A Study on the Motifs and Inscriptions of the Buyid Textiles (Case Study: Discovered Fabrics from the Bibi-Shahrbānu Monument and the Naqqāreh-Khāneh in Ray)

In Buyid period textiles became fairly valuable artifacts as a result of silk fabrics production in Iran. Royal textiles were produced from silk and the inscriptions were either embroidered or woven on them in Kufic or Naskh scripts. The main question in this research is that how the Buyid culture exerted influence on this kind of textile. Incidentally, it is aimed to see how the Buyid period culture affected the textile production in all aspects including motifs, inscriptions, contents as well as their function. The present research has been carried out on the basis of studying 26 inscribed textiles discovered from the tombs in Ray. The data of the research has been collected from library sources. The analysis method in here is both quantitative and qualitative. Adopting a descriptive methodology, the present study has attempted to analyze the dual view in the mentioned period. According to documents, the textiles were used as shrouds and also to cover the tomb and in some cases as a material buried with the deceased. Some of the literature documents also confirm that in the Buyid period aristocracies were buried with silk textiles. The relation between the content of textile inscriptions and their motifs is another issue to be discussed here. Furthermore, it is attempted to see how such elements were related to the function of textiles as shroud and as a material buried with the deceased. According to the evidence, one of the clear factors affecting the Buyid textiles is the combination of both ancient Iranian features and those of the Islamic culture. In Ray textiles, motifs would be classified into four main subjects, including trees, birds, riders, human beings. Most of the motifs have symbolic meanings to the human values, afterlife, the eternity of human and the next world. Most of the inscriptions have religious contents. The motifs reflect the attention to the ancient Iranian culture while the inscriptions show the religious view of the Buyid governors. The result shows that the contrast between the pre-Islamic visual motifs and religious contents could be considered as a result of cultural and religious combination which was dominant in the Buyid period.