paradaz or stripple technique in persian painting

pardaz is technique of employing points or small dots of colour to creat the maximum colour intensity. in other word, it is type of intaglio engaraving in which groups of dots and lines are used to build up tonal effects. it conveys dual interest in intensifying the effect of colour and light. this was a lengthy process requiring great skill and colour impressions were usually double the price of monochrome ones. in this technique the richness of hand colouring often used in finishiung miniature. dots were used in the earliest miniature, for example, by bihzad to build up areas of tone. having emerged from the beginning in persian painting, it was popularized in safawid period. for example sultan muhammad used pardaz technique in his miniature for scheme of tree and grassy settings and so on decorations. several painters, then, worked with this technique in safawid period. indeed many stipples were made from miniature painting. because of the small scale in which it was possible to work , stipple was also admirably suited to the production of miniatures. pardaz technique characterize the ensemble of illustration of two shahnama manuscripts in safawid period. the one known as rashida shahnama in the gulistan palace library in tehran. the other known as garajoghy khan shahnama preserved in the royal library at windsor castle in england. muhammad yusuf and muhammad qasim are two painters that illustrate these two manuscripts with pardaz technique. the technique of pardaz was used by artist in mughal india, for they learning this method from the persian artists. for border paintings, the technique of pardaz were extensively used in iran, mughal india and in turkey and the very finest manuscripts would have original designs painted on the borders. the most sumptuous manuscripts produced for akbar had original border designs. interesting evidence of artist technique of pardaz is to be found in this border designs. the artist who were taken to india from tabriz by humayun in mid-10th century taught the indian artists the technique of pardaz in all its forms. by the late 10th century in india, under the patronage of humayun`s son, the emperor akbar, manuscripts produced at the royal atelier were as sumptuous as products of shah tahmasp`s academy. artists of these manuscripts follow the persian tradition of pardaz techniqe. meanwhile, the pardaz technique formed the subject of persian painting identity in qajar period. it is a curious feature of lavishly illustrated copy of hezar-o yekshab manuscript. mirza baba, sani’mulk, ismail jalayer, mihr ali and mohmud khan saba who were painters that depicted their works with pardaz technique.several of pardaz features characterize the painting ensemble of these painters. notably ismail jalayer should now be considered part of the pardaz technique in qajar period. his style characterize the black and white pardaz (siyah q alam) which culminated in life-size painting of dervishes.