“Aks”, Akasi (Stenciled Borders) is one of the Illustrated techniques in Iranian manuscripts. Despite having examples in inside and outside libraries sources, but the main issue is that this technique has been less discussed and has been forgotten. Therefore, the present study complements previous research and calculates more information from Illustrated technique. As a result, the first purpose of this article is to identify the different styles of Akasi based on their structure from the Timurid and Safavid periods, and the second purpose of this article is to identify the artists. Finally, the third purpose of this article is compared between the height and down point of technique. The research methods in this article are investigation of 6 samples of historical manuscripts with decorative Akasi from Malek National Library and Museum institute. Also, finding of the more information was collected from library sources outside of Iran and analyzed using a descriptive-analytical method. The importance and necessity of this research is due to the fact that this art flourished in the golden period of manuscript ology and was performed on exquisite manuscripts. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out extensive and comprehensive studies on illustrated (Aks) manuscripts and its famous artists. The results of historical studies show that this technique has been popular since the end of the Timurid period and reaches its prominent in the early Safavid period.

Artists such as Maulana Kopak and Sultan Ibrahim Mirza probably in the royal library or the Shahrokhi school of Mashhad during the ruling of Shah Tahmasp Safavid, were famous in this art and technique. The execution method in this artistic technique is to remove and reverse the pattern image with “Garteh Bardari ⁓ Gardeh Bardari” and create a positive and negative space in the segmented margins of the pages. Many templates are used in these samples. The positive technique of the Akasi was by transferring color and splashing on the original motifs and then retouching the pattern with recoloring and gold penning. The negative execution of the photo is done by coloring and spraying the background of the photo and mostly without gold outlining. Motifs of trees, flowering plants, arabesque motifs, khataei pattern in continuous spirals, and sometimes domestic, wild and legendary animals are carved in the margins and inside or outside the tabular array. For each manuscript, a diverse number of photos (different templates) have been used on self-colored or colored paper, which, in addition to sophistication, have added to the beauty of the Illustrated tradition. For example, 12 stencil borders (Aks) were used in the Diwan of Navai in the Timurid period. But in the samples of the 5977, 5002 and 2278 manuscripts belonging to the 11th century and the first half of the 12th century A.H., this elegance has been reduced and they do not have the motifs of dreamy scenes and beautiful landscapes. So, these samples show that this technique from the end of the Safavid period, it goes down and is gradually forgotten in the Qajar period.