Dr. Telman Ibrahimov. Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
Medallion carpets The origin, symbolism and transformation definitions.
The emergence of large carpets with a central medallion is associated with the flourishing of palace culture in large Muslim empires, such as the Late Timuride, Ottoman, Safavid, Mongol. Afshar, Gajar and others. In the early Islamic empires, such as the Arab caliphate, the state of Seljuks, Ilkhanid and the early Timurid empire, palace culture had not yet acquired the scope, pomp and wealth that were observed in the late Muslim renaissance era. The heyday of the palace culture of the last quarter of the XV - the end of the XVIII century is identical to the flourishing of the European palace culture of the late Renaissance and Baroque. The enormous size and wealth of the eastern palaces - dictated new, large sizes of carpets for flooring. These carpets were created by craftsmen whose worldview was based on the values of Islam. Islam was not only a religion of worship to God, it also contained a new doctrine of cosmology, according to which Allah was central to space. Allah was perceived as the center of the universe. The spatial and temporal thinking of a Muslim in Islam acquired a “fulcrum” and a “starting point”. Any activity of a traditional person of this time began with praise of Allah, the ruler and customer. Any thing created by the master and claiming perfection should also reflect this unshakable cause-and-effect hierarchy. The palace carpet, created by the master, also acquired perfection and standardization, if it contained the symbolism of this hierarchy. To understand the symbolism of the carpet wizard’s mind, one should rely on the Quran, which defined the basic concepts of the structure of the world and life. Three theses (Ayat) taken from the Koran clearly demonstrate the symbolism of the center (source) of the sacred and profanic world in the Muslim version: 1. Allah is one, there is no other deity except Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger: (Symbol of the Muslim faith). 1
2. I swear by the sun and its morning radiance; (Surah 91. Ash-Shams (The Sun). 3. Allah is the Light of heaven and earth. His light in the soul of a believer is like a niche in which a lamp is located. The lamp is enclosed in glass, and the glass is like a pearl star. It is kindled by a blessed olive tree, which is not illuminated by the sun only from the east or only from the west. His oil is ready to shine even without contact with fire. One light on top of another! Allah guides to His light whom He wills.(Surah 24. An-Nur (The Light). Allah-centric "emanation" model of the Islamic world is "projected" on the space of the Islamic carpet. However, Islam does not introduce radically new symbols and motifs into the carpet, it determines the new structure of the carpet design, in which the ancient symbols acquired a new interpretation. The holy book of Muslims - the Koran structures the world as having a single center (Allah). The unimaginable [aniconic and transcendental] Allah is symbolized as a source of light (the sun) and perfection in the world. This symbolism is initially reflected on the covers of the Quran bearing the word of God. There is a canon of binding the Koran in the form of a medallion. A single and central medallion hanging in the empty space of the binding is surrounded by a protective border separating the sacral world from the profane one. The design of the holy Quran acquires the status of a perfect symbol. Dear, time-consuming and unique carpets presented to the Shah (Sultan) should also contain the idea of perfection worthy of a ruler. The medallion composition that appeared in them imitated the sign of “perfection and absolute”, canonized in the design of the surface of the Quran. The Quranic Symbol of Monotheism (Tovhid) was broadcast on a carpet that was supposed to express the power and glory of the center of the profanic world, which was the ruler. The sun in Koran, Arabic and Farsi is called Shams ()شمس. Consequently, the carpet depicting the sun could have only one name “Shams-carpet”. At the same time, according to sources, in the laudatory verses of the palace poets of the Middle Ages, the ruler of the empire (Shah, Sultan) was also compared with the sun 2
