A taxonomical comparison of pre-Mongolian and Safavid metal ewers

Since the beginning, mankind has needed to make and use all kinds of containers for eating and drinking, and the containers for liquids are an important part of them, and ewers are among them, which were used for drinking and washing purposes. Iranians used to make ewers in different ways and with different materials. At first, these types of containers were made of clay and clay, and after people became familiar with metal, they were also made of different types of metal. With the emergence of Islam and the formation of Islamic civilizations in different geographical areas including Iran, changes influenced by Islam can be seen in the arts. In the Islamic era, the construction of these ewers continued under the influence of pre-Islamic metalworking and grew under the influence of the advancement of metalworking techniques. In the early Islamic centuries, the works obtained from the periods are so limited that the analyzes are mainly based on hypothesis and speculation. In the history of metalwork art of Islamic Iran, the pre-Mongolian and Safavid period ewers are famous due to the development of construction and the formation of regional styles. These two periods are known as the two flourishing eras of the art of the Islamic era, one of which can be considered as the continuation of the old pre-Islamic traditions and the other as the beginning of the new era of metalworking. Therefore, it is necessary to know the similarities and differences of the common types and to examine the form of these vessels in these two periods as an introduction to the style of metalwork in the Islamic era of Iran. For this reason, in this article, the metal ewers of these two historical periods have been chosen in order to know their formal characteristics. The question raised is that the shape of the ewers of these two periods, which includes the shape of the body, neck and other parts of the ewers, are compared to each other. Research information has been collected using a library method with a fishing tool. The research method is descriptive-analytical and the results of the study are analyzed qualitatively. The investigation and comparison of these ewers showed that in terms of form, the ewers of the pre-Mongolian period are divided into four formal groups, in the second and third groups, there is a part called the pollen in the ewers, and in the fourth group, the neck part is not seen separately. to be Safavid period ewers are divided into two different form groups from the pre-Mongolian period, in the first group the ewers neck is formed by reducing the diameter of the body, and in the second group there is no part called the neck and the whole ewer is made up of the body, which is usually the base. A is placed below it. Analyzing ,comparing and examination the form of these fountains can be a sign of greater diversity and innovation in the pre-Mongolian period compared to the Safavid period