The Effect of Sassanid’s Decorative Paintings on the Architectural Decoration of Early Islamic Buildings in Neyshabur

Nishapur is one of the great important artistic centers of the Islamic world in Iran located in the western part of the Khorasan province. The City was built in the Sasanian era and its name is taken from New Shapur. Nishapur be came Tahirid capital in th 9th century A.D. and flourished throught the 10th century in the Samanian period. In Saljuk dynasty, it kepts importance too. Our information about early Islamic Art in Iran are coming through the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in this city. The excavation by Walter Hauser, Josef Optun and Charles Wilkinson begun from year 1935 and couducted until year 1940. A final season of its excavation has been down in year of 1947. The results of excavations of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Nishapur Site have came out in a book with title of “Nishapur: some early Islamic buildings and their Decorations” that was published by Charles Wilkinson. In fact, widespread part of the Art Iran in the early Islamic ages was appeared by the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum in Nishapur. One of these Reasons being important are relics that discovered from there. Some of these relics of buildings assemblages is remained from the early Islamic period contain the vast ornaments, especially Stucoo and Wall Painting. Some of this stucco and wall paintings have had trace of Sasanian styles and motifs. Thus, it can truly be seen in them a developed and continued Sasanian artificially styles and flourishing them in the Islamic period. The Sasanian period is one of the gold ages in the Iranian culture and Art. However, with the formation of Islam, the dynasty Sasanian fell politically down, but the impact of their culture is remained until the later centuries. Looking a lot of Art works including the metalworks, potteries and architectural ornaments such as stucco, wall painting and so on that is dated back to the early Islamic centuries, we can find out that How it has borrowed from works of Sasanian. The aims of this present paper are the introduction of all ornaments used in the buildings of early Islamic Nishapur firstly, then to compare them with the comparable Sasanian cases and finally to specify the effect of Sasanian Art in the formation of artworks. But the question is to express whether Islamic artistst to create these motifs was influenced to imitate the motifs of Sasanian dynasty or they have a creativity in addition to their ancesstor’s methods? In this survey that are done on the four separated part (Sabz Pushan tepe, Madraseh tepe, Takestan tepe and Kanat tepe), we will be introducing the ornament and ornamental motifs of four mounds of Ancient Nishapur. In every part, first we study methods and motifs of their ornaments, then the motifs will be compared with the Sasanian artworks and at the end of discourse about every mound, it will be provided a comparable table of motifs of both Sasanian and Islamic Period todetermine the influences of Sasanian cases on the Islamic’s artworks. This study is based on description, analysis and comparison of data. The results of this investigation indicate that the motifs used in the ornaments of the early Islamic in Nishapur are influenced of their antecedents of Sasanian age. These impacts can be seen in the Three classes of motifs. The three classes are consisting of human, plant and animal motifs but as we told about these ancient traces, it was created new motifs under the influence of Islamic culture, too. Of these motifs, it can be pointed to Kufi inscriptions, as a new method of ornaments, geometrical motifs, plant motifs and some of symbols such as Solomons Seal or David Star.