Islamic Art -Portable ArtsAP Art History Period:6By: Becky Kaleem

Islamic Art Main IdeasAllah is the only god Islam is a monotheistic religionMuhammad is the prophet of AllahIslam excepts former beliefs such as Christianity and JudaismThe word of Allah is written down in the holy book of Islam, the Quran

Main Ideas cont. Muslims are forbidden to represent human figures, therefore the most popular type of art is Calligraphy the art of fine writingCaliphs ruled over the Islamic empires after the death of Muhammad Calligraphy = written in the Arabic language, also known as the language of the Quran

Portable Arts Islamic society was cosmopolitan (trade & pilgrimages) led to portable objects

(8-17) Griffin, IslamicMediterranean, 11th cen.Bronze, 107 cm, PisaIts made of caste bronze & is decorated with feathers, scales & silk trappings

GriffinIslamic metalworkers took on the techniques of the Romans, Byzantines, and Sassanian Persians Applies these methods to: incense burning & water pitchers in bird formsThe Griffin was probably Fatimid Egyptian work & couldve arrived from Pisan victoriesDecorations include animals in medallions and bands embellished in Kufic lettering & scale and circle patterns

Pen Box (8-18)Shazi. Pen Box, from Persia (Iran) or Afghanistan.Brass with inlaid silver, copper, and black organic material, 2WashingtonD.C.

Pen Box cont. Islamic world was ruled by educated leaders who often commissioned personalized containers These containers were a symbol of their high class & contained pens, ink, and blotting sandThis container belonged to Majd al-Mulk al-Muzaffar, the grand vizier/chief minister of Khurasan in the 13th century

Pen Box cont.The box was cast, engraved, embossed, and inlaid by an artist named Shazi who signed & dated it in animated kufic. *This is one of the earliest signed works in Islamic art!*The calligraphic inscriptions are enhanced by scrolls, interlacing designs, + human & animal figurines

Pen Box cont.The animate & inanimate elements, all seem to be engaged in lively conversation. Due to the severe shortage of silver in the 12th century, this work was made on inlaid brass. Also has overtwentyphrasesabout al-Mulk in naskhiScript

Bottle(8-19). Bottle, from Syria. Mid-14th century.Glass, polychrome enamel, and gold, 19 x 9 , Washington D.C.

Glass & the BottleGlass is considered the most ethereal or delicate of materials because its made of sand and ash. It appeared about 4,000 years ago.Islamic glassmakers adapted earlier practices to new forms. For instance, they applied enameled decoration in gold and other colors. This tall enameled bottle shows those skills.

Glass & the Bottle cont.It was made as one of the many objects given by Mamluk rulers to the Rasulid rulers of Yemen (southern Arabia). Either that or else it was ordered by the Rasulids from Mamluk workshops in Syria.It has a large inscription naming & honoring a Rasulid sultan in thuluth a popular Mamluk cursive script.

Glass & Bottle cont. The five petaled red rosette is an insignia of the Yemini dynasty. ***The Mamluk dynasty of Egypt was founded by descendants of slave soldiers & they were the ones that succeeded in defeating the Mongols in the 13th century.

The Macy Jug

(8-20). The Macy Jug, from Iran. Composite body glazed, painted fritware & incised withpierced outer shell, 5/8 x 7 , New York

Ceramics, Lusterware, & the Macy Jug Early 9th century, potters developed a new way to create a lustrous surface on their ceramics. They first applied a metallic pigment on top of already fired & glazed vessels/tiles. With another firing on low heat and less oxygen, they produced a golden luster.The finished lusterware looked like precious metal.

Ceramics, Lusterware, & the Macy Jug cont.Soon enough potters began to use luster to paint patterns using geometric designs, foliage, and animals in various colors.Some lusterware pieces are double-shell fritware, in which an inner solid body is hidden beneath a decorated outer shell. The Macy Jug is a good example of this style. The deep blue comes from cobalt & the turquiose from copper.

Double Shell Fritware The black underglaze-painted decoration has animals & pairs of harpies & sphinxes set into an elaborate water-weed pattern. Fritware was used to makebeads in ancient Egypt& couldve beenrediscovered there byIslam potters looking for something similar to Chinese Porcelain.

Textiles & the Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa (8-21) Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa, detail of central panel, from southern Spain.Silk tapestry weave With gilt parchment,(3.3 x 2.2m). Spain.

Textiles & the Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa cont. The tradition of silk weaving passed from Sassanian Persia to Islamic artisans in the early Islamic period & was kept alive in Muslim SpainAn eight pointed star forms the center of a silk and gold banner. The calligraphic panels continue down the sides and a second panel crosses the top.

Textiles & the Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa cont. Eight lobes with gold crescents & white inscribed parchment medallions form the lower edge of the banner.The text says: You shall believe in God and His Messenger He will forgive you your sins & admit you to gardens underneath which rivers flow, & to dwelling places goodly in Gardens of Eden; that is the mighty Triumph.

Textiles & the Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa cont. The gardens of paradise were recalled in the designs of Persian and Turkish carpets. Elaborate patterns appeared on Persian carpets as early as the 7th century. This banner was a trophy of the Christian king Ferdinand III, who gave it to Las Hueglas, the Cisterian convent outside Burgos. Burgos is the capital city of Old Castile.

The Medallion Rug (8-22) Medallion rug, variant Star Ushak style, Anatolia(modern Turkey). 16th Century. Wool, (313.7 x229.2 cm). The Saint Louis Art Museum.

