The document provides information on various aspects of Islamic art and architecture. It discusses important architectural structures like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia, and the Alhambra palace in Granada. It also covers manuscript paintings, ceramics, glasswork, carpets, and other artistic traditions within the Islamic world from the 8th to 16th centuries. Key elements of Islamic religious practices like the Five Pillars and mosques are also outlined.

1. Humay and Humayun in a Garden
(1430). From a lost Khamseh by
Khwaju Kirmani.
Art History:
Islamic Art
T, R, 12-1:20PM
Professor Paige Prater

2. Prince Carried By an Angel (1380-1390). Lost
manuscript from Baghdad.

3. The Five Pillars of Islam
 First Pillar: (shahadah) There is only one God and
Muhammad is his prophet.
 Second Pillar: (salat) Prayer 5x daily, facing Mecca (east)
 Third Pillar: (zakah) voluntary giving of alms (1/40th of
one’s assets)
 Fourth Pillar: (sawm) month of Ramadan, dawn-to-dusk fast
 Fifth Pillar: (hajj) pilgrimage to Mecca (if
physically/financially able to do so)
 Simple garments
 Circumambulating the Kaaba
 Kissing the Black stone
 Sacrifice (usually a sheep) in memory of Abraham’s willingness
to sacrifice his son at God’s command

4. Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem,
691-692 CE

5. Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem,
691-692 CE
 First great monument of Islamic art
 Third most holy site in Islam
 Muhammad’s “Night Journey”
 Shrine over rock completed by Umayyads in 691-692
 Byzantine trained Syrian artisans
 Oldest surviving written Qur’anic verses on interior frieze
 Arcades and ambulatories (aisles) in concentric circles

6. Dome of the
Rock, Jerusalem, 691-692 CE
 Interior &
cutaway
drawing

7. Dome of the
Rock, Jerusalem, 691-692 CE

8. ARCHES

9. MSHATTA Palace in
Amman, Jordan, 743-744
(probably)
 16’ high frieze across façade’s base
 High-relief rosettes

10. MSHATTA Palace in Amman,
Jordan, 743-744 (probably)
 Palatial hunting lodge by Umayyad caliphs
 Entertain/impress local chieftains
 East and West sides unfinished
 472 foot long sides
 Towers/bastions on outer walls/gates
 Large central court and mosque
 Domed audience hall/private apartments

11. MOSQUE PLANS
 Hypostyle
(shown)
 Four-iwan
 Centrally-planned

12. Four-iwan Mosque plan

13. Centrally-planned mosque

14. The Great Mosque of
Kairouan, Tunisia, 836-875 CE

15. The Great Mosque of
Kairouan, Tunisia, 836-875 CE
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l3NT1L_SqQ
 Early form of mosque + new additions:
 Hypostyle mosque
 Repeated bays and aisles
 Minaret –huge tower for calls to prayer
 Qibla wall (closest to Mecca)
 Central mihrab niche (holy space)
 Maqsura (ruler’s enclosure in front of the mihrab)
 Minbar (pulpit)

16. The Great Mosque of
Kairouan, Tunisia, 836-875 CE interior

17. The Great Mosque at
Cordoba, Spain

18. The Great Mosque at Cordoba,
Spain, 965.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULptVmaMjYw
 Rick Steves on Cordoba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvNMDy_h3g
 Visigothic Christian church site>Umayyad began to build
in 785>3x expanded later (620x460’ today; 1/3 is the
courtyard)

19. The Great Mosque at Cordoba –
horseshoe arches

20. The Great Mosque at Cordoba,
Spain - mihrab

21. The Great Mosque at Cordoba,
Spain

22. Muqarnas Dome, Hall of the
Abencerrajes, Palace of the
Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain,
1354-1391 CE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEse
JViidy8

23. Bowl with Kufic Border, 9-10th
Century, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
 Earthenware with slip, pigment, and lead glaze; 14 ½” diameter
 Mimics Chinese Porcelain; Samarkand connected to Silk Road
 “Knowledge: the beginning of it is bitter to taste, but the end is
sweeter than honey”

24. Textile with Elephants and
Camels or Shroud of Saint
Josse, Khurasan or Central
Asia, before 961
 Dyed silk, fragment
 “Glory and happiness to the Commander Abu Mansur
Kukhtakin. May God prolong his prosperity.”

25. Page from the Qur’an (Surah II:
286 and title Surah III) in Kufic
script, Syria, 9th Century.
 Black ink pigments, and gold on vellum
 8 1/8” x 11 1/8” .

26. Courtyard, Masjid-I Jami, Isfahan, Iran
11-18th century (14th century iwan vault, 17th
century minarets)

27. Tile Mosaic Mihrab
Madrasa
Imami, Isfahan, Ir
an, founded
1354.
 Outer inscription Surah 9:
duties/Five Pillars
 Framing the pointed arch:
sayings of the Prophet
 Central panel in Kufic and
cursive: “The mosque is
the house of every pious
person.”

28. Mamluk Glass Oil Lamp, Syria or
Egypt, c. 1355
 Glass, polychrome
enamel, and gold, 12”
 Inscription on flared neck
Surah 24:35
“God is the light of the
heavens and the earth His
light is as a niche wherein is
a lamp, the lamp in a glass,
the glass as a glittering
star.”

29. Carpet-making
 Flat weave vs. pile/knotted
 Warp: vertical strands; dyed, covers weft.
 Weft: horizontal/cross-wise strands; usually undyed
Kilim weaving pattern
Symmetrical (Iran) and
Asymmetrical knot (Turkey)

30. Medallion Rug, Variant Star
Ushak Style
 16th Century, wool
 10’3”x7’6 ¼”

31. Mosque of Sultan
Selim, Edirne, Turkey. 1568-1575
 Ottoman Empire
 Architect Sinan
(1489-1588)
 102’ dome (larger
than Hagia Sophia!)