Comparative Study of Decoration and Decorative Inscriptions of Metal Pitchers in the Safavid and Ottoman Periods

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Farhangian University of Tehran, Assistant Professor, Art Education Department, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate professor of Creative Arts, Department of Painting, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran,

Abstract

Introduction: The art of the Safavid and Ottoman eras is one of the most important manifestations of Islamic magnificence, which has significant value and credibility in various artistic fields, including metalwork. The artists of these two periods started to create works of artistic value, among which the metal pitchers have remarkable beauty and sophistication. In the Safavid school, various types of art, including metalwork, which reflects ritual and religious thoughts and views, grew and flourished. However, until now, no comprehensive research has been done regarding metal pitchers of the Safavid and Ottoman eras in comparison with each other, which would lead to a better understanding of the decorations and inscriptions of the metal pitchers of the two periods in relation to each other, and understanding that the strongest influence on Ottoman art derives from Safavid Iranian culture and art. Since the Safavid and Ottoman schools are two important eras in the promotion of Islamic art and culture, and the Ottoman government also received influences from Iranian metalworking art after the attack on Tabriz, research on this becomes a factor to investigate the motifs and decorations of pitchers.
Purposes & Questions: This research was conducted with the purpose of comparative study of the form and decorations of inscriptions in metal pitchers of the Safavid and Ottoman eras, and answered the question of what the similarities and differences are between the motifs and decorations of the inscriptions of pitchers or Mashrebas. Do Safavid and Ottoman works reflect their different cultural and social beliefs?
Methods: The research method in this study is carried out with a descriptive-analytical approach, and its data collection is by library and documentary methods, and the data analysis method is qualitative. One of the problems of the research is the existence of very limited resources, especially regarding the metal pitchers of the Ottoman era. As a result, the researcher limited the study to examining the few samples available in some museums and selected some representative examples of these pitchers in order to understand the best aesthetic features of each period. The present research is fundamental and in line with a better understanding of the motifs and decorations of the inscriptions of the metal pitchers of the Ottoman and Safavid periods in comparison with each other. The research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach and with a historical nature in a qualitative manner, and the method of collecting information was carried out by using library resources, sampling, and virtual museum databases. The statistical population of the research is the investigation of motifs and inscription decorations in the Safavid era metal pitchers compared to the Ottoman era metal pitchers. These works include four representative examples of pitchers from the Safavid period and four examples from the Ottoman period. By comparing them, some samples were randomly selected and analyzed using related criteria in a logical and analogical way. The method of analyzing the works is based on visual principles and rules, as well as logical and comparative analysis. In the following, the similar aspects and the different aspects of the prominent pictorial details of the mentioned pitchers are analyzed in tabular form, and the social and cultural contexts of the sequence of the mentioned traditions are investigated, and at the end, a diagram is presented to show the number and the type of motifs used in the pitchers of both periods has been compiled.
Findings & Results: In the war with Shah Ismail, the Ottoman government took several artists of the Safavid school to its capital and used Iranian artists and craftsmen in the production of various art sectors. This influence led to the promotion of the art of the Safavid era in the Ottoman period. Among these influences are pitchers in the shape of a dragon’s handle, which were popular in Iran during the Timurid era. During the Safavid period, Ottoman artists were inspired by these forms after interacting with Safavid art; subsequently, they incorporated these motifs into their own vessel designs. The results show that paying attention to details and small works and writing inscriptions such as poems and supplications in Thuluth and Nastaliq scripts, which express Shia and religious beliefs and Iranian artists' interest in poets, are more obvious in Safavid pitchers. Whereas in the Ottoman school, simple and more decorative motifs often appear in the form of flowers, and the inscriptions do not express religious beliefs, but generally include the names of the builders and poems of the poets who dedicated it. In addition, Ottoman art is influenced by Iranian art, especially the Safavid period, in the use of some motifs.
 

Keywords

References

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Negareh Journal
Volume 21, Issue 77
March 2026
Pages 40-69

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  • Receive Date: 03 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 30 September 2025
  • Accept Date: 15 October 2025

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