Cleanliness and purity has been one of the basic principles of Iranian life in ancient and Islamic culture. For this reason, several objects and utensils have been made for this purpose, one of which is a container for storing and consuming water for washing, and its types have been called ewers. These vessels have been made of different materials in historical periods, including pottery and metal, but in the meantime, due to the strength of metal drains, more examples of them have been left. It can be said that the oldest historical period from which the remaining metal ewers can be studied and considered both in terms of number and stylistic features is the Seljuk period. During this period, there was a special style in making metal utensils, including ewers, which is known as Khorasan school. Since in general the ewers can be considered as two main parts of the body and neck and the existence of other parts, such as the base, handle and neck is variable in them, these differences and on the other hand the existence of different decorations on They can be effective in dividing them. A group of metal ewers of Khorasan school in the Seljuk period, which are decorated with fruits and pomegranate seeds can be considered as a separate group in ewers of this period. This research is carried out with the aim of determining the ponds after examining the ewers of these ponds, in addition to using the form of pomegranate fruit and its seeds in decoration, in other decorations as well as in the form of body, neck, What other formal and decorative commonalities do the handle and the base have in common, so that a specific structure in form and decoration can be defined for this group of ewers?
The question is, what are the similarities and differences between pomegranate-decorated ewers, in addition to using pomegranate for decoration, in the form and decorations of the body, neck, handle and base?
This research has been done by descriptive-analytical method that library and field methods have been used to collect information. Finally, after observing all these works, their form and decorations have been analyzed.
After examining the pomegranate ewers, it can be concluded that these ewers have a cylindrical neck on a jar-shaped body with a prominent ring at the junction of the two sections. In pomegranate-decorated ewers, the shape of the body jars is the same in all of them and there is little difference in their diameter change. In this group of ewers, the neck is equal to or greater than the height of the body and the diameter of the neck decreases from top to bottom, the size of which varies in each sample. In the categories of all samples of this group of ewers, ergonomic curvature is used for better grip, which has a different form of curvature of the handle. The height of the base in these ewers is adjusted to fit the shape of the body and neck and for better standing.
Regarding the decorations, the pomegranate fruit has a three-dimensional volume in a static position on top of them, with a slight difference in their position with respect to the vertical line, the slope of which reaches a maximum of 20 degrees with the straight line. On their bunches, there are grain-shaped protrusions that symbolize the seeds inside the pomegranate fruit and their number varies between 4 and 8.
After examining the neck and body decorations, it was found that in all of them, the neck is divided into three horizontal sections with lines, and plant decorations and inscriptions can be seen in them. The inscription decorations are worked in two parts, upper and lower, and in the middle part of the decorations. The face of the vertical lines is used. The body also includes plant, animal and inscription decorations - the inscription decorations are mostly seen on the shoulder.
Also, the study of the relationship between pomegranate and the use of these dishes, considering the historical background of this element in Iranian image culture, led to two hypotheses: First, the role of pomegranate in relation to water (use) and woman (user of these dishes) carries the concept of fertility and life: A concept that has long been in the ancient religions and customs of Iran. Secondly, the role of pomegranate, like many motifs inherited from the culture of the Sassanid era, may have been used as a decorative element in these dishes and lacks any special meaning.