figural Representation
With the spread of Islam outward from the
Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century, the
figurative artistic traditions of the newly conquered
lands profoundly influenced the development of
Islamic art. Ornamentation in Islamic art came to
include figural representations in its decorative
vocabulary, drawn from a variety of sources.
Although the often cited opposition in Islam to the
depiction of human and animal forms holds true
for religious art and architecture, in the secular
sphere, such representations have flourished in
nearly all Islamic cultures.
The Islamic resistance to the representation of
living beings ultimately stems from the belief that
the creation of living forms is unique to God, and it
is for this reason that the role of images and
image makers has been controversial.
Container in the shape of a
horse and rider, 12th–13th century
Iran Composite body, underglazepainted
This figurine represents the
relatively rare sculptural tradition
within Islamic art. Although the
function of this and other such
Seljuq equestrian figures is not
entirely known, they appear to portray a significant personage.
Dish, last quarter of 16th century;
Ottoman Iznik, Turkey
The animals on this dish, some
more recognizable than others,
may derive from representations
on Seljuq metalwork. The central
design is, in effect, a painted
menagerie, an approach not
often attempted by Iznik potters
before around 1570. Another group of animals pursue one
another on the rim of the dish. The bold effect of the bright
green ground is heightened by the potter's decision to leave
the cavetto blank, in essence providing breathing room for
the composition.
This superbly illuminated page
originally formed the right half of
a double-page opening to a
section of a Qur’an. It combines
the three main Islamic types of
nonfigural decoration:
calligraphy, vegetal patterns,
and geometric patterns. The
vegetal patterns here are the
classical scrolls utilized as the
background to the calligraphy,
within the compartments of the
geometric interlace, and in the
text frame and margin
medallion. Two ground colors
are used to introduce additional
patterning.
Islamic Art
History
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/mei/HANDOUT13.PDF
The term Islamic art not only describes the art
created specifically in the service of the Muslim
faith (for example, a mosque and its furnishings)
but also characterizes the art and architecture
historically produced in the lands ruled by Muslims,
produced for Muslim patrons, or created by Muslim
artists. As it is not only a religion but a way of life,
Islam fostered the development of a distinctive
culture with its own unique artistic language that is
reflected in art and architecture throughout the
Muslim world.
With its geographic spread and long history,
Islamic art was inevitably subject to a wide range of
regional and even national styles and influences as
well as changes within the various periods of its
development. It is all the more remarkable then
that, even under these circumstances, Islamic art
has always retained its intrinsic quality and unique
identity. Just as the religion of Islam embodies a
way of life and serves as a cohesive force among
ethnically and culturally diverse peoples, the art
produced by and for Muslim societies has basic
identifying and unifying characteristics. Perhaps the
most salient of these is the predilection for all-over
surface decoration. The four basic components of
Islamic ornament are calligraphy, vegetal patterns,
geometric patterns, and figural representation.
http://arthistory.uchicago.edu/graduate/islamic/
http://www.uga.edu/islam/IslArt.html
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/accessislam/lessonplan10.html
Department of Islamic Art,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from a Qur'an, 1302–8;
Ilkhanid Ira (Baghdad)
Ink, gold, and colors on paper
Plate, 14th century; Mamluk
Syria or Egypt
Glass, free-blown, tooled,
enameled, and gilded
Diam. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Edward C. Moore Collection,
Bequest of Edward C. Moore,
1891 (91.1.1533)
The spectacular enameled
objects produced by Egyptian
and Syrian glassmakers in the
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, especially from the mid-thirteenth
to the late fourteenth century, are unsurpassed. Flat dishes,
such as this fourteenth-century example, were rather
uncommon. Its geometric decoration unfolds on two levels, the
most immediate represented by the combination of the five
tangential circles, drawn in a continuous looping line, that
dominate the composition. The second and subtler level is found
within the four outer circles, where a complex star pattern was
created. The pleasant chromatic contrast of blue, white, and red
enamels, and gilding emphasizes the basic elements of both the
geometric and the vegetal motifs in this complex design.
http://www.islamicart.com/main/calligraphy/early.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/orna/hd_orna.htm
Calligraphy
While many religions have made use of figural
images to convey their core convictions, Islam has
instead used the shapes and sizes of words or
letters. Because Islamic leaders saw in figural arts
a possible implication of idolatry, Islam's early
theocracy looked to the artistry of calligraphy for
religious expression. In Islamic and Arabic
cultures, calligraphy became highly respected as
an art -- the art of writing. The development of
Arabic calligraphy did not follow a linear
movement. A number of various forms appeared
simultaneously, especially at auspicious times of
intense creative activities within the field of writing.
