Sasanian art

Reliefs

Some of the greatest achievements are mainly a series of more than thirty rock relief monuments. They are mostly found in Fars province, which was the original province of the ruling Sassanid house. The reliefs mostly date back to between the 3rd and beginning of the 4th centuries. The reliefs depict some significant event and are usually attributed to specific rulers.

A relief at Naqsh-e Rostam is mounted below the Achaemenid royal tombs, and is therefore probably in reference to this, as a way for a monarch to likein and connect himself to the old dynasty and pay homage. Ardashir I is depicted with the god Ahura Mazda, each in strict profile and of the same size. This depicts an equality of the monarch and the god, indicating a greatness about him. The relief is modeled very strong, but is rather cautious in the presentation of details. There is evidence of Hellenistic influences in the relief.

Other reliefs, such as at Taq-e Bostan, are mounted in a rock-hewn arch. On the back wall of this there are almost fully sculpted figures. Khosrow II is illustrated on a horse in a heavy suit of armor. The scenes on the sides of this show a royal hunt. The figure of the ruler is shown in front view, his face contrast in three-quarter view. His figure is tall and dominates the whole scene, other figures, however, are shown comparatively small. The composition gives the representation of landscape and many details such as the court of the king, a rather picturesque impression and was certainly once painted.

Stucco

In addition to the rock reliefs, stucco reliefs played a major role in art under the Sasanians. Since stone brick buildings were conceived as ugly, they were covered in stucco. Within these stucco walls reliefs were often carved of mainly floral patterns, but also figurative representations and especially animals. Often important state buildings, such as palaces and administrative headquearers, would have been decorated as such, often colored white.

Paintings

Paintings played a substantial role in Sassanid art, although it is currently poorly documented. Mani was known to have been a painter of some fame, apparently for panel paintings or miniatures in books. Nothing of this sort remains from the period, although the tradition of the Persian miniature from some centuries later was apparently the earliest in the Islamic world.

One of the few sites where wall-paintings survived in quantity is Panjakent in modern Tajikistan, and ancient Sogdia, which was barely, if at all, under the control of the central Sasanian power. The old city was abandoned in the decades after the Muslims eventually took the city in 722 and has been extensively excavated in modern times. Large areas of wall paintings survived from the palace and private houses, which are mostly now in the Hermitage Museum or Tashkent. They covered whole rooms and were accompanied by large quantities of reliefs in wood. The subjects are similar to other Sasanian art, with enthroned kings, feasts, battles, and beautiful women, and there are illustrations of both Persian and Indian epics, as well as a complex mixture of deities. They mostly date from the 7th and 8th centuries.

In Hajjiabad, Iran, a mansion was excavated that still contained well-preserved paintings. The walls were decorated with frontal view busts. The frescos at Dura Europos, on the frontier of the Roman Empire and Sasanian Persia, are also relevant, with many figures in Persian dress. The most famous come from the Dura-Europos synagogue, and date from around 244–256; those in the Dura-Europos church may be a few years older.

At Bishapur, floor mosaics in a broadly Greco-Roman style have survived, and these were probably widespread in other elite settings, perhaps made by craftsmen from the Greek world.

Architecture

The grandest buildings of Sasanian architecture were very large palaces in brick, with high vaulted halls, that were important in the development of the iwan in Islamic architecture. The Sasanians further developed the vaults and arches used by the Parthians, usually with a large opening to one side of the hall in iwan style.

Taq Kasra, the palace at Ctesiphon, is dominated by an arched hall, with much of the enormous vault still standing. The facade is elaborately articulated with columns and niches which once bore paintings and reliefs.

The Palace of Firuzabad (Iran) was built by Ardashir I. It is located on a small lake, which opens to the main arch of the structure. From that opening on both sides slightly smaller halls present are also curved. Behind the main arch is also a hall with a dome 22-meters high., with two domed rooms on either side. Behind these rooms, there is a surrounding courtyard which connects all around. The walls of the rooms are divided by niches and once had rich stucco decorations. The area around the palace was once a garden. The garden, palace, and lake were all built together and were at a time connected.

Urban planning

The Sasanians built numerous new cities with elaborate planning. Many of them are circular, mainly as a defensive tactical advantage it had during sieges. The walls of a round city could enclose with the same length of a larger area. But there were also rectangular-scale urban systems. These are usually associated with Roman architects who were abducted by the Sasanians. Although this was probably needed for the planning of these cities in the Sasanian style. Rectangular city facilities are therefore considered as an alternative Sasanian urban planning system.

Firuzabad is a settlement built under Ardashir I and a well-documented example of Sasanian urban planning. The city had a diameter of 2 km and was circular. Two roads divided them into four districts, which in turn were divided into 5 smaller sectors and thus ordered the entire city in 20 sectors. The detailed planning seems to have continued in the surrounding landscape. Bishapur and Gundeshapur, however, are conversely perpendicular cities. Bishapur seems to have been developed by Roman craftsmen, since the local palace is decorated with mosaics in the Hellenistic style.

