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Chapter 10The Islamic World

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 14e

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The Islamic World

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Goals• Examine the origins and roots of the Islamic faith

that are manifest in the art and architecture.• Understand the near Eastern artistic traditions

that shape original forms in the art of Islam. • Understand and cite architectural developments

and the terminology of Islamic religious, funerary and other structures.

• Examine the media, techniques and designs that are specific to the art of Islam, particularly in the ‘luxury’ arts.

• Understand the contributions of Islamic art and ideas to later western art and culture.

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10.1 Rise of Islam: Early Islamic Architecture and Art

• Examine the origins and roots of the Islamic faith that are manifest in the art and architecture.

• Understand the near Eastern artistic traditions that shape original forms in the art of Islam.

• Understand and cite architectural developments and the terminology of Islamic religious, funerary and other structures.

• Examine the media, techniques and designs that are specific to the art of Islam, particularly in the ‘luxury’ arts.

• Understand the contributions of Islamic art and ideas to later western art and culture.

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Early Architecture

• Understand the earliest Islamic architecture as derived from the beliefs and traditions of Muslims.

6Figure 10-2 Aerial view of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687–692.

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Figure 10-3 Interior of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687–692.

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Figure 10-4 Aerial view of the Great Mosque, Damascus, Syria, 706–715.

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Figure 10-5A Plan of the Umayyad palace, Mshatta, Jordan, ca. 740–750 (after Alberto Berengo Gardin).

10-5B Frieze of the Umayyad palace, Mshatta, Jordan, ca. 740-750. Limestone, 16’ 7” high. Museum fur Islamische Kunst, Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

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The Islamic Artistic Vocabulary

• Understand the near Eastern artistic traditions that shape original forms in the art of Islam.

• Understand the various formal design elements that apply to Islamic art and why they are important.

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Figure 10-6 Aerial view (left) and plan (right) of the Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836–875.

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Figure 10-6 Plan of the Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836–875.

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Architectural Developments

• Understand and cite architectural developments and the terminology of Islamic religious, funerary and other structures.

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Figure 10-7 Malwiya minaret of the Great Mosque, Samarra, Iraq, 848–852.

16Figure 10-8 Mausoleum of the Samanids, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, early 10th century.

17Figure 10-9 Prayer hall of the Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain, 8th to 10th centuries.

10-10 Detail of the upper zones of the east gate of the Mezquita (Great Mosque), Cordoba, Spain, 961-965

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19Figure 10-11 Maqsura of the Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain, 961–965.

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Figure 10-12 Dome in front of the mihrab of the Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain, 961–965.

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Figure 10-13 Aerial view (looking southwest) of the Friday Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, 11th to 17th centuries.

10-14 Plan of the Friday Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, 11th to 17th centuries.

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Figure 10-14A 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”. Musée Historique de Lorraine, Nancy.

10-15 Pyxis of al-Mughira, from Medina al-Zahra, near Córdoba, Spain, 968. Ivory, 5 7/8” high. Louvre, Paris.

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Figure 10-16 SULAYMAN, Ewer in the form of a bird, 796. Brass with silver and copper inlay, 1’ 3” high. Hermitage, Saint Petersburg.

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10.2 Late Islamic Arts and Architecture

• Examine the media, techniques and designs that are specific to the art of Islam, particularly in the ‘luxury’ arts.

• Understand the contributions of Islamic art and ideas to later western art and culture.

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The Luxury and Useful Arts

• Explore the art of calligraphy, delicate tile and mosaic, and carpet weaving in their expression of Islamic ideas. Understand the importance of the written and decorative page.

28Figure 10-17 Koran page with beginning of surah 18, “Al-Kahf” (The Cave), 9th or early 10th century. Ink and gold on vellum, 7 1/4” x 10 1/4”. Chester Beatty Library and Oriental Art Gallery, Dublin.

10-18 Dish with Arabic proverb, from Nishapur, Iran, 10th century. Painted and glazed earthenware, 1’ 2 1/2" diameter. Louvre, Paris.

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10-17A Folio from the Blue Koran with 15 lines of surah 2, from Kairouan, Tunisia, 9th to mid-10th century. Ink, gold, and silver on blue-dyed vellum, 11 5/16” X 1’ 2 13/16”. Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge (Francis H. Burr Memorial Fund).

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10-19 Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain, 1354-1391.

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32Figure 10-20 Muqarnas dome, Hall of the Two Sisters, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain, 1354–1391.

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Figure 10-22 Madrasa-mosque-mausoleum complex of Sultan Hasan (looking northwest with the mausoleum in the foreground), Cairo, Egypt, begun 1356.

10-21 Plan of the madrasa-mosque-mausoleum complex of Sultan Hasan, Cairo, Egypt, begun 1356.

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Figure 10-23 SINAN, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, 1568–1575.

10-22A Illuminated tughra of Suleyman the Magnificent, from Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, ca. 1555–1560. Ink, paint, and gold on paper, 1’ 8 1/2" X 2’ 1 3/8”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Rogers Fund, 1938).

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Figure 10-24 SINAN, interior of the Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, 1568–1575.

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Figure 10-25 Winter prayer hall of the Shahi (Imam) Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, 1611–1638.

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Weaving in Tile and Wool:Luxury Continued

• Examine the extraordinary Islamic tile and mosaic designs.

• Understand the carpet tradition and its expression of faith.

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Figure 10-26 Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan, Iran, ca. 1354. Glazed mosaic tilework, 11’ 3” X 7’ 6”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

10-29 Bihzad, Seduction of Yusef, folio 52 verso of the Bustan of Sultan Husayn Mayqara, from Herat, Afghanistan, 1488. Ink and color on paper, 11 7/8” X 8 5/8”. National Library, Cairo.

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10-30 Sultan-Muhammad, Court of Gayumars, folio 20 verso of the Shahnama of Shaha Tahmasp, from Tabriz, Iran, ca. 1525-1535. Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper, 1’ 1” X 9”. Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Collection, Geneva.

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Figure 10-27 MAQSUD OF KASHAN, carpet from the funerary mosque of Shaykh Safi al-Din, Ardabil, Iran, 1540. Knotted pile of wool and silk, 34’ 6” X 17’ 7”. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

10-28 Mosque lamp of Sayf al-Din Tuquztimur, from Egypt, 1340. Glass with enamel decoration, 1 1” high. British Museum, London.

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Figure 10-31 MUHAMMAD IBN AL-ZAYN, basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis), from Egypt, ca. 1300. Brass, inlaid with gold and silver, 8 3/4” high. Louvre, Paris.

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Figure 10-32 Canteen with episodes from the life of Christ, from Syria, ca. 1240–1250. Brass, inlaid with silver, 1’ 2 1/2” high. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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Discussion Questions What is the role of art and architecture in

the Islamic world? What do you think are the most impressive

visual qualities of Islamic art? What are some of the unique feature of

Islamic mosques, mausoleums and madrasas?