de Beaufort AA ch19

1. 1
The Islamic World

2. Islam
A follower of Islam
Muslim :“One who submits to God”
Began in 622 CE with Muhammad’s
emigration from Mecca to Medina
Quickly spread from Byzantine Empire
to North Africa, Spain and other parts
of Europe
Artistic traditions of Muslims
• Allowed conquered peoples to
retain religion and culture
• Frown upon representation of
human figures used in a religious
context
• Re-creation of living things as
competition with Allah (God), who
created all
• Muhammad prohibited from
imagery (only the messenger)
Calligraphy
For higher learning
Used to enhance beauty of word of God
Qur'an, the sacred text of Islam
Text of the Qur‘an. North Africa or Spain. 11th
century.

3. 1
Arab Lands
Early houses of worship
Mosques
Masjid-”place of prostration”
•
Must be big enough to
accommodate all male
worshipers for Friday prayers
• Include minarets (towers) that
mark building’s location
• Call to prayer- 5 times daily
• Based on Prophets house- open
courtyard with collonades
Great Mosque in Kairouan, Tunisia
Mihrab (wall niche) points to Mecca
Great Mosque. Kairouan, Tunisia.
836–875.

4. 1
Ceramic arts
Major advance through lusterware
technique
Glaze that imparts a metallic sheen
Most difficult to control
Luster technique associated with alchemy
Pitcher
Thin body indicates decorative purposes,
not practical ones
Script expresses praise and good wishes
to the owner (probably a noble or ruler)
Pitcher (Spouted Ewer). Kashan. Early
13th century.
Luster over tin glaze. Height 6-4⁄5”.

5. 1
Spain
Muslim cities: Cordoba and Grenada
Geometric and floral design motifs that
complement calligraphy
Court of the Lions, Alhambra (royal
palace )
• Translucent webs of intricate
decoration
•
Light comes through small openings
•
“There is no victor except God” in
calligraphic script
• Palace itself a contained city
Court of the Lions, Alhambra. Granada,
Spain. 1309–54.

6. 1
Persia
Tile art
Mihrab from Iran
• Intricate designs satisfy urge for beauty
Aesthetically pleasing patterns
Tells story using script, not figures :
• Verses in Qur’an about value of building
mosques
Mihrab. Iran. c. 1354.
Composite body, glazed, sawed to shape
and assembled in mosaic. Height 11’3”.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harris
Brisbane Dick Fund, 1939

7. 1
Madrasa
Muslim theological school for
history and interpretation of
Qur’an and Islam
Mir-i-Arab Madrasa in
Uzbekistan
Sufism
• Well-proportioned array of
openings
•
Iwan -the large covered
porch at center
• 2 domes- lecture hall,
founders tomb
•
Surfaces with floral,
geometric, and epigraphic
patterned tiles
• Color integral to architecture
Mir-i-Arab Madrasa. Bukhara,
Uzbekistan. 1535–1536.
Façade.

8. Persia
Lavish illustrations of manuscripts
Most often produced in workshops with anonymous
artists
Secular works- representations of humans more
acceptable
Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman
• Sultan-Muhammad, revered painter of Safavid
Persia
• Allegory on vanity
• “What good is conquering foreign armies if you
cant make your own behave?!”
•
Subtle gestures and detail
Rocks rendered in the Chinese style
Attributed to Sultan-Muhammad. Sultan Sanjar and the
Old Woman. From the Khamseh (Five Poems) of Nizami,
folio 181. 1539–43.
Gouache on paper. 14-1⁄2” × 10”

9. 1
Shah Jahan
Last Mughal ruler (Muslim rulers in India)
Taj Mahal
•
Built for favorite wife that died in childbirth
• No similar architectural testament to Romantic love
in all the world!
•
Central iwan fronted with a pointed arch
•
Beauty from expensive materials and poetic
arrangement of mass
• Weightless seeming dome
• Paradise motif in the inscription surrounding the
doorway arch (passage describes afterlife)
• Expensive materials- poetic arrangement
Taj Mahal (detail). Agra, India. 1632–48.