Coinage

Sasanian coins are a particularly important source for a major reason; they are easily datable from all periods of Sasanian history. Using the name of the ruler's image on the coin in Pahlavi and it can be used to date other works of art. The front usually shows the image of the ruler, sometimes together with a son or wife, rarely with both. On the back there are several scenes, including an investiture or an altar, on which the eternal fire is burning. The tradition of these designs begins with the rather stiff image of Ardashir I (224–242), and under Shapur I (240–270). Under Shapur II (309–379), it is again made of the same material, while the detail modeling is slightly decreased. This is, however, important again later. In the following period the designs are often highly stylized and have been partially recorded.

Arts and crafts

Metalwork

A number of Sasanid silver vessels have survived, especially rather large plates or bowls used to serve food. These have high-quality engraved or embossed decoration from a courtly repertoire of mounted kings or heroes, and scenes of hunting, combat and feasting, often partially gilded. Ewers, presumably for wine, may feature dancing girls in relief. These were exported to China, and also westwards.

A special feature of Sasanian art is represented by shells of silver and gold, on the inner surface of which a scene is etched into a relief. About a hundred specimens are known of, which demonstrate the literary splendor of the court. Many come from excavations, but they are mostly chance finds. Many were found near the Ural Mountains in Russia and were likely traded in this area. The original purpose, function and authority of these shells therefore remains in the dark. Often, a ruler is shown at the hunt. He usually sits on a horse that moves in a flying gallop. He stands with his sword pointed at a dangerous animal such as a boar or lion or shooting a bow and arrow. The face often appears in three-quarter view.

There are also some peaceful representations that occur, such as depictions of animals and legendary creatures. Earlier versions of the silver shell bowls usually depict a monarch in full relief, dominating the entire shell. Later, however, in the 4th and 5th centuries the focal character of the shell shares space with a smaller secondary character or element.

Another group of metal goods are present; richly decorated vessels whose shape may have been adopted from the customs of the Mediterranean.

Textiles

Carpets evidently could reach a high level of sophistication, as the praise lavished on the lost royal Baharestan Carpet by the Muslim conquerors shows. But the only surviving fragments that might originate from Sasanid Persia are humbler productions, probably made by nomad tribes. Sasanid textiles were famous, and fragments have survived, mostly with designs based on animals in compartments, in a long-lasting style.

There are indications that especially colorful decorated fabrics had a special importance under the Sassanids. However, the assessment of this art form presents many difficulties for the research, as there are few textiles that date back to the Sassanid Empire itself and the findings outside the empire (e.g. in Egypt) are not always of clear origin, if it was imported from the Sassanids or their own imitations or creations. Especially when the textiles are decorated with heraldic animal patterns, a Sassanid origin is usually assumed. Typical are peacocks, rams and other animals that are arranged singly or in pairs within a rosette. The ram was the god of war in connection to Verethragna and therefore held a particular popularity in the Sasanian arts as a motif for textiles.

Glass

Sasanian glass continued and developed Roman glass technology. In simpler forms it seems to have been available to a wide range of the population, and was a popular luxury export to Byzantium and China, even appearing in elite burials from the period in Japan. Technically, it is a silica-soda-lime glass production characterized by thick glass-blown vessels relatively sober in decoration, avoiding plain colours in favour of transparency and with vessels worked in one piece without over- elaborate amendments. Thus the decoration usually consists of solid and visual motifs from the mould (reliefs), with ribbed and deeply cut facets, although other techniques like trailing and applied motifs were practised. Sasanian pottery does not seem to have been used by the elites, and is mostly utilitarian.

Influence

Sasanian art had a strong influence on the Islamic art of Persia and the wider Islamic world. Arches are one of the most characteristic elements of Persian architecture. Especially in Central Asia, such as Sogdiana the methods and customs of art are directly attributable to the Sasanians.

Sasanian influences are found in medieval Byzantine textiles, jewelry, and architectural sculpture. A notable example of Sasanian-influenced decorative motifs can be found in the fifth- and sixth-century floor mosaics of Antioch. Sasanian motifs did not appear before the fifth century in Roman-Byzantine art, but the impact was long-lived.

It was mainly through textiles that heraldric motifs spread, although some mosaics as early as the 6th century from Antioch depicted the same motifs.

Literature

• Canepa, Matthew P., "Topographies of Power, Theorizing the Visual, Spatial and Ritual Contexts of Rock Reliefs in Ancient Iran", in Harmanşah (2014), google books
• Cotterell, Arthur (ed), The Penguin Encyclopedia of Classical Civilizations, 1993, Penguin, ISBN 0670826995
• Kurt Erdmann: The Art of Iran in the Time of the Sassanids. Berlin 1943, 1969
• G. Reza Garosi: The Colossal Statue of Shapur I in the style of Sasanian Sculpture. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4112-7
• Roman Ghirshman: Iran. Parthian and Sassanid. Munich 1962 (orig. London 1962)
• Harper, P.O., "History of Art in Iran, v. Sasanian", 1986–2011, Encyclopedia Iranica
• Prudence Oliver Harper: In search of a cultural identity: monuments and artifacts of the Sasanian Near East, 3rd to 7th century A.D. New York 2006
• Herrmann, G, and Curtis, V.S., "Sasanian Rock Reliefs", Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2002, Online text
• Keall, Edward J., "Bīšāpūr", 1989, Encyclopedia Iranica
• Luschey, Heinz, "Bisotun ii. Archeology", Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2013, Online text