INVESTIGATING THE CULTURAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND CHINA IN THE SAFAVID PERIOD (CASE STUDY: BLUE AND WHITE POTTERY FROM HOWZDAAR CITY, SISTAN)

Keikha, Mohammad; Bakhtiari, Sepideh; Bakhtiari, Sahar; Nasiripour, Yasaman

doi:10.22034/jsbs.2024.336884.1016

INVESTIGATING THE CULTURAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND CHINA IN THE SAFAVID PERIOD (CASE STUDY: BLUE AND WHITE POTTERY FROM HOWZDAAR CITY, SISTAN)

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Mohammad Keikha ¹

Sepideh Bakhtiari ²

Sahar Bakhtiari ³

Yasaman Nasiripour ⁴

¹ Archaeology Department, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Bu-Ali Sina, Hamedan, Iran.

² PhD in Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Mazandaran University, Babolsar, Iran.

³ Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

⁴ PhD Candidate in Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jsbs.2024.336884.1016

Abstract

One of the main ways to understand the interactions and cultural relations of societies in different historical eras is to analyze and compare cultural materials with each other. The cultural connection of the Sistan region, especially the historical city of Howzdaar in the south of this plain, with the neighboring areas and other cultural regions, and the similarity of the artworks of different areas in certain periods, shows the economic, social, and cultural relationship between those regions. As an element related to art and daily life, pottery expresses cultural relations and commonalities between different regions. The Sistan plain includes the northern parts of Sistan and Baluchistan province, now divided between Iran and Afghanistan. This plain is where humans have constantly interacted with the natural environment. This area has always housed a significant population due to its suitable and unique environmental features. On the other hand, due to its strategic and military location, it has been the focus of various governments in the past. During the archaeological field studies in this area, a site/city belonging to the Islamic era was discovered. From this site, called Howzdaar City, 237 potsherds known as blue and white pottery were identified, recorded, and studied. Blue and white pottery is one of the most famous pottery made in China. The production of this pottery started during the Tang period and continued until the Qing period. In the Tang period, this pottery made its way to the court of caliphs and then to other markets. The peak of the use of this pottery in Iran was during the Safavid period. Iran's location on the Silk Road route and the expansion of cultural and commercial relations between Iran and China caused the influence of Chinese art on Iranian works of art in such a way that in this century, the production of pottery influenced by the pottery of the Ming period was noticed by the Safavid kings. The research aims to introduce, classify, and typology the blue and white pottery of Howzdaar City. Further, the connections of this region with China and Iranian cities such as Kerman, Neyshabur, Samarkand, and Tabriz located on the silk trade route are examined. Documentary studies and field surveys were the basis of the methodology of this research. The results showed that the blue and white pottery of Howzdaar City in the Safavid period has many similarities with samples produced simultaneously in China and the areas mentioned above along the silk trade route, which indicates extensive cultural relations between these regions.

Keywords

Blue and white pottery

Howzdaar City

Sistan

China

Cultural interactions

چکیده: یکی از راههای عمده درک برهمکنشها و روابط فرهنگی جوامع، در دوره‌های مختلف تاریخی، تجزیه و تحلیل و مقایسه مواد فرهنگی با یکدیگر است. ارتباط فرهنگی منطقه سیستان، به طور اخص شهر تاریخی حوضدار در جنوب این دشت، با مناطق همجوار و دیگر مناطق فرهنگی و مشابهت آثار هنری مناطق مختلف در ادوار مشخص، بیانگر ارتباط اقتصادی، اجتماعی و فرهنگی میان آن مناطق است. سفال به عنوان عنصر مانوس با هنر و زندگی روزمره میتواند بیانگر روابط و مشترکات فرهنگی میان مناطق مختلف باشد. دشت سیستان بخشهای شمالی استان سیستان و بلوچستان را در بر میگیرد که اکنون میان دو کشور ایران و افغانستان تقسیم شده است. این دشت منطقهای است که انسان در آن دائماً در کنش و واکنش با محیط طبیعی قرار داشته است. این منطقه به علت برخورداری از ویژگی‌های مناسب و منحصر به فرد محیطی، همواره جمعیت قابل توجهای را در خود جای داده و از سوی دیگر به علت موقعیت استراتژیک و نظامی، مورد توجه حکومتها و دولتهای مختلف در ادوار گذشته بوده است. امروزه در بخش کوچکی از این سرزمین که در ایران قرار دارد، شهر تاریخی حوضدار واقع شده است. طی بررسی‌های باستان‌شناسی در پروژه بررسی و گمانه‌زنی جهت تعیین عرصه و پیشنهاد حریم محوطه‌های موجود در منطقه حوضدار به سرپرستی نگارنده اول در تیر ماه سال ۱۳۹۸ که منجر به شناسایی و بررسی شهری از دوران اسلامی گردید، از این شهر تاریخی تعداد ۲۳۷ قطعه سفال موسوم به سفال آبی و سفید شناسایی، ثبت و ضبط و مورد مطالعه قرار گرفت. سفال آبی و سفید از معروفترین سفال‌های ساخته شده در چین است. ساخت این سفال از دوره تانگ آغاز و تا دوره چینگ ادامه می‌باید. اوج استفاده از این سفال در ایران به دوره صفوی باز می‌گردد. قرارگیری ایران در مسیر جاده ابریشم و همچنین گسترش روابط فرهنگی و تجاری بین ایران و چین سبب تاثیر هنر چین بر آثاری هنری ایران شد به گونه‌ای که در این قرن ساخت سفال‌های متاثر از آثار سفالی دوره مینگ مورد توجه شاهان صفوی قرار گرفت. این پژوهش با هدف معرفی، طبقه‌بندی و گونه‌شناسی سفال‌های آبی و سفید شهر حوض‌دار انجام شده است. همچنین، ارتباطات این منطقه با چین و شهرهای ایران مانند کرمان، نیشابور، سمرقند و تبریز واقع در مسیر تجارت ابریشم مورد بررسی قرار می‌گیرد. مطالعات اسنادی و بررسی میدانی مبنای روش‌شناسی این پژوهش بود. نتایج نشان داد که سفال‌های آبی و سفید شهر حوض‌دار در دوره صفوی شباهت‌های زیادی با نمونه‌های تولید شده همزمان در چین و مناطق مذکور در مسیر تجارت ابریشم دارد که حاکی از روابط فرهنگی گسترده بین این مناطق است.

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