Studying the Identity of Nishapur during the First Few Centuries of the Islamic Era through the Design of the Household Items: with an Emphasis on the Symbolic and Mythical Symbols of Ancient Iran

ABSTRACT: Identity is one of those symbols which are influenced by variety of factors. Since civilization and culture consists of physical and spiritual manifestations left behind by the mankind throughout the history, the tools and the items used by them becomes extremely important when studying their culture. By studying the symbols and the myths which are reflection of the people who used these items, one could gain insight into how these symbols and myths influenced their design. In this paper, it has been tried to take a look into determining the association of the ancient Iranian myths and symbols with the design of early centuries of the Islamic Era household objects in Nishapur. In other words, the main goal of this study is to bring into light the role and the influence of the ancient Iranian myths and symbols, which originated from Nishapur’s geographical location and climate and was manifested in design and processing of the household objects. The hypothesis of this research is: the ancient Iranian symbols and myths have influenced the design of the household objects during the early centuries of the Islamic Era. To examine the hypothesis, first, Nishapur’s geography reviewed, and then, the household dishes, during the aforementioned centuries, are briefly introduced. Finally, through introducing samples, the ways the ancient symbols and myths have influenced the design of these objects have been analyzed. Majority of the ancient symbols and myths have been inspired by the natural elements, especially, water, fire, animals and plants. For example, designs off fish, Anahita, Lily, and goat-antelope are just a few of the designs which not only were part of the myths and the symbols of the ancient Iran, but also have been used in designs after Islam and are grouped with the symbols associated with water. Moreover, symbols such as the story of Siavash, Izad Soroush, up-pointing triangle, lion and circle are concepts which have been designed in association with light and fire. Ultimately, the influence of the ancient beliefs on design of the household dishes during the early centuries of the Islamic Era in Iran in four groups of symbols, geometric, plant, animal and human were analyzed.