Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
M.A. of Islamic Art, Art Faculty. Soureh International University, Tehran, Iran.
2
PHD & Instructor of Department of Advanced Art Studies. Faculty of Art, Soureh International University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Bookmaking, manuscript layout, and related techniques, as main characteristics and indicators of Islamic culture and civilization, have always been the focus of attention and study by researchers and enthusiasts. Encompassing diverse traditional crafts like dyeing, papermaking, and bookbinding, this technique represents an enduring legacy and crucial evidence of books’ value in Islamic culture and civilization. The art of manuscript layout has been practiced in many Islamic lands. One of these lands is the Indian subcontinent. The study and examination of the cultural and political relations between Iran and the sub- continent in various periods shows that the court of the Indian sultans, especially since the Safavid era, has always been receptive to Iranian artists, scholars, and writers, a matter that has resulted in the production of numerous worthy art works in the form of Persian Tazkiras and treatises in the fields of calligraphy and book layout. Among these treatises is Alvan-al-Sovar, written in the 13th century AH on the art of illustration and book layout by an Indian named Marhamat-Ali Heydari, alias Sarsabz, citing Mohammad Hanif Mosavvar. This treatise, written in broken Nastaliq script in Persian in the subcontinent, was edited by Mohammad Hossein Soleimani and published in 2016 by the Islamic Consultative Assembly Publications.
The original version of this treatise is kept in the manuscript collection of the Astan Quds Razavi Library under number 42475. Alvan-al-Sovar is one of the most important treatises in the field of illustration and book layout, which in detail examines color production in Indian art and describes the method for making nearly one hundred colors in the subcontinent. The importance of study on this treatise lies in the fact that it was not only written by an Indian artist in a non-native language, namely Persian, in the subcontinent, but it is also considered as one of the most detailed first-hand texts that contains valuable technical information and some distinctive features in the field of manuscripts influenced by the Indian style as some of the points and information recorded in it cannot be found in other ancient treatises.
This work shows to what extent the artists of the subcontinent were familiar with the Iranian language, literature, art, and culture, to the point that they wrote a specialized treatise and a work worthy and comparable to the treatises of Iranian artists and to the geography of Iran. Another important aspect of this treatise is that, unlike other treatises related to the field of book layout which are basically calligraphy treatises and after introducing the rules and principles of calligraphy, the basics and techniques of book layout are also discussed in them, while treatise Alvan-al-sovar is exclusively about the basics of bookmaking, color and colorization, and other techniques related to book layout. This research aims to compare the Indian treatise Alvan-al-sovar with the Iranian treatise Golzar-e Safa by Sirafi (950 AH), which, like its Indian counterpart, specifically and ex- clusively introduces and explains the techniques related to book layout. It seeks to study the similarities and differences in the standard artistic methods in the discussion of book layout between Indian and Iranian artists, and to determine the differences between the method of preparing the standard primary colors in the Alvan-al-Sovar treatise and in the Iranian treatise Golzar-e Safa by Sirafi. The answer to this question, along with details on the preparation of primary colors in the subcontinent, will significantly help identify artistic and cultural similarities and differences between Iran and India. This research is qualitative in its fundamental purpose and nature. It is carried out in a descriptive-analytical-comparative manner by comparing the text of the treatise Alvan-al-Sovar with that of the Iranian treatise Golzar-e Safa Sirafi. Data collection is through documentary studies and library resources, and the tools and methods used are based on observation and recording. According to the results of the research, the treatise Alvan-al-sovar differs mainly from the treatise Golzar-e Safa in the primary and basic material, auxiliary materials and binders, and the method of work at different stages. This treatise provides a comprehensive and meticulous account of the paint preparation process, detailing each stage with precision, including the specific times required to dissolve the materials at each step. Such an exhaustive and systematic approach stands in contrast to the Iranian treatise Golzar-e Safa, which, while valuable, lacks the same level of step-by-step elaboration in its description of paint preparation methods.
Although there are some similarities in the preparation of standard primary colors between the two treatises, Alvan-al-Sovar and Golzar-e Safa, the Indian treatise Alvan-al-Sovar has fundamental differences with the Iranian treatise Gulzar Safa, mainly in terms of the primary and base materials, auxiliary materials, and binders, and the method of work in different stages. In Alvan-al-Sovar, in order to explain the method of preparing some important colors, including white and gold, the author has tried to mention all the important points related to the preparation of quality colors, and also explains in detail how to prepare the colors in different stages and the duration of dissolving the materials in each stage. In the treatise Gulzar Safa, not only are the stages of preparing the colors different, but the methods of preparing them are also not presented in such detail. Also, in Alvan al-Sovar, the author has tried to use precise weights, such as tank and mash, to measure materials or the ratio of combined materials. At the same time in the Iranian treatise Golzar-e Safa, this issue has been less considered, one of the reasons for which could be the difference in expressive capacities in prose and poetry formats in Persian, because in the prose format, the author enjoys freedom and breadth of field in using words and expressing vocabulary, while the poetry format has restrictions and the use of combinations and expressions in it is limited and follows specific rules.
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