Scientific Journal of Motaleate-e Tatbighi-e Honar

Warqa – Golshah is the first illustrated story that ever has been written in the fourth and first half of the fifth century. This story is a collection that embodies a mixture of love and epic. First Manichaean sources that researchers reached in East Central Asian region is Turfan paintings. Turfan Manichaean paintings can be seen in two distinct styles:  1. Asian style painting in particular, an Iranian-style visible in Islamic period   2. Chinese style, in fabrics and wall paintings in China.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of the Manichaean miniature in Turfan and Warqa – Golshah paintings in Seljuk period. Therefore, some paintings that are less damaged were studied and analyzed to determine the characteristics of the Seljuk’s era painting. The research question is that what elements of Turfan Manichaean paintings are in Warqa – Golshah paintings in the Seljuk period? Research Methodology is Descriptive analysis and to improve the hypothesis a comparative method of the visual elements of paintings was used. After comparing Warqa – Golshah paintings  with murals found in Turfan, it was found that the continuation of the motifs, themes, and decorative elements in the paintings, faces, expressions and clothing of Turfan Manichaean murals in the Muslim Seljuk period,  and miniature paintings  of  Golshah that were studied in this research, is quite evident