Tehran ornament show explores Persian poetry symbols

TEHRAN,Nov. 22 (MNA) -- Ornaments inspired by Persian symbols and classic poetry of Hafez, Rumi, Attar and Sanai are currently on display at the Golestan Gallery. The artist couple Toktam Fazel and Bahram Dashtinejad has made the artworks out of silver, gold, turquoise and some semi-precious stones. A total of 130 Persian poems were used for the creation of the ornaments which are on display at the exhibit named “Persian Garden”. They have also been inspired by architectural and traditional elements like Bam Citadel, doors, aviary bird and window, and bird and cypress. “We had used some elements like birds, pictures and doors in our previous exhibition which I think are connected with Persian poetry and calligraphy, so now, we make use of poetry and calligraphic designs in our artworks,” Dashtinejad mentioned in a press release. He said that they have tried different styles to combine calligraphy and painting. They used nastaliq style whose broken form allows them to attain the desired design. “We have studied several poetry books including the Divan of Shams, Rumi’s Masnavi and compilations by Mohammad-Ali Shafiei Kadkani. However, the largest portion of the works are dedicated to poems composed by Rumi, Attar and Sanai,” Fazel mentioned. In some ornaments, they used a selection of words and in others, they used a complete couplet from the book. The couple believed that studying poetry collections and books inspire them to create innovative artworks. “My acquaintance with the photography of historical monuments and my wife’s previous activities in theater help us to hold an exhibit like this. In other words, this showcase is the gist of our previous artistic experiences,” Dashtinejad added. The showcase will run until November 24 at the gallery located at 42 Kamasaii St. in the Darus neighborhood.