Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Ph.D. student of comparative and analytical history of Islamic art, Faculty of Arts, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Islamic Arts, Faculty of Arts, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/skh.2023.16373.1429
Abstract
In the early Islamic centuries, Muslims used a variety of terms to describe the visual arts, which are recorded in early lexicographical sources. They often employed synonymous words to explain meanings without providing clear distinctions between them. Analyzing the meanings of these terms and paying attention to their differences can offer a clearer understanding of how Muslims in the early Islamic period perceived visual arts. This study investigates which terms were used in connection with the visual arts and how these terms were defined in early lexicons. What semantic differences existed among them? Terms such as barqash, tazwiq, raqsh, raqt, raqm, raqn, zukhruf, qarmat, naqsh, namsh, namq, namnama, and washi were used to represent the depiction of living beings. The findings show that some of these terms originally referred to images, while others initially had non-image meanings but were also applied to depict images. These terms can be categorized semantically according to their relation to imagery: in some, representing living beings predominates, while in others, meanings unrelated to depicting living beings—such as ornate decoration, pattern-making techniques, color quality, and intricacy—dominate. These terms were generally used in the sense of adorning and decorating, and since some types of decoration involved images of living beings, they gradually came to be used in the sense of representing living beings.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)