Islamic Art
History
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Muhammad : Born in western part of Arabia
570-632 AD approx.
One of the last Judeo/Christian prophets
Visited by archangel Gabriel who passed along
the word of God
• The aforementioned revelations were collected
in the Muslim holy book: Qur’on
• Maintained that man was responsible for his/her
actions and would face final judgement
• Created a framework for behavior in the society
• Not accepted at first
• Muhammad escaped an assassination plot
and established himself in Medina: known
as the hijra: the emigration of Muhammad
to medina and the first year of the Islamic
calendar
• Eventually Muhammad’s beliefs spread
back to Mecca and to areas of northern
Africa, the Mediterranean and Asia.
music
• To summarize, if you do listen to singing it should follow
these rules:
• either there is no musical accompaniment at all, or only
the duff
• the lyrics should be Islamic and about praise of Allah
SWT
• you should only listen to it while alone, with your family,
or with a group of friends that are the same sex (i.e., all
women, or all men) not in mixed gatherings
• obviously, it is haram to have any kind of alcoholic
beverages or other sinful items
Key characteristics
• Development of an embellished
calligraphic style of writing that would be
worthy of Allah
• Development of the mosque architectural
style
Key characteristics
• Development of the mosque architectural style: features of a
mosque are the dikka, mihrab, and minbar, and minaret (a tower).
• Dikka: platform made of wood in line with the mihrab for muezzins
who chant with prayer leader
• Mihrab: highly decorated niche that indicates the direction of mecca
and therefore the focal point in prayer
• Minbar: the pulpit where the prayer leader sermonizes and leads
prayers
• Hypostyle Hall of the
Great Mosque of Cordoba
minaret - In Islamic tradition, a tall, slender tower attached to or built
near a mosque. Every minaret has a balcony that a muezzin (Muslim
crier) uses to call the faithful to prayer five times a day.
Nur in Semitic languages means "light." Hebrew menorah thus means
a "holder of light" or "candelabrum." The Arabic form of the word is
manarah, manara, or manar.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, minarets were high places of light or fire, and
served as beacons or markers to guide caravan routes. Such towers
attached to Byzantine fortresses along the North African and Syrian
coasts were used as lighthouses. Standing vertically it serves as a
spiritual symbol that links heaven and earth. The appearance of a
single minaret resembles the numeral "1" which symbolizes unity and
oneness. Some Muslims suggest the association to the first long
straight letter of the Arabic alphabet, alif, with which Allah's name
begins.
The "adhan" — the call to prayer made from the minaret — sung by a
muezzin present in the minaret, or a recording of him amplified by a
loudspeaker. To hear a short recording of the adhan click here.
Muhammad's Call to Prophecy and
the First Revelation; Leaf from a copy
of the Majmac al-tawarikh
(Compendium of Histories), ca. 1425;
Timurid
Herat, Afghanistan
Colors, silver, and gilt on brownish paper
16 7/8 x 13 1/4 in. (42.8 x 33.7 cm)
Cora Timken Burnett Collection of
Persian Miniatures and Other Persian
Art Objects, Bequest of Cora Timken
Burnett, 1956 (57.51.37.3)
In the capital city of Herat, the scholar and
writer Hafiz-i Abru was commissioned by the
Timurid ruler Shah Rukh (r. 1405–47) to write
a massive world history, beginning with Adam,
as was traditional, down to his own time. The
resulting manuscripts were heavily illustrated
in a somewhat simplified but effectively direct
style. In this picture, the angel Gabriel, whose
role is to transmit God's revelations, appears
as an actively commanding presence in
complete contrast to the immobile,
concentrated receptivity of the Prophet.
Source: Muhammad's Call to Prophecy and
the First Revelation [Afghanistan] (57.51.37.3)
| Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The
What connections can you make
with Roman art?
• What art form developed to help spread
Christianity?
• How is it similar to the artwork created by
Islamic artists
• How is it different?
• Aquamanile in the Form of an
Eagle Master Suleiman
• 180 AH/796-797
• Bronze, silver, copper H 38 cm, l 45
cm
• This vessel in the shape of a bird of
prey was used for water and
originally had a handle on the top.
The whole of its surface was richly
decorated and some of the silver
and copper inlay has been
preserved.
• An Arabic inscription on the neck
reads ‘in the name of God the
Merciful the Compassionate,
Blessings/from/God'; it also contains
the name of the craftsman, Master
Suleiman, and the date, 180 AH.
This is the oldest known precisely
dated Iranian bronze object.
Pile Carpet
Second half of the 16th century
Wool 331 x 188 cm
The carpet has a yellow pattern
on a red ground. It was created in
one of the greatest 16th-century
centres of carpet-making in Asia
Minor, the town of Ushak. The
carpet is woven with the Lotto
design (named after the Venetian
artist Lorenzo Lotto, who often
depicted similar carpets in his
paintings).
Bronze Jug
Inlaid with silver.
Probably Heart, signed
Habib Allah ibn 'Ali
Baharjani, dated 1461.
Detail of the
mosaic, entrance
to Dervishes
monastery, Natanz,
1304.
Page from a Koran in
muhaqqaq with Persian
interlinear translation and
prophetic traditions in Kufic
characters around the pages.
Late 13th to early 14th
century.
Resources
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isla/hd
_isla.htm
• http://www.artlex.com/