هنر و تمدن شرق (Sep 2022)
The Analysis of the Celebrities Carpet Safeguarded in the Niavaran Palace; Em phasizing on The Position of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Prophet Jesus (pbub) Based on Janet Wolff”s Opinions
Abstract
The wide reproduction of carpets called Mashaheer (celebrities) with images of explorers,prophets, and kings in the Qajar period is considered an important part of Iranian art history.In each reproduction of these carpets, there have been changes in the figures of the firstrow compared to the initial carpet. Based on the carpet preserved in the Niavaran Palace asthe case study of the changes, besides the addition of Iranian kings around the main area,changes include the addition of the image of Jesus (pbuh) and the removal of the image ofProphet Muhammad (pbuh) in the first row. Therefore, this research tries to answer whythis image of the Prophet (pbuh) was replaced by Jesus (pbuh) on the mentioned celebritycarpet. According to the purpose of the research, which is to explain this replacement, thegathered data was analyzed using a descriptive-analytical method, with emphasis on theopinions of Janet Wolff. After collecting the data through field and documentary studies.The findings of the research show that the celebrity carpet in Niavaran has implicitlystrengthened the idea of Christianity’s superiority by replacing the image of the Prophet(pbuh) with the image of Christ (pbuh), within the discourses of archaism, Iranian identityand the intellectual currents of the Qajar era, and despite the presence and continuation ofIslamic figures. This itself can indicate that the influence of institutions on art productionin any era changes and interferes with the visual form on the axis of the desired ideologyand emphasizes the hidden and deeper layers of meaning.To explain the role Muhammad and Muse in famous carpetsResearch method: In order to reach the appropriate answer, the research data, which has been collected by the field and documentary method, has been analyzed in a descriptive and analytical way, emphasizing Wolff's opinions.Based on Wolff's point of view, it was concluded that the famous carpet of Niavaran Palace is one of the important productions of the Qajar period, which was created within the discourses of antiquarianism and intellectual currents, which is reflected in the diminution of Islam by removing the Prophet. and by substituting the image of Jesus it implicitly points to the superiority of Christianity. In this work, despite the presence of other figures related to Islam such as Omar, there is a kind of anti-Islamic ideology by removing the prophet of the Islamic world.
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