Islamic Arts
Principal Arts
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Arts of the Object
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Ceramics
Metalwork
Glass
Woodwork
Textiles
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Architecture
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Tombs
Mosques
The Arts of the Book
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Calligraphy
Illustration
Arts of the Object
Main Styles of Islamic Art
 Geometric
 Calligraphic
 Organic/Figural
 Medallions
Geometric
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Based on
mathematical
shapes
Calligraphic
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Uses Arabic
script as the
focal point of
a design
Marble foundation stone from Egypt
Organic/Figural
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Identified by:
Curving lines
 Humans or
animal
 Flowers or
vines
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Medallion
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Central image that
is more important
than other
elements of the
design
Pop Quiz
Identify the Style
Which Style?
Geometric
Which Style?
Organic/Figural
 Can you see the
bird?
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Which Style?
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Medallion Style
Which Style?
Calligraphic
 “Science, its taste
is bitter at the
beginning but, at
the end, sweeter
than honey.”
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Arabo-Andalusian Music
What to listen for:
 Timbre
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Lute
Improvisation
Microtones
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Quarter step above the
previous note
Arabic music has 17
notes
Meter/Tempo
Lute
Architecture
Petra
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Rock Tomb
Hellenistic
similarities
What movie?

Indiana Jones
and the Last
Crusade
Frontal view of the KhaznetFir`awn (the Treasury of
Pharoah), a second century
A.D. rock tomb in Petra.
Three Styles of Mosques
Hypostyle Mosque
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Prayer hall is
formed of rows
of columns
Usually
multiple
columns
vertically
Dominant style
in the early
period
Hypostyle Hall of the
Mosque of the Umayyad,
Damascus
Central-Dome Mosque
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Prayer hall's
space is
dominated by a
central dome
surrounded by
smaller and
lower semidomes.
The Selimiyye Mosque in Edirne
Iwan Mosque
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Prayer hall is
an iwan, or up
to four iwans,
surrounding a
courtyard.
Most popular
type in the
medieval
period
Two of the Four Iwan of
the Friday Mosque in
Isfahan
Minaret, a
tower from
which criers call
the prayers.
The Dome of the Rock
(Qubbat al-Sakhra)
The Dome of the Rock
(Qubbat al-Sakhra)
View of the interior of the
Dome of the Rock, showing
the inner ambulatory
arcade.
Ka'ba in Mecca
Masjid al-Haram
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Center of
worship and
pilgrimage
The qibla
towards
which
worshippers
face when
praying.
Arts of the Book
Calligraphy
Calligraphy – beautiful writing
 The most revered form of artistic
expression in the Islamic world
 Word of God in visual form
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Characteristics of Calligraphy
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Earliest form of
Arabic script was
called Kufic script.
• Pages from the Koran, Syria or
Iraq. 9th century
• Ink, pigments, and gold on
vellum, 8” x 11 ½”
Qur'an (Koran)
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The red dots
above and
below the
letters indicate
accents
The medallion
in the margin
signifies a text
division
Illustrations