تحلیل عناصر روایی و بینامتنی قالیچۀ سلیمان بافت ساروق بر اساس نظریه ترامتنیت ژنت

Introduction:  The visual reproduction and illustration of classical Iranian literary texts, which are full of national and mythical stories and moral teachings, have always been of interest to artists of different eras. This Artistic tendency became prominent and popular, especially in carpets and rugs as an ancient art, simultaneously with the formation of the pictorial carpet movement from the mid-Qajar era. Pictorial rugs were a new phenomenon that emerged from the foundation of nationalism and attention to religious attitudes in the Qajar era and the emergence of the picture rug movement, which dealt with the narration and staging of ancient-mythical, national and religious, scientific, cultural and political stories and characters. the story of prophet Solomon and Bilqis, Queen of Sheba, is one of the common narratives in the books of Ebrahamic religions, especially the Quran, which became the inspiration for artists of the Qajar era, and rugs were created based on their creativity with scenes from this story analyzing the visual and verbal structure of the text (visual and verbal elements and symbols) of the visual rug "The Meeting of Suleiman and Belqis, Sarouk weaving", based on concept of hypertextualityn of texts, is the aim of this research, and the main question is: to what extent was there a borrowing from source texts, as well as incremental and subtractive changes?
This study seeks to examine how this pictorial rug draws upon religious and visual pre-texts and what changes it has introduced during the process of hypertextuality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to introduce and interpret the content structure—comprising visual and verbal elements and signs—of the pictorial Sarouk rug depicting the meeting of Solomon and Bilqis, through the lens of the concept of "hypertextual appropriation." Thus, the central question is: what visual and verbal systems constitute the content structure of the rug (the *hypertext*), and to what extent does each draw upon the design motif (the *pre-text*)?
Background: religious themes and stories—specifically those drawn from sacred texts, such as the story of Prophet Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Although a few articles on other religious topics can also be found, the most significant among them are highlighted here. In their article "An Iconographic Analysis of the Pictorial Rug Depicting the Virgin Mary (SA) and Jesus Christ (AS)," Keshavarz and Samanian (2007) state that the rug serves an iconographic function; in fulfilling its didactic and commemorative purposes, it draws upon the teachings of Islam, Quranic narratives, mystical literature, and Iranian art. In the article "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Intertextual Relations in Baroque Painting (Based on Gérard Genette’s Theory of Explicit and Implicit Intertextuality)," Sa'adatfar (2019) evaluates prominent Baroque paintings using a descriptive and subsequently analytical approach; the study draws upon Gérard Genette’s theory—specifically his classification of two key types of intertextuality—and applies it to the direct visual references employed by painters of the era. Erfan-Manesh, Azhand, and Namvar-Motlagh (2021), in the article "An Iconological Analysis of the Meaning of the 'Prophet Solomon' Mihrab-Design Rug," examine a specific example of a mihrab-design rug featuring the theme of Solomon, based on iconological theory. In the article "An Intertextual Study of the Narrative Carpet Depicting Solomon and the Queen of Sheba," Arbabi and Qomlaqi (2021) examine the carpet's content elements—including Solomon and Sheba, animal figures, and symbols associated with the lineage of the Prophet Jacob. However, the substantive difference between this article and those previously mentioned lies in the fact that this study seeks to examine how this pictorial rug draws upon religious and visual pretexts and what transformations it has introduced through the process of hypertextuality.
Methodology: The research employs a descriptive-analytical method, with data collected through library research. In the course of writing, the study will analyze and examine the theoretical foundations, the elements of the visual and verbal systems, and the symbolic aspects of each element, drawing upon pretexts related to the story of Prophet Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
Conclusion: The small carpet examined in this study is a unique pictorial piece depicting a religious narrative from the scriptures of the Abrahamic faiths; its design and weaving drew upon both internal and external textual and visual sources. Although pictorial carpets are relatively rare in the Arak and Farahān weaving traditions compared to schools such as Kerman, Kashan, and Tabriz, the piece in question—depicting the religious story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba—is remarkable in its own right. The rug under study exhibits numerous differences—in terms of design and pattern, color palette, and composition—compared to other rugs, which are predominantly of Kashan weave. Notable features of this small carpet include the presence of Queen Bilqis and a greater number of actors and figures compared to other intertexts—such as individuals associated with the story of Solomon and the armies of jinn and demons—as well as the appearance of a significant theological framework within its border. Furthermore, the intricate, densely patterned background; the skillful and apt use of various colors—ranging from soft hues to striking contrasts; and the incorporation of novel symbolic elements—such as a helmet and mask featuring the visage of a horned leopard and a wolf-headed mace—distinguish this piece from other pictorial rugs depicting Solomon. Therefore, unlike many other carpets, this piece represents a creative re-creation rather than mere imitation. It appears, then, that the structural content within the carpet’s field—its "hypertext"—comprising both visual and verbal systems, was not significantly influenced by its antecedent texts. Furthermore, based on Genette’s theory of transtextuality, it is proposed that future articles present a framework for analyzing other pictorial carpets using this theoretical approach.