "Imam Hussein", were also influenced by the popular and superstitious beliefs of the Qajar-period society, to the extent that countless arrays on the doors of the Sahib Al-Amr Mosque reflect ideas directed at both views.