Tashir in the Illuminations of Khamsah Nizami Tahmaspi(OR 2265): A Comparative Typology

Known to be one of the most significant illustration techniques in bibliopegy, tashir is characterized by a variety of aesthetical features over different eras. The Safavid Reign marks the summit of this art form. A magnificent inheritance of this era, the Tahmaspi Khamsah is an exquisite manuscript illuminated with the two prominent types of tashir common during the Safavid period. The tashirs of this book, which demonstrate a variety of styles in the design and arrangement of motifs, have been partially fixed and restored. Given the diversity of motifs and patterns evident in the illuminations of the marginalia, the question arises regarding the categorization of tashirs based on their visual features and techniques employed to create them, and the similarities and differences between the provisional categories. Using a descriptive analytical method, the present research has made an attempt to find the answer the abovementioned questions. It also aims to typologically categorize the tashir illuminations of the aforesaid manuscript, and to indicate in what ways they are similar or different. The findings of the research demonstrate three types in the illumination of the marginalia, a comparison of whose features shows that they have probably been created in the 10th and 11th centuries AH (the 16th and 17th centuries) by the prominent artists of the time. Of the distinctions between the three types, alterations in the dimensions of the borders and the variation of motifs used are the most significant. The illumination motifs are aligned in a tuneful accordance with tashir patterns, and the layouts are extremely precious, which altogether indicate the importance of this manuscript during the Safavid rule. The succedent artisans who developed the second and third types during the Safavid period kept mimicking the style of their predecessors in order to maintain the originality of their work by using the earlier works of tashir as a staple model, and have in turn brought about yet another similarity between the three types