Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Mahmood Vatankhah Khaneghah ¹
• Seyyed Aboutorab Ahmadpanah ²
• Mahnaz Shayestehfar ³

¹ Ph.D Student of Islamic Arts, art and architecture faculty, Tarbiat Modares University

² Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran, Tehran.

³ Associate Professor at the Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

In the mystical view of Islamic arts, letters hold a unique place and have various semantic aspects. "Vav" originates from the system of mystical and Sufic symbols and has consequently been represented as a motif in artworks from different cultures, at various levels of semantic significance. Among the works of Turkish-Islamic culture, the Vav letter has been extensively portrayed since the 12th century AH. This is largely due to the dominance of Sufic and mystic discourse at the time in Anatolian cultural geography. Through applying Pierce's semiotic method to this historical-analytical investigation and using a purposeful sampling procedure, semantic meanings of the letter Vav motif have been categorized. In addition, several samples of art from different fields have been used to demonstrate its prevalence and multiplicity. Thus, as well as studying the semiotic aspects of the iconic, indexical, and symbolic levels of the letter Vav, the roots and reasons for its popularity in Turkish-Islamic culture are also examined. Based on the results of this study, this calligraphic motif of the letter Vav in Turkish-Islamic cultural contexts has polysemic meanings and contains various meanings related to the mystical and Sufi ideas of Islamic calligraphy.

Keywords

• Vav
• Calligraphy
• Semiotics
• Letters
• Turkish-Islamic
• Polysemic