Persian Journal
Sept 23 2004

China Inspired Iranian Pottery Craftsmen

CHN

Following the discovery of some white and blue porcelain potteries in
the historical gardens of the northern Iranian city of Behshahr,
experts believe the influence of Chinese porcelain art on Iranian
pottery makers is well-documented.

Abbasabad garden complex in Behshahr dates back to the reign of the
Safavid Shah (king) Abbas. The 500-hectar property is comprised of
several posh mansions, the Freedom Tower, and bath.

“In the latest excavation season, carried out with the intent of
recognizing the intricate irrigation system and the eastern gate,
some porcelain china with Iranian designs and motifs were unearthed,”
said Abdulvahab Musavi-nasab, director of the research center in
Behshahr.

One of the discovered vessels is a 45-cm high earthenware pot which
clearly manifests the influence of the Chinese craft on Iranian
pottery makers. The Abbasabad garden complex is located in the
northern Mazandaran province.
A militant Islamic Sufi order, the Safavids, appeared among Turkish
speaking people of west of the Caspian Sea, at Ardabil. The Safavid
order survived the invasion of Timurlane to that part of the Iran in
the late 13th century.

By 1500 the Safavids had adopted the Shiite branch of Islam and were
eager to advance Shiite Islam by military means. Safavid males used
to wear red headgear. They had great devotion for their leader as a
religious leader and perfect guide as well as a military chieftain,
and they viewed their leaders position as rightly passed from father
to son according to the Shiite tradition.

Under Shah Abbas I, Iran prospered; he also transplanted a colony of
industrious and commercially astute Armenians from Jolfa in
Azerbaijan to a new Jolfa next to Isfahan. He patronized the arts,
and he built palaces, mosques and schools, Isfahan becoming the
cultural and intellectual capital of Iran. Shah Abbas encouraged
international trade and the production of silks, carpets, ceramics
and metal ware for sale to Europeans. Shah Abbas also founded a
carpet factory in Isfahan.

Royal patronage and the influence of court designers assured that
Persian carpets reached their zenith in elegance during the Safavid
period. He advanced trade by building and safeguarding roads. He
welcomed tradesmen from Britain, the Netherlands and elsewhere to
Iran. His governmental monopoly over the silk trade enhanced state
revenues. Merchants of the English East India Company established
trading houses in Shiraz and Isfahan.

After Shah Abbas ousted the Portuguese from the island of Hormuz at
the entrance to the Persian Gulf in 1622, Bandar Abbas (Port of
Abbas) became the center of the East India Company’s trade. But Later
the Dutch East India Company received trade capitulations from Shah
Abbas. The Dutch soon gained supremacy in the European trade with
Iran, outdistancing British competitors. They established a
spice-trading center at Bandar Abbas.

In 1623-24 Shah Abbas I launched an offensive against Ottomans and
established control over Kurdish territories, Baghdad and the Shiite
holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.