Persian Carpet as a Media of Communication between Iranian and

Persian Carpet as a Media of Communication between Iranian and

J. Humanities (2006) Vol. 13 (3): (63 - 81)
Persian Carpet as a Media of Communication between
Iranian and European Artists
A Semiotic Approach to William Morris’ Tapestries
Bahar Mousavi Hejazi1, Mojtaba Ansari2, Habibollah Ayatollahi3, Mohammad Reza Pourjafar4
Abstract
Persian carpet weaving is one of Iran’s most famous industries that has attracted the world’s
attention to Persian arts through the centuries. What above all, have given prominence to
Persian carpet as a beautiful work of art are the pattern and its composition in a twodimensional space. The diversity of patterns, use of deep and beautiful colors, good
composition, harmony of colors, delicate and poetic composition are among the most
outstanding features of Persian carpet. Industrial advancement and development of
transportation in the 19th century led the western explorers to travel eastward making them
acquainted with the cultural heritage of these civilizations. William Morris, the leading
thinker and artist of the British Arts and Crafts Movement is among the first to conduct a
research on Persian carpet’s patterns and designs. In this paper, we are proposing a semiotic
approach to the transaction between Persian artists who made beautiful and ever-lasting
carpet designs and William Morris as a pioneer of Pre-Modern Movements in Europe, who
studied and recognized the underlying principles of Persian art (mostly carpet), and applied
them in a creative way to his own remarkable hand-made designs.
Keywords: Persian Carpet, Media of Communication, Iranian and European Artists,
Semiotic Approach, William Morris, Tapestries.
1. Research Scholar, Faculty of Arts, Tarbiat Modares University
2. Associate Professor, Tarbiat Modares University
3. Associate Professor of Shahed University
4. Associate Professor of Tarbiat Modares University
63
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