There are numerous form of script that have
developed over the ages. Each influenced by
many factors from the region to the artist.
Omar Ibn al-Khattab, one of the disciples of the
Prophet Muhammad, urged the Caliph Abu Bakr
to put the Holy Qur'an in writing. (Circa 632)
Six Calligraphy Styles
http://www.islamicart.com/main/calligraphy/styles/deewani.html
Reaching near levels of perfection, the cursive
scripts, especially Thuluth, continued to evolve
very distinctive and elegant ornamental versions.
The beauty of these new versions of Thuluth set
them in a position to compete with Kufic script
within the field of epigraphy. Moreover, the scripts
were, and still are, used in copying the Holy
Qur'an, as well as in secular manuscripts.
Vegetal Patterns
Vegetal patterns employed alone or in combination
with the other major types of ornament—calligraphy,
geometric pattern, and figural representation—adorn
a vast number of buildings, manuscripts, objects, and
textiles, produced throughout the Islamic world.
Unlike calligraphy, whose increasingly popular use as
ornament in the early Islamic Arab lands represented
a new development, vegetal patterns and the motifs
they incorporate were drawn from existing traditions
of Byzantine culture in the eastern Mediterranean and
Sasanian Iran.
ca. 1650; Mughal
This fragmentary
carpet represents
the highest level
of Indian
production, what
might be called
imperial grade.
Northern India,
Kashmir or
Lahore
Pashmina wool
and silk; pile
weave, pashmina
wool pile on silk
foundation, 1,023
asymmetrical
knots per square
inch
second half of
16th century;
Ottoman
Ottoman textiles
illustrate the taste
of the period for
splendid floral
silks, used for
garments and
furnishings.
Turkey, Bursa or
Istanbul
Silk and metal
thread; a
compound weave
(satin and twill)
With the exception
of the garden and
its usual reference
to paradise, vegetal motifs and patterns
in Islamic art are largely devoid of
symbolic meaning.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vege/hd_vege.
htm
9th century; Abbasid
Iraq Carved Wood
These doors illustrate
one variety of the socalled beveled style—a
symmetrical abstract
floral motif—and were
probably originally
painted and highlighted
with gilding. The doors
are said to have been
found at Takrit, but
probably came from
Samarra’.
Geometric Patterns
Whether isolated or used in combination with
nonfigural ornamentation or figural representation,
geometric patterns are popularly associated with
Islamic art, largely due to their aniconic quality.
These abstract designs not only adorn the
surfaces of monumental Islamic architecture but
also function as the major decorative element on a
vast array of objects of all types. The four basic
shapes, or "repeat units," from which the more
complicated patterns are constructed are: circles
and interlaced circles; squares or four-sided
polygons; the ubiquitous star pattern, ultimately
derived from squares and triangles inscribed in a
circle; and multisided polygons. It is clear,
however, that the complex patterns found on
many objects include a number of different shapes
and arrangements, allowing them to fit into more
than one category.
Jali screen (one of a pair), second
half of 16th century; Mughal
Probably from Fatehpur Sikri, India
Carved red sandstone
H. 73 1/4 in. (186 cm), W. 51 3/16 in.
Jalis (pierced screens) were used
extensively in Indian architecture as
windows, room dividers, and railings
around thrones, platforms, terraces,
and balconies. Installed in outer
walls, they were ideal for cutting
down glare while permitting air to
circulate. During the day, the reflection of their patterns
moving across the floor would double the pleasure of their
intricate geometry.
Panel, Marquetry,
second half of 8th
century; Abbasid
Egypt Fig wood and bone / Possibly from the side of a
cenotaph (a monument erected in honor of a person whose
remains are elsewhere. The geometric motif may derive from
the Roman mosaic and the carved bone plaques in the central
section bear vine scrolls with a purely classical lineage.