illuminating the world. The laudatory odes of palace poets directly call the ruler the sun shining with its glory. The word carpet in Arabic has two options: sijada ( )سجادةand bisat ()بساط. Medieval Arabic-speaking sources of the 9th-13th centuries. The term sijada is often used. But large medallion palace carpets originally originated in the palace workshops (karkhane) of the Turkic empires (the Late-Timurid, Safavid and Ottoman). In all of them, the ruling dynasties were ethnic Turks. The word carpet in Turkic sounds like Hali (Khaly). In the Late Safavi era (end of the 17th century), its Farsi equivalent, Gali ()قالی, was distributed. Therefore, the medallion carpet of this time could be called “Shams-Hali” (Khaly, Gali), the sun-carpet. A later Turkic and Persian tradition retained the name Gül behind the central medallion of the carpet (Flower: Gol[farsi], Kul [Turkic]). But the medallion covers of the early Korans did not depict a flower, they symbolized the abstract divine radiance in the form of the sun. Nevertheless, in the future, there is a gradual transformation of the symbol of the source of light and life (the sun) - into a new, but again - an abstract floral motif. This transformation occurs first on the covers of the Quran, and later, in the medallion compositions of palace carpets. In such areas of the Islamic world as the Maghrib and Maverannahr, the transformation of light (the sun) into a flower (rosette) passes through abstract geometrization, the stable form of which was the well-known Muslim Pattern (Ghereh). But the geometric nut became more common in book illumination and architectural decoration. In the carpets, its plant (floral) equivalent was established. It is appropriate to recall the weaving symbolism of the carpet: The spatial and temporal nature of the structure of the carpet was determined by such concepts as “Zaman” (time) and “Zemin” (space). In the vocabulary of the old masters, the vertical axis of the development of carpet space to the center of the carpet and back was designated by the concept “Zemin”(space, surface of the earth, world), horizontal- “Zaman”(time). Thus, the fundamental categories of time and space are symbolically reflected the master on the surface of the carpet. At the next stage of development of the design of the medallion, the flower motif is detailed and acquires an interpretation of the Garden of Eden, already filled 3
with many flowers and animals. The Koran claims that “Paradise belongs to Allah, this is his abode”. Consequently, the paradise image of the medallion indirectly symbolized Allah himself in his eternal abode. Strengthening the secular tendencies of the feudal palace life of the late Middle Ages marked the new priorities. In the design of carpets they began not to give preference to the early Islamic sacral sign in the form of "Source of divine light." Began to give preference to quite sensual and earthly symbol of the Garden of Eden. The Arabic word Janna ( )جنّةliterally means gardens. The sources and traditions of the later Muslim empire (Great Mughals) retained the original name of this medallion already transformed into a sign of the Garden of Eden in the form of the well-known “Shamsa”. The old Moghol name of this central medallion - “Shamsa” (sun) contains the memory of its original content and symbolism. Thus, over time, the ancient sacred symbol "Shams" (Sun) in palace carpets, turned into a symbol of "Divine Paradise." In fact, the masters who created the medallion carpet based on the ancient design of “Shams-Khali”(Carpet-Sun), presented the ruler with the material symbol of paradise, hinting that the ruler is worthy of paradise during his lifetime. “Shams-khali” turned into “Janna-khali” (Carpet-Paradise). Arabic ْ( َجنَّةJanna- Paradise). By the end of the 17th century, the refinement of the images and motifs of some palace carpets reached its apogee. This period can be compared with the European era of the transition from Baroque to Rococo. The vertical elongation of the carpet - “stretched” the round medallion, which acquired two sharp corners along the vertical axis. The form of the new medallion is now called “badami” (pistachio). Following this, a new motif called the Gubba (dome) appears on the sharp corners of the medallion. Some medallion rugs literally copied the cover design of the Quran. In such carpets, next to the “gubba” motif, there are also small ornamental “kataba” (calligraphic tablet) inherent in the design of the Quranic pages and calligraphic panels. 4
