THE THEMES OF METALWORKING IN THE SALJUQID PERIOD VIS-À- VIS KHORASAN AND MOSUL SCHOOLS

Abstract

The Saljuqs were originally nomadic tribes and nomadic Turkmen from Kyrgyz regions ofCentral Asia. In the early eleventh century, the Saljuqs began their reign by seizing a majorpart of Transoxiana. The Saljuqid is one of the most important eras in Islamic-Iraniancivilization in which different fine arts reached an unprecedented apogee of flourishing inthe history of Iran. The remaining objects from this period show that metalworking washighly developed. Similar to previous eras, silver and gold were rarely used in the Saljuqidera because of religious bans. Silver and gold were used for plating less valuable metals suchas bronze and brass. The aim of this article is to examine the forms, themes, and metals usedin the Saljuqid era and to investigate the innovations made by two artistic movements,namely, Khorasan and Mosul. Some of the most important art and crafts schools, especiallymetalworking, of this era were Khorasan and Mosul. This article is based on bibliographicresearch with an analytical-descriptive approach. First the themes are analyzed, followedby a study of the symbols, and finally an analysis of the intention behind them.