Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

According to anthropologists, food is not only a requirement and a physiological phenomenon, but also it plays roles other than supplying nutrients for bodily growth and may be considered a cultural system. A system like this reflects peoples’ attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, or religious ideas about the value and sanctity of nutrients, highlights some of their significant social activities and economic patterns, and reveals essential aspects of their lifestyle. In this respect, the present case study investigates Iranian food culture during the pre-modern era, which is regarded as one of Iran’s richest periods in terms of illustrated documents and references. It relies on illustrated works from that era to identify the characteristics of Iranian food culture. This research implies that such artworks, whether overtly or covertly, offer information about food varieties, eating rituals, court meal routines, containers and kitchenware, the cooking process, and the cooking ingredients. It also allows for a better knowledge of Iranian culture’s meaningful, valuable, and unique identity. According to Burckhardt, historical illustrations and images are, in fact, evidence for human cognitive development phases, and by studying them, we can understand a country’s culture and its manifestations. In this regard, we chose and study those illustrations that depict Iranian food culture utilizing the credible library, electronic, and field references, i.e., references collected by observation and photography of illustrated manuscripts and painted mansion walls from the pre-modern Iran period.