The results of the analysis of the form, content and names of medallion palace carpets allow us to state the following: 1. The idea of Islamic Tovhid (( )توحيدmonotheism), permeating the religious, profanic and artistic consciousness of the carpet master, was reflected in his attempt to create a perfect creation worthy of Allah and the Sultan of the material world. 2. The prototype of the design of the medallion palace carpets “Shams-khali” of the era of the early Ottomans and Safavids - was the cover of the holy Quran. The artists who created these covers and the designers of palace carpets were the same people. 3. In the Late Safavid and Late Ottoman era, the medallion palace carpet “Jannat-khali”, which was presented to the Shah, began to symbolize the Muslim Paradise. A carpet with a medallion began to symbolize the Shah himself, single and indivisibly illuminating the mortal world with the rays of his glory and forever dwelling in the heavenly abode of Allah. 4. Thanks to the “efforts” of Western collectors and dealers, the Oriental “Paradise carpets” of the Ottoman and Safavid times today have a trivially boring and “semantically empty” name - “Medallion carpet”. 5. During the 15th and 18th centuries, the word “medallion” was not in the dictionary of peoples and craftsmen who created the “medallion carpet”... BIBLIOGRAPHY : 1. Quran. Tərcümə edənlər: Ziya Bünyatov və Vasim Məmmədəliyev.“Azərnəşr” Bakı 1992. 2. Солмаз Рзакулизаде. Шамс Тебризи. "История Азербайджанской Философии" . т.2, Баку. 2008. с. 91-129. http://orientalphilosophy.org/nesrler/120-shams-tebrz.html 3. Nizami Gəncəvi. Sirlər xəzinəsi(Məxzənül-Əsrar). “Elm”nəşriyyatı. Bakı 1981, səh. 28 4. Islamic Carpets. Medallion carpet (also called Tabriz carpet). The Joseph V. McMullan Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/pubs/bulletins/1/pdf/3258476.pdf.bannered.pdf 5. Murray L. Eiland. Rug and carpet. https://www.britannica.com/technology/rug-andcarpet#ref599446 6. Marika Nickson. Carpets from the Islamic World, 1600–1800. http://alrug.com/hand-knottedcarpets-from-the-islamic-world-1600-1800/ 7. An exhibition of antique oriental rug. The Art Institute of Chicago. February 6 through March 16, 1947. http://m.artic.edu/sites/default/files/libraries/pubs/1947/AIC1947OrientalRugs_comb.pdf 5
ILLUSTRATIONS
Rosette (Shamsa) Bearing the Names and Titles of Shah Jahan, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album. 1628-58 6
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Shamsa Shah Jahan
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Illuminated Frontispiece with Shamsah. Amir Khusraw Dihlavi. Muhammad Husayn Zarrin Qalam. 1597-1598 (Mughal) 8
Quran. Cover 9
Qur'an Bookbinding Inset with Turquoise. 16th century. Made in Iran
The interior side of the dome of the Sheikh Lotf-Allah mosque in Isfahan, Iran 10
Divan of Hafiz. 15th century. British Library 11
Divan of Hafiz. Shamsah. 15th century. British Library
Ardabil carpet. Safavid. 1539-43. Shamsa-Rosette-Medalion 12
Ardabil carpet. Safavid. 1539-43
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Safavid carpet. 16th century 14
Early Anatolian Turkish rug. 15-16th centuries. Hermitage
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Ushak carpet. Ottoman period first half of 17th century. Turkey 16
OTTOMAN EGYPT, 16TH CENTURY 17
Tabriz carpet. 16th century. Louvre 18
The Sanguszko carpet, from KirmÄ n, 16-17th century (Miho Museum, Kyoto, Japan).
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Early Ningxia Rug with Floral Medallion and Butterflies. 1723-1735
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Mid.–16th century. Safavid
16th century. Safavid
Moghol Shamsa (Sun). 22
17th century. Northwestern Iran
Husn U Dil. Signed Mirak Al-Shirazi, Baghdad, Dated A.H. 868/1463-64 A.D.
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Safavid manuscript. Mid. 17th century
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White-ground carpet (604 x 365 cm). North Persia, first half of the sixteenth century. Acquired about 1890 from a synagogue in Genoa by W. von Bode. 25