Islamic Art

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IslamicArt and Architecture

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Islamicart and architecture is generally taken to include artistic achievements in those lands where, from the 7th century on,Islambecame the dominant faith. TheIslamictradition encompasses the arts of theMiddle East;North Africa;Spain; Anatolia (seeTurkey), as well as theBalkans;Central Asia; and northern and centralIndiafrom the time each of these areas became Muslim. This was as early asA.D.622 in parts ofArabiaand as late as the 15th century forIstanbul, parts of the Balkans, and central India. Generally excluded from consideration in this context have been the arts of the following: eastern Africa; sub-Saharan Africa; Indonesia; Malaysia; the Philippines; and Muslim parts of China. These areas did not adopt Islam until relatively late (generally after the 16th century). By that time the artistic creativity of the central Muslim lands had weakened; their arts tend to be closer to local traditions.

General Characteristics

Certain key features emerged that came to characterize theIslamicstyle of art and architecture during the first millennium ofIslamicart (about 6501650). These shared characteristics appeared despite the differences in environment between such diverse lands as Mediterranean Spain, steppic Central Asia, mountainous Algeria, arid Arabia, and the subtropical Indus Valleyand despite the cultural diversity of distant ethnic groups. TheIslamictradition drew on complex inheritances. These included Late Roman art and Early Christian art of the Byzantines and the Copts, as well as the Sassanian art of Persia. It also drew on lesser influences from Mongol, Central Asian, and Indian sources. (See alsoByzantine Art and Architecture;Early Christian Art and Architecture;Persian Art and Architecture;Roman Art and Architecture.)

Function of Art.

From its inception,Islamicart was an art created for the setting of daily life. Most religious architecture (notably themosqueand theminaret) was built less as a testimonial toAllahthan as a place where people could best express their piety and learn the precepts of the faith.Islamicpainting developed primarily in the form of book illustration and illumination. It was also used to decorate buildings. Such painted works were generally created not as ends in themselves but to help explain a scientific text or to enhance the pleasure of reading history or literature.

TheIslamicstyle in the field of the decorative arts is distinguished by the novelty and extraordinary quality of techniques used in the making of everyday utilitarian objects. These techniques include the application of lustrous glazes and rich colors in ceramics and glassware; intricate silver inlays, which transform the surfaces of bronze metalwork; lavish molded stucco and carved wood wall panels. It also includes the endlessly varied motifs woven into textiles and rugs. In nearly all instances the objects decoratedwhether cooking cauldrons, candlesticks, or pen casesserved fundamentally practical purposes. Their aesthetic effect was aimed above all at making the daily activities or architectural setting more pleasurable.

Sources of Patronage.

The vast majority of surviving examples ofIslamicart reflect the patronage of a wide social spectrum. Most of the patronage came from the urban world of the greatIslamiccities. Cities were the centers ofIslamiclearning and of mercantile wealthfromCrdobain Spain toSamarkandin Central Asia. Thousands of objects were excavated in the Persian city of Nishapur (ceramics); in FatimidCairo(lusterwares); and inHerat, Afghanistan, orMosul, Iraq (inlaid bronzes). Most were made for the urban bourgeoisie. The styles of the objects reflect the preferences of these patrons. Variations in quality presumably reflect local variations in price and standards of appreciation.

In addition to the arts created for the urban strata of theIslamicworld was a splendid art of kings and emperors. Little has been preserved of this regal art; only with imagination is it possible to reconstruct the secluded life of the 9th-century imperial palaces atSamarra(in present-day Iraq) or the pleasure pavilions of theSafavidsin Iran. An example of the latter is the 17th-century Ali Qapu and Chehel Sutun inIsfahan. An exquisitely ornamented and rare rock-crystal ewer (preserved in the San Marco Museum inVenice) provides a hint of the richness of 10th- and 11th-century Fatimid art in Cairo. The countless treasures in theTopkapi Palace Museumin Istanbul attest to the enormous wealth of the Turkish Ottomans.

Decorative Character of Art.

