A Comparative Study on the Persian Textiles in the Ilkhanid era and Italian Textiles in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

Many outlooks have been set forward by scholars concerning the influence of the art and industry of Persian textile on European art. Various studies concentrate on the fact that the Byzantine emperor textiles were heavily influenced by Sassanid textile designs; this confirms the development of Persian textile design throughout Europe. Considering this, there is still a dispute on whether the influence of Persian textiles on Europe exceeds beyond the art and design of the Sassanid era. According to what was mentioned, this article will initially focus on the early Islamic centuries of Persia, contemporary with Middle Ages of Europe, until the end of the Ilkhanid era and its center of attention will be to study the economic affairs between Islamic countries, especially Persia, and Europe, and in particular Italy. As well as considering the historical background of these relations, the alterations which affected the foreign political status of these countries and its effect on the trading industry will be studied. In brief, the first Iranian Islamic dynasties like Samanid, Buyid and Seljuk’s, in the Ilkhanid era, due to the economic relations between Islamic countries and Europe, according to changes of political conditions and religious wars that changed the trade routes directions from Islamic / Arabic countries like Syria and Egypt as the canons after Abbasid Islamic world, to Mongol empire as a distinct part of Islamic world that preferred better trade relationship than the insist on ideological thought. Despite the crusades, the trade between European countries and Arabic/Islamic countries continued and finally, as a result of Pope insistence on sanctions against trade with Arabic/Islamic countries, the European and especially Italian merchants start trading with non-ideological monarchy and distinguished Islamic country i.e. Iran as frontier part of great Mongol empire and the most important and ancient centre of raw silk and various cloths. Secondly, with the Ilkhanid era as the basis (1251-1335) and its contemporary period in Italy; a comparative study will analyze the textiles and the impact of Persian weaving on Italian textile. Finally, this article will proceed on a comparative studying focusing mainly on the patterns, conceptions and the combinations of the textiles and its influence on other textiles. after the strong impact of Sassanid textile patterns on Byzantine and European textiles; In particular, Italy (which was considered as bridge between the textile trading between Europe and the west); the Italians (from the midst of the thirteenth century until the beginning of Renaissance) started to detach themselves from their original method -the Sicilian silk weaving in a branching style, which was imitated from Sassanid and Islamic Egyptian art-and inclined towards the imported fabrics of Persia in the Ilkhanid era; furthermore, this influence sustained until the Renaissance period. The influence consists various levels. In particular, many cloths of Middle age had some Iranian or Iranian version of Chinese textile design methods, and we can say that between Sassanid era to the end of Ilkhanid era, Iranian textile design had a continuous impact on European fabric patterns, combinations and meanings. sustained until the Renaissance period.