Industrial Arts

Industrial Arts

Mystical Symbology of “the Flower and Bird” From the Point of View of Ezzoddin Moghaddasi

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 lecturer at Islamic Art studies Department, Handicrafts faculty, Art university Isfahan , Isfahan, Iran.
2 MA in Islamic Art studies Department, Handicrafts faculty, Art university Isfahan , Isfahan, Iran.
Abstract
Discovering the mysterious world of the symbolic art of flowers and birds (Gol-o-Morq) is not easily possible except by referring to the mystical texts of talented and influential mystics. The Artist visualizes these interpretations as suspended images and expresses them as engravings. In these texts, we see that many words, far from their apparent meaning, have a hidden meaning, among which we can refer to the works of Ezzoddin Moghaddasi, a mystic of the 7th century Hijri. The conversation between flowers, birds, and animals is written in three parts. It starts with thanking and praising God Almighty and then asks people to pay attention to all the creatures of the universe with insight because each expresses their secrets. The main research question is to what extent this treatise has been influential in Persian literature in the dimension of mystical symbolism of Flowers and nightingales. And to what extent has it influenced the use of these symbols in the art of flowers and chickens? This research analyzes the treatise’s text, its semantic compatibility with Persian literature, and its influence on Iranian flower and bird art. Therefore, the dominant approach of this study is comparative research. The results clearly show a high correspondence between our holy view of the rose, jasmine, and nightingale and the view of Iranian mystical literature in this direction. Undoubtedly, mystical and lyrical literature has also inspired painters for the formation of flower and bird art from the Safavid period onwards. However, regarding the other flowers examined, Ezzoddin’s symbolism does not conform to the symbolic view of Iranian poets and mystics. Of the 11 cases studied, complete compliance was observed in only two—specifically, the rose and nightingale, central to Iranian flower and bird art.
Keywords