THE ISLAMIC
WORLD
GARDNER 13-2
PP. 350-357
LUXURY ARTS

Furnishings of Islamic mosques and
palaces -> sumptuous materials
and rich decorative patterns

Muslim artisans -> worked w/metal,
wood, glass, and ivory

Ornate ceramics

Bronze and brass objects

Silk and wool textiles -> featured
both abstract and pictorial motifs

Wood was rare -> little movable
furnishings -> instead, rugs and
cushions
SILK

Confronting lions and palm tree,
fragment of a textile said to be from
Zandana, near Bukhara, Uzbekistan,
eighth century. Silk compound twill, 2’ 11”
x 2’ 9 1/2”.

Silks are one of the glories of Islamic art ->
fragile -> few survive

The Silk Road = route from Asia to the
Middle East and Europe on which goods
were shipped

This rare silk fragment is an early example
of Islamic silk textiles -> features animal
motifs that were common in secular
contexts but shunned for mosques
METALWORK

SULAYMAN, Ewer in the form of a
bird, 796. Brass with silver and
copper inlay, 1’ 3” high.

Cast brass -> signed and dated by
its maker -> utilitarian bird ewer
resembles a freestanding statue

Engraved decoration on the body
combine incised lines suggesting
feathers and abstract motifs and
Arabic calligraphy
CALLIGRAPHY

Koran page with beginning of surah 18, alKahf (The Cave), ninth or early tenth
century. Ink and gold on vellum, 7 1/4” x
10 1/4”.

Calligraphy is the most prized art form ->
appears on most Islamic works of art

Faithful wanted to reproduce the Koran’s
sacred words in as beautiful a script as
humanly possible

The practice of calligraphy was a holy task
and required long and arduous training

This Koran page shows the stately
rectilinear Kufic script -> five text lines and
a palm tree finial -> characteristically does
not include depictions of animals or
humans
LATER ISLAMIC ART AND
ARCHITECTURE


ISLAMIC SPAIN

In the early 11th century the Umayyad
caliphs’ power in Spain falls apart

Berber soldiers rule southern Spain for
several generations

The Muslim capital of Cordoba fell to the
Christians in 1236

From 1236 until the final defeat of the
Muslims in Spain in 1492 an Arab dynasty
called the Nasrids rules what’s left from
the their capital at Granada
New regional centers of Islamic art and
architecture appear in the 2nd millennium
Key centers of later Islamic art and
architecture are the Middle East, Turkey,
and Spain
THE ALHAMBRA

In Granada the Nasrids construct
a huge palace-fortress called the
Alhambra = “the Red” in Arabic
because of the rose colored stone
used for its walls and 23 towers

Only two of the palaces are
preserved in good shape
Alhambra
Palace ->
The Court
of the Lions,
a unique
remnant of
Islamic
animal
statues.

Muqarnas dome, Hall of the Two Sisters,
Alhambra palace, Granada, Spain, 1354–
1391.

Dome sits on octagonal drum supported
by squinches -> pierced by 8 pairs of
windows

Ceiling covered with 5,000 muqarnas ->
intended to catch and reflect sunlight ->
form beautiful abstract patterns ->
symbolizes the dome of Heaven

MUQARNA = a honeycomb-like
decoration often applied in Islamic
buildings to domes, niches, capitals, or
vaults -> the surface resembles intricate
stalactites
The Alhambra
The Alhambra

Under the Nasrids, the Alhambra was
transformed into a palatine city
w/irrigation system composed of
acequias for lush and beautiful gardens
of the Generalife located outside the
fortress.

Previously, the old Alhambra structure
had been dependent upon rainwater
collected from a cistern and from what
could be brought up from the Albaicín.

The creation of the “Sultan’s Canal”
solidified the identity of the Alhambra as
a sumptuous palace-city rather than a
defensive and ascetic structure.

Water does not play the same
essential role in traditional
European architecture as it does
in Islamic architecture.

The Quran states that ‘Every living
thing is made of water’, and the
prominence of this thought is
visible in Islam’s use of water.

The role played by water in
Islamic architecture is as symbolic
as it is practical.

Water is not only used in a purely
utilitarian manner: after all, it is the
source of life and thus carries an
important symbol - not only for
Islam, but also for many cultures
that associate it with life,
purification and sustainability.

Of the outlying buildings in
connection with the
Alhambra, the foremost in
interest is the Palacio de
Generalife or Gineralife (the
Muslim Jennat al Arif, or
"Garden of the Architect").

This villa probably dates
from the end of the 13th
century, but has been
several times restored.

Its gardens, however, with
their clipped hedges,
grottos, fountains, and
cypress avenues, are said to
retain their original Moorish
character.
The Alhambra

Most design elements in
Islamic world are based on
plant motifs -> sometimes
intermingled w/abstract
geometric shapes and, in
secular settings, with animal
figures

Natural forms are so stylized
that they are lost in the purely
decorative tracery of the
tendrils, leaves, and stalks

These arabesques, as they
are often called because
they are so characteristic of
Islamic (“Arab”) art, form a
pattern that covers an entire
surface, whether that of a
small utensil or the wall of a
building.

Patterns have no function but
to decorate.

Islamic art features 3
types of patterns:
1. Arabesques
2. Calligraphy
3. tessellation
detail of an
arabesque
from the
Alhambra
MAUSOLEUM OF SULTAN HASAN

Madrasa-mosque-mausoleum complex of
Sultan Hasan (view from the south with the
mausoleum in the foreground), Cairo, Egypt,
begun 1356.

In mid-13th century Genghiz Khan and the
Mongols conquer much of the Eastern Islamic
world

Center of Islamic power moved from Baghdad
to Egypt

Egypt was ruled by the Mamluks -> their capital
was Cairo -> largest Muslim city in the late
Middle Ages

This MADRASA = “place of study” was built by
Sultan Hasan -> contains 4 madrasas, a mosque,
his tomb, and various other buildings
OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Between 9th-11th centuries the Turkic
people convert to Islam

Ottoman dynasty was founded by
Osman I -> under his successors the
Ottomans expand for 2 ½ centuries
into Asia, Europe, and N. Africa

Ottoman emperors were lavish
patrons of architecture

Dome covered square is the nucleus
of all Ottoman architecture

Ottomans conquer Constantinople
in 1453 -> Byzantine church of Hagia
Sophia is converted into a mosque
w/minarets

Central plan mosque is the basic
form of Ottoman building
SINAN THE GREAT
AND MOSQUE
OF SELIM II

SINAN, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne,
Turkey, 1568–1575

Sinan = the most famous Ottoman
architect

Mosque w/massive dome and four
pencil thin minarets -> dome is
higher than Hagia Sophia

Regarded as the climax of Ottoman
architecture, Sinan’s forms are clear
and legible, like mathematical
equations. Height, width, and
masses are related to one another in
a simple but effective ratio of 1:2
SINAN THE GREAT
 Interior of Mosque of Selim II designed
by Sinan the Great
 Main hall is an octagon formed by 8
massive dome supports -> four half
dome-covered corners of the square