Examination and Analysis of Plaster and Brick Decorations of Saray-e Ghalamdani, Hamadan City

Saray-e Ghalamdani, built in 1224 AH, is one of the buildings that holds great importance in terms of decorations. This structure is considered one of the notable buildings regarding its brick and plaster decorations, which have not been comprehensively studied yet. The aim of this research is to study the brick and plaster decorations of this building and the influence of various cultures on the formation of these decorations, in order to provide a new dating for the construction and execution of the building's decorations. The approach of this research is qualitative, and two methods of field study and documentary research have been used for data collection. The results show that various types of bricks have been used for the construction and execution of decorations, and the created patterns are generally geometric and floral. Although the "Khofteh-Rasteh" pattern aligns with Iranian culture, the solar and bowl-plate patterns are influenced by Western culture. In the execution of plaster decorations, the raised plaster joints can be considered to have a local origin; however, in the execution of capital decorations and column grooves, as well as bowl-plate patterns created using plaster, the influence of Western culture is clearly observable. Therefore, considering the executed decorations, it can be said that Saray-e Ghalamdani was formed in two periods: the first period is 1224 AH, which relates to the construction of the building, and the second period is when the decorations of this building were executed, which corresponds to the late Qajar or early Pahlavi era.