B.019 Southwest Iwan of Friday Mosque

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Creator

Denis Baly

Creation Year

January 1967

Image ID

B.019

Alternate Identifier

B02.019

Subcollection

B: Mosques of Isfahan

Abstract

Southwest Iwan seen from across the courtyard of the Friday Mosque of Isfahan.

Description

A closer view of the southwest iwan. The different segments of the iwan have been adorned by an immensely rich combination of Arabic calligraphy in thuluth script and Arabesque patterns. In addition to the brilliant surface decoration of the iwan, it also boasts a superb muqarnas construction that consists of giant basic elements and niches. "The four iwans [of the Friday mosque] are not of equal importance and this fact is reflected in their different dimensions, structure, and decorative motifs. The southwest iwan, preceding the domed chamber with the mihrab, is the most prominent among the other iwans. Visually, it is flanked by two towers and referred to in the vernacular as suffa-i sahib or 'the high [dignified] space of the master.' The iwan, which is an element of early Islamic palace architecture (e.g., Sassanian), is used here for the first time to precede the maqsura and to emphasize the space of the sanctuary. The three other iwans in the middle of each court elevation repeat this motif." -MA

References

"Masjid-i Jami'" Archnet. Accessed April 07, 2017. https://archnet.org/sites/1621 .

Image Notes

missing

Curator Notes

The physical slide has been lost since it was scanned in 2019, and no information was collected from the slide itself. The color balance of the photo looks most similar to B.22, allowing us to place a tentative creation date of September 1967, most likely belonging to the SEP 67F8 printing batch, however both of these are only informed guesses.

Image Format

35 mm slide

Geographic Reference

Isfahan, Iran