Early Islamic
:
* ARABESQUES *…
Complex Geometrical Designs,
Interlaced with Scrolling Vines
Girah Strapwork: Girih tiles are a set of five tiles that were used in the creation of Islamic
geometric patterns using strapwork (girih) for decoration of buildings in Islamic architecture.
Islamic abstract designs often follow the principal of ‘self-similarity’.
Used for borders and filling spaces with shapes. Sub atomic particles fitted into weird spaces.
A self-similar object is exactly or approximately similar to a part of itself (i.e. The whole
has the same shape as one or more of the parts). Think of a snowflake.
Filling complex, varied architectural forms with complex geometrical patternsresolves any
spatial incongruities.
Byzantine Influence: The Byzantine Empire's influence on the Islamic World and Western
Europe. Islamic decoration and architecture is very similar to the Byzantine Empire as well.
The heavy use of marble and gold mosaics. The important of covering a woman's skin up and
veiling her in Islam came directly from the Byzantine Empire.
Mecca: Mecca, Arabic Makkah, ancient Bakkah, city, western Saudi Arabia, located in the Ṣirāt
Mountains, inland from the Red Sea coast. It is the holiest of Muslim cities. Muhammad, the
founder of Islam, was born in Mecca, and it is toward this religious centre that Muslims turn five
times daily in prayer (see qiblah)
The Kaaba: Meaning the cube.
The sleek black covering
(kiswah) is made of silk embroidered with gold. This tradition
goes back to the Abbasid Dynasty. t is the most sacred site in Islam.[3] It is considered
by Muslims to be the Bayt Allah (Arabic: ‫ٱَلل‬
ّ ٰ ‫بَيْت‬, lit. 'House of God') and is the qibla (Arabic: ‫قِ ْبلَة‬,
direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world when performing salah.
Mosque: The Prophet Muhammad's original house in Medina (in present-day Saudi
Arabia) is thought to be the first mosque and probably served as a model for early mosque
architecture. It was a mud-brick structure with living quarters on one side of an enclosed
rectangular courtyard. literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of
worship for Muslims.[1][2] Any act of worship that follows the Islamic rules of prayer can be said to
create a mosque, whether or not it takes place in a special building.
Qibla: wall facing Mecca.
Mihrab: empty niche in the Qibla wall
( empty because ‘no idols’! Your relationship with Allah
should be unmediated ).
Minbar: the pulpit.
Minarets: towers for the call to prayer,
5 times a day
Horseshow Arch At right, note the HORSESHOE ARCHES,from the mosque interior.
Roman origins, but very characteristicof Islamic architecture.
Pointed Arch:
The math involved was only described in the 1970s.
Islamic artists stumbled onto these forms when devising ways to make tiles fit
inside irregular borders, using only a straight-edge and compass
Squinches: In architecture, a squinch is a construction filling in (or rounding off) the upper angles of
a square room so as to form a base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome. Another solution to
this structural problem was provided by the pendentive.
Squinches can leave ugly, random-looking hollows, so …
Using the principalof self-similarity,the hollows are sub-divided into smaller3dimensional scoopsthat repeat the form,making rows of decorative shapes that
add textural interest.
Muquams:
Calligraphy: they also added scripture, written using beautiful
CALLIGRAPHY – which does honor to sacred texts (makes special).
Look for it everywhere: on everyday objects, architectural embellishment
Images were ‘out’, but the written word was and is sacred to ‘people of the boo
Kūfic script, in calligraphy,
earliest extant Islamic style of handwritten alphabet that was used by early
Muslims to record the Qurʾān.
Kufic Script:
India:
Indus Valley Seals: The Indus Valley would have been well-populated with tigers and
leopards.Many seals have been found depicting heroic bare-handed wrestling
with tigers ̶ often male figures, sometimes female – sometimes anthropomorphic
Trefoil: The dignified figure has a well-combed beard, wears a circular filet on his arm and
head, with a one-shouldered robe decorated with ‘trefoils’(3-leaves). This design appeared
frequently among excavated remains. There are holes drilled for a necklace.
The Great Stupa: The Great Stupa at Sanchi became the model
for a consistent Buddhist architectural form:
The Stupa.
Stupas form a cosmic pillar - an axis mundi - sheltering reliquaries, serving as shrines and
marking a center for
‘the four directions of the world’.
They are sites for pilgrimage
and devotional practices.
