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Association between form and meaning in Islamic Art and Architecture is a category which is impressible from the cosmological foundations of Islam. The kind that, the relationship between form and content is the same as spirit and body, and the matter is getting its honor from the munificence of meaning. Accordingly, it can be said that the form of the work in Islamic Art is the embodied image of meaning and content, and reflects our beliefs and religious truths. These meanings are rooted in the divine realm and Muslim Artist is capable to provide them with intuition and self-revelation as form and different shapes of Art, and by this act would leads man to the higher dignity of existence, and ultimately to the transcendental unity. Islamic Art, in complete, is the abstract, transcendent, and mysterious art reflecting religious basis. Prayers and traditional rituals in Islamic world are also mysterious embodied in the environment and places of worship. Altar as a worship space in religious monuments has a dual identity. While, it is considered as a worship space to prayer and religious practice, it has an arrays and decorative elements too. So, it would be placed among the sacred arts which come from the theme of spiritual realities, and it has a structure which is predicated to the religious meanings. The present study has followed the structural and conceptual analysis of decorative elements used in the luster altar of Imam Reza Holy shrine and By investigating them not only to discover inserted meaning of them, also pay attention to interpretive statement about the relationship between these elements with religious concepts and ritual meaning on the one hand, and the time and place Identity of the altar, on the other hand. This luster tiles’ altar with over 700 years of antiquity, is consider as one of the fine works and masterpieces of Islamic- Iranian art and architecture. This altar, at 273 × 220 cm, has been made as mezzo-relievo by use of luster tile and in the past, it had been fixed on the Southwest wall of holy shrine before the face of Imam Reza (AS). This valuable work has been made in Kashan at the 612 BC, by Muhammad Ibn Abi Tahir, one of the Shiite’ Artists in Kharazmshahian period. The Altar has three arches and two border around them which has been drawn a line of turquoise tile on the outer margin of it. Every three arches have inscriptive margins. At the first, form and structure of this Altar would be investigated in a descriptive manner and by giving a linear plot of the hidden geometry of it we would briefly introduce the Inscriptions and the themes used in them. In the main part of the study, structure, decorations, and themes raised in the inscriptions would be studied in an analytical, interpretive, and historical manner. In the surveys which have been done, we didn’t find any research that in detail pay attention to this subject. In some cases, the authors of Astan Quds and the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) have mentioned this Altar in their history books and some of them have also described it. Scholars of Islamic art like Watson in Persian Luster Ware and Porter in Islamic tiles have also briefly introduced it. The brief result of research reveals that Islamic architecture, especially sacred architecture, is a manifestation of divine beauties and a glowing example of a combination of symbolic forms associated with our deep meanings and beliefs, so we believe that this relationship can be expressed in the deepest mysterious levels of this Altar. Each of the decorative elements used in the sanctuary, Such as colors, arches, paintings, lines and scrolls, pilaster, and Mogharnas, in shape and their structure, reflects spiritual realities and meanings that the Knowledge of them had been possible to a worshiper during the prayer by passing the formal universe to the divine world. These meanings reflected from the divine world, and manifest the concepts such as the presence of God, resurrection, release from Nether world and ascension into the celestial world, twinkle of divine light, transcendental unity, meditation and inner purification. These concepts are very close to prayer and ritual activities. The general structure of the altar with triple arch and salient pilaster reflects the original states of prayer in one hand, and the spatial visualization of prostration on the other hand. Consecration of the Holy shrine to the Word of God, to induce discipline and unity of existence, inward focus and spiritual stability, constant repetition and remembrance of God into the heart of the prayers are considered as a most important function of structure, motifs and inscriptions engraved on the altar. These elements by creating the beauty, order and unity are able to influence on the spirit of worshiper and bring to him the Coordinate space for perception of lofty spiritual concepts. explicit beckon to the time of daily prayers in the outermost edge of the Altar, change the kiblah direction, Authentic hadith mentioned in the dignity and greatness of Imam Reza, the message of peace and victory for the Muslims, Humility in prayer, emphasizing the superiority of Islam are the themes raised in the inscriptions of the altar and mostly shows Shiite tendencies. Finally, It can be said that the choice of text and decorations have been done in proportion to the identity of Altar and location of it in the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), Social and religious conditions of early seventh century AH and boost the morale of Shiite minority against the constraints and possible problems. In simple terms, they are affected by the cultural, religious and doctrinal conditions of its period of emergence. In addition, we can achieve the unique comparative fit between contents of Inscriptions and decorative elements of the altar. As if here, designs are the visual translation of the texts, and Heavenly and divine meanings of each one indicates to empathy between scripts and motifs in the realization of an Islamic fine work.

Keywords: Luster tiles Altar, Imam Reza’s shrine architecture, form and meaning, Islamic architectural decorations

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