Ornamental Motifs of Haft Rang Tiles in The Architecture of Houses Constructed in Shiraz in the Pahlavi Era

In the Pahlavi-constructed areas of Shiraz, there are a number of residential houses built with modern architectural design, but traditional techniques and designs have been used in their decoration. Haft rang tiles are among the most commonly used techniques in the architectural decoration of these houses. The use of this ornamentation as seen in both internal and external views of Shiraz houses in the Pahlavi era is an exquisite example of the combination of tradition and modernity in contemporary Iranian architecture; studying its dimensions can lead to a better understanding of Iranian architecture in the contemporary period. Accordingly, this paper explores decorative features and diversity of ornamental motifs of Haft rang tiles in the architecture of houses built in Shiraz in the Pahlavi Era using a descriptive-analytical methodology. The required data was collected through field and library research. To this end, the tile decorations of 20 houses within the urban area of Shiraz constructed during the Pahlavi Era were investigated and categorized by the researcher in terms of spatial, framing, design, and motif diversity. According to the findings of the study, the Haft rang tile frames in the analyzed houses displayed a wide diversity of shapes including rectangles, squares, deformed vertical rectangles, curved surfaces, vertical diagonal frames, window frames, composite geometric shapes, and crowns. The most commonly used patterns in the sample group (20 houses were studied) were Eslimi (arabesque) and Khatai patterns. Human figures are also depicted in the form of archeological or miniature patterns or simple human shapes. Eslimi and Khatai patterns, flowers and birds, and human figures have been sometimes realistically portrayed, and sometimes portrayed in abstract forms. The dominant background colors of the tile frames in the studied period are turquoise and azure