Rock Cut Hall: To the South: Early Andhras Dynasty
Spectacular Buddhist The Entrance: everything
– all architectural detail –
is carved from living rock.
The Chaitya Hall : at the Karla Caves2nd century.
Notice the stupa;
Notice the ribbed, vaulted roof;
Notice the distinctive capitals
on the pillars. chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:Caitya; Pāli: Cetiya) refers to a shrine,
sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions.[1][2] The term is most common in Buddhism, where
it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded apse at the end opposite the entrance, and a high
roof with a rounded profile.[3] Strictly speaking, the chaitya is the stupa itself,[4] and the Indian
buildings are chaitya halls, but this distinction is often not observed.
Gandhara style: Greek style: Westernized … with use of local blue stone.
Buddha is superhuman: powerful, heroic.
Individualized, naturalistic features and hair.
Broad, well-defined, massive body .
Torso: relaxed posture,
contraposto with bent knee.
Robe: tight, rib-like creases, with volume,
somewhat like Hellenistic togas.
Clear, lively rhythmic pattern …
Ancient China:
Shang Dynasty: 1600 - 1046 BCE
Shang Burial with Horse –Notice the elaborate bronze studs
Where the bridle must have been. Early Chinese Kings, who ruled the smaller kingdoms
that preceded and included the Shang period,were often at war with each other and are often discovered buried with their entire court, sacrificed along with the horses,
presumably for use in the afterlife.
Han Dynasty: Use of iron emerges for weapons and agriculture, but bronze expertise
continues to be used to create aesthetic items.
Jade Congs: In China, the circle in the square is understood as the world-plus-fourdirections. This idea could well go way back…The tube could be ‘a model’ of the
connection between this life and the afterlife, for the deceased. Perhaps
These precious, carefully fashioned objects
were used in rituals for the dead?
Pagoda: Chinese version of an Indian stupa,
blended with the form of Han watchtowers.
Song Dynasty Paintings: Fan KuanTravelers Among Mountains and Streams
Ink on silk. Song dynasty, c. 1000 CE. Gnarled pine detail
Japan:
Dogu: MIDDLE / LATE JOMON PERIOD:
12,000 - 300 BCE
Haniwa: KOFUN PERIOD: 250 - 538 CE
Torii: Shinto
Religion: indigenous shamanic beliefs in 'kami‘
deities, aspects of nature
Shrine at Ise: Shrine at Ise
Date established: 4 BCE
Dedicated to the Shinto Sun Goddess, Ameratsu,
Daughter of Izanagi and Izanami, central deities (kami) in the Japanese creation myth.
The architectural style of the Ise shrine is known as shinmei-zukuri …
characterized by extreme simplicity and antiquity, basic values dating back to the
Kofun period.
Africa:
IFE HEADS: Note the parallel lines of scarification, the small holespierced for beads or feathers,
and larger holes to attach the head to a body - probably a wooden frame that might have
been dressed. Nigerian City-State of Ife:
Naturalistic Sculpture
In Bronze, 900-1050 CE
Conical Tower of Great Zimbabwe: All of the walls at Great Zimbabwe were constructed from granite
hewn locally. While some theories suggest that the granite enclosures were built for defense, these walls
likely had no military function. Many segments within the walls have gaps, interrupted arcs or elements that
seem to run counter to needs of protection. The fact that the structures were built without the use of mortar
to bind the stones together supports speculation that the site was not, in fact, intended for defense.
Nevertheless, these enclosures symbolize the power and prestige of the rulers of Great Zimbabwe.
The conical tower (above) of Great Zimbabwe is thought to have functioned as a granary. According to
tradition, a Shona ruler shows his largess towards his subjects through his granary, often distributing grain as
a symbol of his protection. Indeed, advancements in agricultural cultivation among Bantu-speaking peoples in
sub-Saharan Africa transformed the pattern of life for many, including the Shona communities of present-day
Zimbabwe.
Adinkra Symbols: Visual symbols, originally created by the ‘Akan' (a nation/ethic group in Ghana and Ivory
Coast).‘Dinkra’ are ‘concepts’ or ‘aphorisms’ - ‘pre-literate’ means
for "supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief“.
Basotho Painted Houses: A Prayer for Rain A Traditional People in Resistance to Apartheid. These are Living,
Evolving Traditions - so sometimes, a modern political component manifest