An Analysis of the Image of the Prophet’s Ascension of in Tahmasbi Fortune-Telling by Panofsky's Iconographic Method

 
One of the important topics that Iranian patrons and painters have dealt with in every artistic period was the illustration of the Ascension of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). It should be considered that in Iranian painting, we are faced with two aspects of literary text and artistic text. Thus, on the one hand, the linguistic semiotic system and on the other, the visual semiotic system interact with each other. In this situation, the former, which is literary text, takes precedence over the latter, or artistic text. This is how the secret of the relationship between poetry and painting is revealed in the history of Iranian art, and many Iranian painting books have been created based on this relationship.
Pakbaz considers that the prevalence of text illustration, first had been started by illustrating scientific books, then by historical and fiction ones. The theme of Ascension, which is stated in Surah Al-Isra, is reflected in Persian literature and then illustrated in Iranian painting. Although Iranian painting took its subject from the field of literature, but the painter was not completely passive in illustrating the text, and the ultimate goal of the two masters (the author and the painter) in creating Iranian painting was to illustrate the text, and perhaps the readers paid attention to the words and the images simultaneously. They read the word and then looked at the pictures, and maybe vice versa, but the important thing is that the word and the picture go hand in hand.
Thus, re-reading the Ascension drawing based on Panofsky's pictorial method, which is based on three methods for analyzing the image, is effective in analyzing its semantic implications. As in this study, the relationships between the signs in this picture and their implicit meanings are examined in three semantic levels. The question is, what are the semantic implications of the image of the Ascension in Tahmasbi Fortune-telling at Panofsky's triple semantic levels? The painting is related to Tahmasbi fortune-telling attributed to Agha Mirak and has been painted in Tabriz II school. Note that, Masoumeh Farhad, considered it to the Qazvin school on page 119 of her book. The size of the painting is 45 x 60 cm and it is kept in the Arthur Sackler Collection in the United States. According to Kerry Welch, the creation of this work began in 947 A.H. and ended in 957 A.H.
Panofsky in reading the images, believed in the following three dimensions. The first level is pre-iconographic description, the second level is iconographic analysis, and the third level is iconographic interpretation.
In the pre-iconographic description of this image we can see that there is no text. Here are eight figures. The central figure is mounted on a horse with a human head, and the other seven figures, each with two wings behind them, stand with their faces toward the figure. The central figure grabs the horse by the left hand and raises his right hand, which also has a ring on his finger. Right in front of this ring, from above and to the left, a roaring lion looks at the ring. Each of the seven winged figures hold something in their hands. A bar attached to a green triangular flag is seen in the hand of the left winged figure in an orange dress, and in both hands of the lower left winged figure in the yellow dress there are a pair of golden shoes.
If we look at the concepts of the elements of this painting at the level of iconographic analysis, we can see that this scene depicts a part of the Muslims' beliefs about the Ascension of the Prophet by a horse called Buraq. A horse with a human head and a lion tail. The man on the horseback is the Prophet of Islam who ascended to the heavens according to a verse from Quran.
At the level of the iconic interpretation of the painting, it can be seen that although the Ascension is the main subject in this painting, it seems that many texts have also mentioned this form of human mental and physical changes. Jacob’s Ladder after being called by Isaac to go to Mesopotamia. Shamanic texts also refer to winged horses that ascension took place by them. The ascension of Ardaviraf is mentioned in the book of Ardavirafnameh. We can also mention the Ascension of Goshtasp.
In the inscriptions of Kartir, except the Cube of Zoroaster, the subject of Kartir's Ascension is narrated too. In the Ascension paintings of the Safavid period, the hijab of the face became one of the main features of the iconography of the Prophet (PBUH) and continued until the period of Shah Tahmasb. For example, in the painting of Ascension by Sultan Mohammad, the face of the Prophet is covered and had a Safavid veil. In the painting of Ascension from Habib al-Siyar, the Prophet is at the center of the work and his face is covered. All the angels are look at the Prophet and each of them has a gift as a sign of respect and welcome. On the Buraq’s face, we can see some points which are important from the iconological point of view. There are many hadiths and narrations about Buraq. Majlisi says that Buraq has an elongated body, bigger than donkey and smaller than mule, and understands everything he sees like a human being.
A noteworthy point in the iconic interpretation stage of this painting is that the effects of Safavid and Shiite mysticism on the concept of Ascension in the Safavid era, in this painting, are characterized by the presence of signs that refer to the concepts of the Shiite school. Like the lion that is referred to as Assadollah, the ring that is given to the Imamate and successor of Ali (AS), the sword (Zulfiqar) and the green flag which are known as the symbols of Shiism. The relationship between religion and politics is the most important feature of the Safavid rule. In other words, the King considered one of the duties of his rule to be the preservation and promotion of the foundations of the Shiite religion.
The principle of Imamat, which has always been one of the important issues in the history of Islam, as the right of Imam Ali (AS) to succeed the Prophet, became the most central principle shared and agreed upon by the Shiites. Shiite elements that have influenced Iranian-Islamic art or found a way to express themselves through it are a combination of beliefs, myths, and events in Shiite history. Among these events, we can mention the right of the leadership of the ummah after the Prophet by Imam Ali (AS). According to the available narrations, in order to prove their imamate, the Imams (AS) have emphasized the possession of imamat heirlooms and deposits.
These heirlooms and deposits sometimes included things that no one had ever seen and only the Imams mentioned their existence to them. Items such as Adam's shirt, Solomon's ring, Joseph's shirt, Moses' staff or tablets and clothing etc. Some other heirlooms, which include objects and accessories that have been specifically attributed to the Prophet, in other words, symbolize the emphasis on the successor to the Prophet, which are: The Prophet's sword, weapon, staff and turban, as well as the sword of Imam Ali (AS). Despite the fact that the lion is one of the most frequent symbols in ancient Iran, in this picture, it emphasizes the idea that Imam Ali (AS) was present on the night of Ascension. Yet, it should be noted that the celestial journey of the perfect man, which is a divine and heavenly attribute for the chosen human beings, came from the Ilkhanate painting to the Shiite Islamic arts. Therefore, in the stage of iconic interpretation, the pictorial elements that refer to Shiite concepts, parallel to the symbols from ancient Iran, present a new artistic expression of the Ascension narrative. Also, the presence of Imam Ali (AS) on the night of Ascension, along with the Prophet, along with the concept of Assadollah and Ali’s sword, who always defeated the infidels with the Prophet and finally, the ring of the Caliphate and the succession of Ali (AS), refers to the connection between religion and government in the Safavid era.