A fundamental characteristic of muchIslamicart is its powerfully decorative or ornamental quality. A variety of arbitrary geometric, floral, or other types of designssuch as the swirling and interlacedarabesquetend to predominate over specific motifs taken from nature or from an idealized version of the natural world. With some exceptions, the vast majority of motifs (which decorate everything from architectural monuments to manuscript borders) do not seem to bear direct relation to a visually perceived reality. Evencalligraphythe art of beautiful handwritingoften seems removed from the meaning of the words depicted; it functions instead more as a decorative element. DecorativeIslamicart contrasts sharply with the representational art of the West. There, more precise iconographic meanings are attached to most artistic forms.

Whether in fact the Muslim world may also have sought to transmit a concrete message through its abstract forms is a subject of debate among scholars. Several possibilities have been suggested. One is that the Muslims tended to reject the representation of the visible in their art to emphasize that visible reality is but an illusion and that Allah alone is true. Abstraction thus became a way to make a very specific theological point. Another theory holds that an art that sought above all to enhance the setting of human activitiesrather than to order human behavior or beliefswas by necessity compelled to develop abstract forms rather than forms with a single obvious meaning.

An excellent example of the difficulty involved in even defining this problem lies in themuqarnas(sometimes called the honeycomb or stalactite motif). Invented in Iran in the 10th century and eventually found everywhere from Spain to India, this form of ceiling decoration is composed of small three-dimensional units. Themuqarnasappears at first glance to be an arbitrary and strictly ornamental architectural motif. Yet in Iranian domes of the late 11th and the 12th century, themuqarnasceiling carries a structural significance; the parts of the design are carefully aligned with support thrusts from the dome. Inscriptions and the particular sequence of designs indicate that themuqarnasceiling was meant to symbolically represent the dome of heaven. This can be seen in the intricately faceted ceilings of the MoorishAlhambraoutsideGranada(in Spain) or the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel) inPalermo, Sicily. Other existing examples show that many seemingly abstract motifs inIslamicart carried subtle layers of meaning. These were discernible either through their context or through an inscription.

Iconoclastic Tendency.

Another characteristic ofIslamicart is what is generally called its iconoclasm; this refers to a rejection of the representation of religious images and other living beings. In many ways the termiconoclasmis not an appropriate one because no formal doctrinal statement against such representations appeared in theKoran, but only in the laterHadith(traditions). Even there the statements are incidental and partial (the decoration of baths or floors is exempted from the prohibition). Yet it is true that earlyIslamicart modified the art of previous centuries by tending to avoid the representation of humans and animals. Whether this reluctance was derived from a still-undetected religious prohibition or from a search for a cultural identity distinct from the identities of other traditions remains a matter of scholarly debate

Historical Development

No universally accepted chronology ofIslamicart and architecture exists. The following three major periods are nevertheless generally recognized: the Formative period,A.D.6501000; the Middle period, 10001250; and the Late period, 1250 on.

The Formative Period.

The Muslim world created its own identifying forms from about 650 to 1000under the Umayyad and early Abbasidcaliphatesas well as under the first local dynasties in Spain, Egypt, and eastern Iran. These forms ranged from mosques to the abstract design known as the arabesque. Major monuments from this period are found throughout theIslamicworldthe mosques of Crdoba, in Spain; Ibn Tulun, Cairo;Damascus; Samarra; and the Dome of the Rock inJerusalem. They can also be found in private palaces such as Khirbat-al-Mafjar in Palestine; royal palaces such as Samarra's in Iraq; the urban architecture ofBaghdad; tin-glazed ceramics in Iraq, Egypt, and northeastern Iran; woodwork and rock-crystal carving in Egypt; and carved ivories in Spain.

Yet the most influential and perhaps most creative area was Iraq; it remained the center of the Muslim world until the early part of the 11th century. It was probably in Iraq during the 9th century that the technique of lusterware originatedalong with other uniquelyIslamicforms of decorative art. Some of the more imaginative ceramics have also been found in Nishapur in eastern Iran.

The Middle Period.

The year 1000 marks the beginning of the Middle period ofIslamicart; this brilliant period was cut short by the