A Comparative Study on an Ilkhanid Textile and the Seljuk Pottery

Pottery and textile weaving were two art media during the Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods, which one or sometimes both were considered important according to circumstances. Numerous studies have been carried out on pottery and weaving in the Seljuk period, and in some cases the evidence left over from that time has been reviewed in a comparative method to determine to some extent how these works were influenced by other fields. In some cases, evidence suggests that artists modeled on designs used in other industries, and they embellished their work on this basis. The present study has been done by using a comparative-historical methodology and the information gathered from library sources and by referring to related data, as well as a visual study of the Seljuk pottery and a sample of brocade textile from the Ilkhanid period preserved in the David Collection, Denmark. This textile is similar in terms of form, pattern, color and geometric divisions to the mina’i ware and luster-glazed bowls produced in Kashan. This study examines such interactions by thoroughly examining the patterns and similarities of the mentioned textile sample and pottery of the Seljuk period. It is to answer the following question: Which of the arts of pottery and weaving has had more influence on the other? There are some examples regarding the effect of textile patterns on pottery, especially in the early Islamic period, but in later centuries, pottery reached such a great place and independence that affected textiles; and its patterns and structure inspired the art of weaving. The results of this study show that with regard to the color of the Ilkhanid textile, the weaver had used gold and silver threads, i.e. brocade, to perform and manifest the beauty of luster-glazed pottery on the fabric. In observing the geometric divisions and in the general composition of the designs, the work has also been executed like pottery. It seems that the form and structure of this textile, which is circular, is taken from that of pottery medium. Using circular composition and concentric circles, as well as emphasizing on the middle section, which according to the type of the characterization and other elements of the work represents the narrative state of a particular subject, this work sounds fairly similar to the mina’i and luster-glazed ceramic plates once created by the Seljuk artisans.    Inscriptions of invocation and those of good wishes were used in that time on ceramic ware, and in this piece of textile such inscriptions are used on the last outward section of the work. Furthermore, the presence of mythical animals such as sphinxes among other creatures and the lush nature with fish ponds are elements often depicted in the Seljuk pottery. The assertion of such influence from pottery ware is not accidental and it seems that Seljuk pottery had been a good source of inspiration for this textile. On the whole, the general composition and use of usual patterns in luster-glazed and mina’i pottery has caused a successful adaptation in the design of the mentioned textile. Other examples of this field are less considered by researchers and should be further studied.