SHRINE OF SHAYK SAFI AL-DIN ( 1252-1334), ARDABIL, IRAN. BEGUN IN THE 15TH CENTURY, THE COMPLEX HOUSES THE TOMBS OF FIVE SAFAVID ERA SHAYKS. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER WOOD - TAASA Review March 2012

SHRINE OF SHAYK SAFI AL-DIN ( 1252-1334), ARDABIL, IRAN. BEGUN IN THE 15TH CENTURY, THE COMPLEX HOUSES THE TOMBS OF FIVE SAFAVID ERA SHAYKS. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER WOOD – TAASA Review March 2012

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This article was originally found in the March 2012 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 21, Issue 1, Page 24).

The full article is available for free to TAASA Members.

Similarly, Iranian miniature paintings cannot be approached using Western aesthetic standards.

These small luminous works portray exquisite, closed imagined worlds in which superbly dressed poets, sages, kings and lovers assume courtly poses.

Even warriors or hunters in scenes of combat seem immersed in choreographed rituals rather than deadly contests. Westerners can be confused by Iranian mimesis, which is figurative rather than literal...