Islamic Arts Medieval Islamic Religious Architecture Architecture reveals a great deal about a culture, and also about periods in history. To appreciate Islamic architecture, it is important to understand that Islam forbids the depiction of animals and humans because early Muslim leaders wanted to prevent animal worship. As a result, Islamic artists used intricate calligraphy (usually of passages from the Qu’ran), geometric and abstract designs, and floral patterns to decorate their works. In Muslim architectural design, the phrase “architecture of the veil” means that the private courtyards at the center of houses and mosques (churches) are kept secret. They cannot be seen from the street, and the exterior (or façade) of the building does not reveal the structure’s size, shape, or function. The concept of “weightlessness” is also important in Islamic religious architecture. Walls with openings in them and very high ceilings are used to make a building seem “lighter” than it actually is.

Principal Arts Arts of the Object Architecture The Arts of the Book Ceramics Metalwork Glass Woodwork Textiles Architecture Tombs Mosques The Arts of the Book Calligraphy Illustration

Arts of the Object

Main Styles of Islamic Art Geometric Calligraphic Organic/Figural Medallions

Geometric Based on mathematical shapes

Calligraphic Uses Arabic script as the focal point of a design Marble foundation stone from Egypt

Organic/Figural Identified by: Curving lines Humans or animal Flowers or vines

Medallion 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?

Which Style? Medallion Style

Which Style? Calligraphic “Science, its taste is bitter at the beginning but, at the end, sweeter than honey.”

Arabo-Andalusian Music What to listen for: Timbre Lute Improvisation Microtones Quarter step above the previous note Arabic music has 17 notes Meter/Tempo Known since the 9th century as "Al Tarab", enchantment, or simply as "al Musiqa al Andalusia", the music of the Hispanic-Maghreban culture has its origins in cordoba, at the court of the Emir Abdu Rahman lbn al Hakam. Attributed to the legendary singer and lutenist (player of the Arabian Ud), Ziriyab, in effect it reconciled pre-Islamic Spanish music (Proto-Christian, with an important Judaic basis (with the most popular Maghreban elements (among them the rhythms of the Berber soldiers of the earliest invasions and the poetry of Arab immigrants( in a synthesis of Western and Eastern styles. Lute

Architecture

Petra Rock Tomb Hellenistic similarities What movie? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Frontal view of the Khaznet-Fir`awn (the Treasury of Pharoah), a second century A.D. rock tomb in Petra.

Three Styles of Mosques

Hypostyle Mosque 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 Prayer hall's space is dominated by a central dome surrounded by smaller and lower semi-domes. The Selimiyye Mosque in Edirne

Iwan Mosque 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): The first consciously-monumental Islamic structure is a martyrium built in Jerusalem (692) by 'Abd al-Malik to commemorate the sanctity of the site and the city in general.

The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra) According to Islamic tradition, the rock in the center of the dome is the spot from which Muhammad ascended for a night-long journey to Heaven In Judaism the stone is the site where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac In Christianity, Jesus's actions in the temple with the money lenders, View of the interior of the Dome of the Rock, showing the inner ambulatory arcade.

Ka'ba in Mecca Masjid al-Haram Center of worship and pilgrimage The qibla towards which worshippers face when praying.

Arts of the Book Manuscript production in the Islamic world was a collaborative enterprise—calligraphers, painters, illuminators, and bookbinders worked together to create a unified ensemble that was generally intended for a relatively restricted and highly literate audience. Most luxury manuscripts were produced in libraries and workshops attached to a royal or princely household. Following the patron's specifications, the head librarian would determine and supervise the layout and production of a manuscript. After the calligrapher had transcribed the text, the folios would be passed on to one or more painters, who would first outline the composition with fine brushes—ideally made from squirrel hair—and then apply the color. Pigments were prepared from plant, mineral, and animal substances and included gold, silver, and lapis lazuli, which would be mixed with a binding medium, such as gum arabic. Once the manuscript was completed, the folios were sewn and bound into covers.

Calligraphy Calligraphy – beautiful writing The most revered form of artistic expression in the Islamic world Word of God in visual form Calligraphy, or beautiful writing, is the most revered form of artistic expression in the Islamic world, for it was through the act of writing that the Koran, the word of God revealed in a series of revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was recorded and given visual form. Consequently, the Arabic script was continuously refined and imaginatively embellished to become the most recognizable and ubiquitous symbol of Islam.

Characteristics of Calligraphy 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) The red dots above and below the letters indicate accents The medallion in the margin signifies a text division Early Korans are often horizontal in format and their shape responds to the natural flow of the kufic script that calls for long horizontal strokes. Other characteristics are the generous spaces between words and letters that lend the script a measured rhythm. In this folio, the red dots above and below the letters indicate diacritics, while the medallion in the margin signifies a text division. Such markers also enhance the visual beauty of the overall folio. The verse is from the end of the second sura (chapter) of the Koran, known as al-Buqara (The Cow).

Illustrations Despite the general injunction against images in Judaism and Mohammed’s skepticism of the painter in Islam [‘On the Day of Judgment when the painter stands before the throne of God, he will be commanded to put life into the works of art he has created, and when he confesses his inability to do so, he will be cast down into Hell, as one who has presumptuously dared to arrogate to himself the creative functions that belong to God alone’], biblical figures and illustrations have always been a significant feature of Jewish and Islamic art. In Islamic art, visual narratives associated with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Ark of the Covenant, Joseph, Solomon and Sheba (frequently expanded and embellished with the liberal use of Jewish midrashic and haggadic elements) are frequently found in illustrated copies of the ninth-century Kitab al-Umanwa (‘The Book of Nations and Kings’) and in the later Qisas al-Anbia (‘Stories of the Prophets’).