In the study of clothing styles across any historical period in Iran, the primary focus is on the courtly attire. Numerous scholarly works have analyzed Safavid-era clothing following this approach. However, despite its ostensibly well-trodden appearance, the subject has yet to receive a comprehensive and methodologically rigorous examination worthy of its significance. Adopting this perspective, the current study seeks to answer the following research question: How was the attire of different social strata in Iranian society characterized during the late Safavid era, specifically under the rule of Shah Soleyman in Isfahan? To gain a more accurate understanding of this topic, this article examines the drawings of Jani Farangi-Saz found in Engelbert Kaempfer’s travelogue as a form of visual documentation. In this manner, alongside achieving the principal goal of reconstructing commoners' sartorial practices in late Safavid Isfahan, the research simultaneously accomplished multiple secondary objectives. These included identifying the works of an obscure Safavid-era painter, Jani Farangi-Saz, and extracting pertinent data from primary written sources of Shah Soleyman’s reign, such as contemporary travel accounts. Employing this methodological framework enabled, on the one hand, a more meticulous examination of Safavid-era attire, with heightened attention to sartorial details and historical periodization, while on the other hand facilitating critical analysis of the distinctive painting style characteristic of the late Safavid period.
With this perspective in mind, the present qualitative study adopted a historical approach and employed an analytical-comparative methodology to investigate Safavid-era clothing. To shape this study, purposeful sampling was applied to the illustrations in Engelbert Kaempfer’s travelogue; accordingly, eighteen figures were selected and analyzed from twelve illustrated pages of this manuscript, based on the research variables. It should be noted that the travelogue contains forty-four illustrated pages, with some depicting two or more human figures, while others illustrate native Iranian animal species such as partridges, rabbits, and goats, or even local architectural elements. In this way, the work captures the socio-cultural and geographical ecosystem of Iran.
The findings revealed that during the long historical span of Safavid rule, Iranians generally adhered to a relatively consistent mode of dress, the manifestations of which can be reconstructed through the capital city of the dynasty, Isfahan. Men wore shirts, trousers, upper garments (including qaba, kordi, katibi, and jabbah), sashes, socks, and shoes, while women, with slight variations in fabric selection based on gender, dressed similarly at home but with greater delicacy, more intricate details, and extensive use of gold and jewelry. When leaving the house, they added a chador and a white ruband to their attire. While this general principle was followed, through a closer examination of eighteen illustrations selected from the forty-four illustrated pages of this manuscript, visual data were collected and critically evaluated against surviving historical sources from the same period.
The findings revealed that clothing during that period served as a significant marker for identifying an individual’s nationality, religious affiliation, sect, and occupational status. As an example, the white turban (amamah) was specific to religious scholars. Qalandars wore undyed sheepskin cloaks over their shoulders. The Qizilbash were well-dressed, and their upper garment in the second half of the seventeenth century CE was typically a Georgian-style qaba. Yasavuls were required to wear the Qizilbash headdress and leather boots. In contrast, musketeers and provincial soldiers wore shorter qaba for greater mobility and paired them with pataveh and givah. Other nationalities, such as Indians and Romans, wore their distinctive attire, which was particularly evident among women due to their absence of chadors or ruband. Among them, the Zoroastrians were less affluent in comparison to the wealthy Armenians, yet both groups covered their heads in a distinctive manner, using a charqad or shawl. In contrast, Georgians and Romans simply wore hats, while Indians wore head coverings similar to mandils. A common feature was that apparently all women, if affluent and wealthy, wore Iranian shalvar-e mohramat (ceremonial trousers) adorned with floral motifs, proudly displaying the beauty of their intricate needlework.
Thus, the general components of clothing among the people across different social classes were largely uniform; however, certain elements gradually acquired symbolic functions over time. For instance, the hats, givah (shoes), and pataveh (leg wraps) worn by musketeers and provincial soldiers contrasted sharply with the ostentatious Georgian-style qabas of the Qizilbash and cavalry. Similarly, the relatively short upper garments and headwear of Georgian and Roman women distinguished them from Armenian and Zoroastrian women, who covered their heads with charqads (turbans) or cloth wraps. This distinction was even more pronounced when compared to Iranian Muslim women, who, outside the home, wore a chador and ruband. Therefore, based on the visual documentation provided by Jani Farangi-Saz, it can be argued that despite a prevailing common style of dress during the reign of Shah Soleyman Safavi, there was also a degree of variation in certain elements. This variation functioned symbolically in distinguishing different religious sects, ethnic groups residing in Isfahan, and even the occupational or military status of Iranians.