Analysis of intertextual relations in the symbolic motifs of Pazyrik carpet

Introduction: The oldest carpet in the world is the famous Pazyrik carpet, which belongs to the 5th century BC. David Stronach believes that Pazyrik motifs are undoubtedly related to Iran. Rudenko, the carpet explorer, believes that he found details of the carpet motifs similar to Achaemenid jewelry from the 5th to the 4th century BC. For this reason, it is a reflective work of Persian art. Persian researchers such as Ali Hesouri and Siros Parham have proved the Persian origin of this carpet by presenting Persian archaeological evidence, such as carpet weaving tools from the Bronze Age, and examining and matching the carpet motifs with ancient Achaemenid examples. 
Question: The present text seeks to answer the question of the symbolic meanings of the motifs of the Pazyrik carpet and the similarity of these motifs to the ancient works of Iran. How to analyze Pazyrik carpet motifs based on Kristova's theory of intertextuality has been investigated. 
Analysis and discussion: The square structure of this carpet is a talisman. The symbol of a square shape and repeated squares stuck together in the lines engraved on the seals of Susa around 1700 BC is a sign of the earth and is a symbol of life. The square structure of this carpet is a talisman. The symbol of a square shape and repeated squares stuck together in the lines engraved on the seals of Susa around 1700 BC is a sign of the earth and is a symbol of life. This flower is engraved on a bronze that depicts the mother goddess and her mythical animal protectors, lions, and two-headed animals. Other examples of bronze show a woman giving birth with an eight-petaled flower. The presence of this flower around the head of the goddess shows its connection with the category of life and fertility. Symbolists have considered the eight-flowered flower a solar flower and a sign of life. Another row of Pazyric motifs are winged griffins that protect 12 eight-petaled flowers surrounded by square structures. The griffin is one of the mixed animals seen in the art of Elam, and a work belonging to New Elam shows the griffin as the protector of the Tree of Life. Therefore, this animal is a protective symbol for motifs related to life, and it is represented in the Pazyrik carpet as a protector of eight-petaled flowers placed in square shapes. An example of the exposed tile from Babajani Hill is a square similar to the one that includes the griffins of the Pazyrik carpet. The third row of Pazyrik carpet motifs is a spotted deer with wide horns. The image of the deer in the Pazyrik carpet is similar to the Persian yellow deer. Examples of broad-horned deer can be seen on seals from Susa with a square symbol and an eight-pointed flower. In terms of symbolism, the deer is a symbol of life because of its growing horns. The other border row of the Pazyrik carpet is a repetition of five flowers side by side, and a row of horses and riders surrounds this border. Ancient Persian texts (Avesta) introduce the horse as a wet symbol related to water and rain. The symbol of the horse is the protector of the Tree of Life and the categories related to fertility. In the Pazyrik rug, the horse and its rider protect eight-feathered flowers, a plant symbol of life. From the point of view of iconography, the carpet discoverer Pazyrik Rudenko and Persian researchers have considered the style of hair styling and drawing of the horse's body to be Persian style and similar to the examples in Achaemenid art. It should be noted that this patterning style was not created all at once in the Achaemenid period and has an older history in Persian art. It can be referred to as the historical pictorial precursors of Pazyrik motifs. The symbols used in the Pazyrik carpet, with their referential feature to the natural world, reveal the connection of motifs with plants, animals, and humans as the main elements of the chain of nature. The pictorial signs in the Pazyrik carpet represent plant, animal, and human forms with symbolic meanings, whose root and origin are the popular culture and symbolic conventions of ancient Persian culture. The feature of transformation and abstraction of motifs distinguishes its symbolic aspects from their natural features. For Iranians, some flowers are attributed to Amshaspandan, and visual symbols of deer, griffin, and horse are associated with blessing and fertility. A rule in the Pazyrik carpet dominates the image and is regularly repeated around the center of the square. The repeated layers of symbolic motifs around the center of the square have formed squares that the middle flowers, like mythical protectors, surround all motifs. In the Pazyrik carpet, the griffin is the only motif that corresponds to Kristova's fourth rule of realism. Because this image represents a combination of heavenly elements: a winged eagle and a lion. The absence of imitation of nature makes it different from other visual signs. Kristova's view is that there are five situations in which a text can contact another text to recognize its usefulness. These five situations include the following: 1- Social realities or the real world, 2- Popular culture, 3- The final rules of artistic genres, 4- Taking help and relying on similar texts, 5- A complex combination from within The text, where every text finds another text as its base and beginning. The analyses show that the referential qualities of motifs convey their explicit meaning to nature. Therefore, this quality proves the first principle of the real Christian world as one of the pre-texts. The second principle of truthfulness is referring to popular culture. In Kristova's view, there are five situations in which a text can contact another text to recognize its usefulness. These five situations include the following: 1- Social realities or the real world, 2- Popular culture, 3- The final rules of artistic genres, 4- Taking help and relying on similar texts, 5- A complex combination from within The text, where every text finds another text as its base and beginning. The analyses show that the referential qualities of motifs convey their explicit meaning to nature. Therefore, this quality proves the first principle of reference to the real world as one of the pre-texts. The second principle of truthfulness is referring to popular culture. Pazyrik symbolic motifs are related to popular culture and belief in the concept of fertility in Iran. Based on this principle, Iranian culture is one of the precursors of Pazyrik. The third rule of truthfulness is the final rule of art genres, which is the arrangement of motifs in Pazyrik, per the culture of carving in Iranian works of art, focusing on the symbol of the earth and the protectors of fertility elements. The fourth principle of truthfulness is taking help and relying on similar texts. Based on intertextuality studies, the manifestations of Pazyrik motifs can be examined in the Achaemenid period, the bronzes of Lorestan, and the works of Ilam. Kristova's fifth principle is a complex composition of the text. The hidden structure of the Iranian garden carpet behind the papyri pattern shows that it belongs to the garden structure of Iranian carpet designs.