Buta (ornament)

The boteh (Persian: بوته), is an almond or pine cone-shaped motif in ornament with a sharp-curved upper end.^[1] 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.^[1] In India, the shape is associated more with a mango than with a pine cone, and is called ambi, from āmra (Sanskrit: आम्र) meaning mango. By the 19th century, it spread to Europe via Kashmir shawls. By the 1860s, the shape and textiles utilizing the motif became known as Persian paisleys, as Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland became a major centre for the production of high-demand imitation boteh textiles that were crafted for a new audience of transatlantic consumers.

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^[who?] believe the boteh is the convergence of a stylized floral spray and a cypress tree: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity.^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]} Persian and Central Asian designs usually range the motifs in orderly rows, with a plain background.