A stylistic study of the illumination motifs of tents and awnings in selected illustrations of the Shahnameh of Shah Tehamasbi

The Shahnameh of Shah Tehamasbi with 258 illustrations is the result of the efforts of prominent artists of the 10th Ah century from the Tabriz school of the Safavid period. This Shahnameh contains a brilliant collection of exquisite paintings and illumination that showcase the beauty and glory of Safavid art. Among the impressive decorations of Tahmasabi's Shahnameh, illumination motifs can be seen in the decorations of tents and awnings, which almost occupy a considerable amount of space in the paintings. It seems that this role of motifs was used in the decoration of tents and awnings of that period. Therefore, this article aims to study and examine the elements of the illumination motifs of tents and awnings in the selected paintings of Shahnameh Tahmasabi based on the components of type, color and composition and finally the formalistic stylistics of its illumination motifs and the present article is also in response to these questions that "what illumination motifs (based on type, color and composition) were used in the decorations of tents and awnings in Shahnameh of Shah Tehamasbi? and what style do these role models follow in terms of formalism?" This article was developed with descriptive-analytical method and data collection was done through internet resources and library studies. The statistical population is the images with tents and awnings in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasabi, out of which eight images have been purposefully selected The results obtained from the study and analysis of eight images from Tahmasbi's Shahnameh show that Eslimi (Arabesque) and Khataee (Floral) motifs are abundantly used in the decorations of tents and awnings. And this motifs, along with other motifs, was used in the decoration of luxurious tents and awnings of the Safavid period. But among the illumination motifs in the illustrations of the tents and tents of the Shahnameh, Eslimi motifs have been executed with a higher variety than other motifs with snake Eslimi, ivy Eslimi, egg-shaped Eslimi and Dragon-mouth Eslimi forms. Khataee motifs are also seen in most of the paintings in combination with Eslimi motifs. Also, in some paintings, a small amount of decorations is dedicated to Geometric patterns and Tasheer. The illumination motifs with rotating and frame combinations are executed in symmetry. That monochromatic motifs are more present in decorations. Despite the use of a variety of colors, the azure and golden colors include the surface and a lot of coloring of the motifs. In the stylistics of the illumination of tents and awnings in Shahnameh of Shah Tehamasbi, the presence of Slimi Mari (snake Arabesque), Slimi Fili, the vacant space of the background can be seen. Also, the colors of the illumination background, which are closer to the color of the fabrics, are used more. Slimi and Khataei are present in the overall motifs of the decoration of tents and awnings, which Khatai is more than Slimi and has more variety of flowers and leaves.