Buta (ornament)


The boteh, is an almond or pine cone-shaped motif in ornament with a sharp-curved upper end. This Persian pattern is one of the national symbols of Iran and also very common and called buta in India, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries in the Persianate cultural sphere. In India, the shape is associated more with a mango than with a pine cone, and is called ambi, from āmra meaning mango. Via Kashmir shawls it spread to Europe at least in the 19th century, where patterns using it are known since 1960s as Persian paisleys, as Paisley, Renfrewshire in Scotland was a major centre imitating them.
In Asian ornament, the boteh motifs are typically placed in orderly rows, though especially in India they may appear in a pattern in a variety of sizes, colours, and orientations, which is also characteristic of European paisley patterns.
Scholars believe the boteh is the convergence of a stylized floral spray and a cypress tree: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity. The "bent" cedar is also a sign of strength and resistance but modesty. The floral motif originated in the Sasanian Empire and was later used in the Safavid Empire, and was a major textile pattern in Iran during the Qajar and Pahlavi eras. In these periods, the pattern was used to decorate royal regalia, crowns, and court garments, as well as textiles used by the general population. Persian and Central Asian designs usually range the motifs in orderly rows, with a plain background.

Uses

The motifs can still be found on Persian carpets, Armenian carpets, Azerbaijani rugs, kalaghai shawls and textiles, paintings of decorative-applied arts of Greater Iran and also in decorations of Persian architectural monuments.
It is woven using gold or silver threads on silk or other high quality textiles for gifts, for weddings and special occasions. In Iran and Uzbekistan, its use goes beyond clothing, with paintings, jewelry, frescoes, curtains, tablecloths, quilts, carpets, garden landscaping, and pottery also sporting the boteh design. In Uzbekistan the most frequently found item featuring the design is the traditional doʻppi caps.
In Tamil Nadu the manga maalai with matching earrings is a traditional feature of bharathanatyam dance.
It is a prominent design in Kanchipuram saris.