Analytical Study of Carrying Out Methods in the Tash'eer of Khamsa Tahmasbi (Second School of Tabriz)

The art of Tash’eer and its various applications during the schools of Shiraz and Herat, finally led to a widespread presence on the margins of books and covers, around written texts and pieces of painting in the second school of Tabriz.
The design-like feature, along with the elegance in the implementation of plant and animal motifs and nature and sometimes human figures, is known as one of the distinctive features of this art, so it can be said that some characteristics of Iranian painting, are more obvious in the works of Tash’eer. During the heyday of painting in the second school of Tabriz, the art of Tash’eer was established as a part of painters' activities and its execution method became the model for later periods. Among the most important collections with Tash’eer, we can mention the exquisite work of Khamsa Tahmasbi, which is considered an important work in terms of the variety and quality of the patterns. The Tash’eers of Khamsa Tahmasbi were created by the artists of the second school of Tabriz (10th century) and Isfahan school (11th and 12th centuries). The patrons of Tabriz period have sought to create worthy and valuable treasures that are equal and even more magnificent than the previous works. Stable governance conditions, competition with the famous Timurid period under the rule of Shahrukh and Sultan Hossein Baiqra, as well as the handover of the library to Sultan Mohammad and his merit and competence in managing each of the collections can be among the reasons for the creation of this fruitful period in Tabriz, which is reflected in the executed subtleties of Khamsa Tahmasbi's Tash’eers. In examining the method of execution, one should pay attention to the way of using the brush, which is the only tool of painters in the existing works; this tool has the ability to draw lines with a range of different thicknesses. Due to the importance of the second school of Tabriz, the present study is aimed to identify the way of creating visual effects using brush and gold paint in a part of the Tash’eers of Khamsa Tahmasbi which was done in Tabriz. Therefore, the question of this article is: What are the characteristics of the technical methods of Khamsa Tahmasbi's Tash’eer in the second school of Tabriz? With descriptive-analytical method, elements such as how to use the brushes, use of ink, darkness and lightness, full shape drawing (Silhouette), texture, pardaz (stippling), shine of gold and silver and color tones are described. The gathering of information has been obtained through library studies and images available on the website of the British Library. The necessity and importance of research is to increase the attention and knowledge of artists and researchers and to create a platform for more understanding of the basics of Persian painting, considering the lack of available resources in this field. It seems that the contemporary period in reviving past practices and increasing awareness of Iranian arts needs such research, and in the meantime, the second Tabriz school due to the abundance of works in quantity and quality, spiritual thought and taking advantage of the systematicity of the Herat school next to the dynamism of the Turkmen school, has a prominent position.
The most important findings show that the use of dilute color was common; the line ink drawings were the main focus in the Tabriz school.
 Creating light and dark as a color change, darkness and lightness play a complementary role in the shape and line.
In Tash’eer, the use of background is important. The second Tabriz school, as a period of peak of painting, has skillfully displayed various aspects of the use of darkness and lightness in Khamsa Tahmasbi and its effects have appeared in different lines, shapes and genders.
The function of the background as light or shadow levels in shaping an element such as mountains and rocks is obvious, the line plays the main role in shaping the form and the color does not lead to exponential volume.
Another common feature in the examined samples is the use of pardaz (stippling) and creating texture, especially on the body of animals.
The artist of the second school of Tabriz has a great variety and artistic vision in using this visual element as well as line. Apart from gold, in the Tash’eer of the Tabriz school, we only see the use of silver, which is mostly used to show water and sometimes horns, hooves, etc. The ability of these methods can be generalized in the Tash’eer of other schools and due to the nature of type design, they can also be seen in painting design methods.