New insights into the history of the Masjed-e Jameʿ of Golpayegan: a scientific analysis of architectural decorations

Abstract

The colourants and glazed tiles used in the architectural decoration of the Masjed-e Jameʿ of Golpayegan were analysed using micro-Raman spectroscopy (µ-Raman), scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), polarised light microscopy (PLM), and micro-X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF). The identified colourants, which were found on the stucco decorations, including gold leaf, yellow orpiment, red vermilion, yellow and red ochres, red fuchsine, ultramarine blue, and blue azurite, along with their stratigraphic sequence at the monument, revealed at least four distinct phases of intervention at the mihrab of the mosque. As well as these findings, compositional differences between the bodies and glazes of the tiles found in the mosque provided material evidence for multiple intervention phases in the mosque’s history.