Analysis of Herat embroidery patterns from the perspective of fractal geometry

Geometric shapes and motifs are a combination of the human spiritual mind which sees the existence of beautiful and paints a historical civilization through this vision. The geometric motifs are an expression of the rhythmic and balanced human beings possessions when the human being wants to imagine beyond the present and create a world full of love. The patterns/shapes are the basis of artworks and give a great prominence to it. In this paper, it is struggled to combine and analyze discussions and statements along the fractal geometry approach of Herat embroidery in order to determine the impact and effectiveness. The researcher intends to give a brief information about embroidery for a comprehensive understanding, and then to analyze the embroidery patterns of Herat and study them from the perspective of fractal geometry. Although this traditional art is a part of the tangible culture of Afghanistan, the use of the geometric structure in these embroideries shows the originality of art and culture of ancient Herat. Therefore, the study and analysis of this feminine and primitive art can be a useful step in the direction of the ancient Herat art and culture studies. Embroidery is one of the ancient methods to decorate the surface of fabric or clothing and is one of the traditional arts of Afghanistan, which has a great reputation and ancient history that has special interests in all countries. In Herat embroidery we can see a type of geometric motifs which adorns the male and female clothing in Afghanistan especially in Herat. Undoubtedly, the essence of each of these products shows the skill, taste, initiative and creativity of Afghan women. The majority of these women live in remote villages and hamlets and are engaged in this craft with a special interest in the fractal geometry Unusual geometric shapes that are most important feature of them are self-similarity and repetitive formation. These features can also be seen in the designs of these embroidery in Herat. The main questions raised in this paper are: What is the relationship between the Herat embroidery and the fractal geometry patterns? What are the similarities and differences between fractal shapes and embroidery patterns in Herat? The research in this paper is based on descriptive - analytical - and adaptive methods. The library method, field observations and interviews with embroiders in Herat were used to generate and gather the relevant information. The most important part of this article, which is the embroidered patterns of Herat, was in the form of an interview and to get the basic knowledge that has been taken from local customs and traditions, travel has been made to distant cities. After collecting the data, the results showed that the embroidered patterns of Herat have similarities and differences with the fractal geometry patterns and motifs. However, their similarities are far greater than their differences. In general it can be stated that these patterns by having the features like repeated formation, self-similarity and zooming to infinity are being counted as part of the fractal geometric patterns.