The Medallion Rug This is a carpet from Ushak in western Anatolia.Large, serrated quatrefoil medallions establish the underlying star pattern but arabesques flow in every direction. This infinite arabesque (the pattern repeats infinitely in all directions) is characteristic of Ushak carpets. Usually, carpets were at least three times longer than their width. this one was possibly shortened

Where the box entitled Technique: carpet making

Manuscript Illumination and Calligraphy The art of producing books has always flourished in Muslim societies because of the Koran. Islams emphasis on studying the Koran created a high level of literacy among women & men. Even though books were made of paper (which was costly), they were copied on many ranges of subjects, from religious to secular.

Manuscript Illumination and Calligraphy cont. Libraries, also associated with madrasas (religious educational institution), were donated or endowed by the educated elite. Books made for royal patrons had luxurious bindings & highly embellished pages. This resulted in the workshop collaboration between calligraphers and illustrators.

The Quran (Koran)

The Quran (Koran) cont.The illuminators, or manuscript illustrators, of Mamluk Egypt executed intricate non-figural geometric designs for Korans. Geometric & botanical ornamentation achieved unknown luxury & mathematical complexity.Strict underlying geometric organization combined with luxurious all-over patterning.

The Quran (Koran) cont.(8-23). Koran frontispiece (right halfof two page spread), from Cairo, Egypt. c. 1368. Ink, pigments, &gold on paper, ( 61 x45.7 cm). National Library, Cairo.

The Quran (Koran) cont.This is a frontispiece originally paired with its mirror image on the facing left page.The design radiates from a sixteen-pointed starburst, filling the central square. The surrounding ovals & medallions are filled with interlacing foliage and stylized flowers & serve as a backdrop for the words. Designers often worked in more than one medium.

Miniatures Along with religious works, scribes also copied & recopied famous secular texts such as scientific treatises, manuals, fiction, poetry, etc.Painters illustrated these books & they also created individual small-scale paintings miniatures- that the wealthy collected.One of the best royal centers of miniature painting was at Heart in western Afghanistan.

Miniatures cont. This school of painting & calligraphy was founded under the patronage of the Turkic Timurid dynasty. Prince Baysonghur held court in Herat and commissioned illuminated manuscripts. The story of the Sassanian prince Bahram Gur was told in poems known as Haft Paykar (seven portraits) by the Persian poet Nizami.

Bahrum Gur and the Indian Princess in Her Black Pavillion(8-24). Bahrum Gur and the Indian Princess in Her Black Pavillion, copy ofThe 12th c. Haft Paykar of Nizami, Herat, Afghanistan.Timurid Period, c. 1426. Watercolor & gold on paper,New York

Bahrum Gur and the Indian Princess in Her Black Pavillion cont.The painting illustrates the lyrical idealism that characterizes the Timurid style. The scene takes place at night (Bahram Gur married seven princesses, one for each night of the week). Its night because the colors are clear & bright without any shadows & there stars and the moon with two candles in the pavillion.

Bahrum Gur and the Indian Princess in Her Black Pavillion cont.The black pavillion is represented with shades of gray and the interior is decorated with blue tiles.Through a central opening, a garden can be seen, & in the foreground a stream of silver water runs into a silver pool.The viewpoint then shifts, the pavillion & tiled walls are seen straight on whereas the pool, and bed are seen from birds eye view.

The Caliph Harun al-Rashid Visits the Turkish Bath(8-25). Kamal al-Din Bihzad. The Caliph Harun al-Rashid Visits the Turkish Bath, from a copy of the 12th c. Khamsa of Nizami,Heart, Afghanistan c.1494. Ink and Pigments on paper, approx. 7 x 6. The British Library, London.

The Caliph Harun al-Rashid Visits the Turkish Bath cont.During the 2nd half of the 15th century, Kamal al-Din Bihzad was the leader of the Heart school. The Safavids supplanted the Timurids & established their capital at Tabriz, Persia. Bihzad moved to Tabriz and slowly resumed his career there. His paintings of 1494 to show the Khamsa (Five Poems), also written by Nizami, show his ability to render human ability convincingly.

The Caliph Harun al-Rashid Visits the Turkish Bath cont.He set his scenes within complex, stage like architectural spaces, stylized according to Timurid conventions. This created a visual balance between activity, and architecture. In this illumination, the bathhouse, its tiled entrance leading to a high-ceilinged dressing room with brick walls, provides the structuring element. The blue door on the left leads to a room where the Caliph is being groomed by his barber while attendants bring water for his bath.

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE After the breakdown of Seljuk power in Anatolia, another group of Muslim Turks seized power in the north-western part of Anatolia. Known as the Ottomans, they created an empire ruling parts of Anatolia, Persia, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Arabia, India, southeast Asia, etc.In 1453, they captured Constantinople (renaming it Istanbul) & ended the Byzantine empire.

THE OTTOMANS

Architecture After taking over Constantinople, the Ottoman rulers converted the church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The churchs mosaics were destroyed & instead, calligraphic disks with names of Allah, Muhammad, & the early Caliphs were added.Inspired by this Byzantine structure, Ottoman architecture developed the domed, central-plan mosque.

Architecture cont.Sinan was an architect who began his career in the army & was chief engineer during the Ottoman campaign of Vienna. He rose to a higher rank & became, in 1528, chief architect for Suleyman, the 10th Ottoman sultan. Suleyman sponsored a building program on a very large scale.

Mosque of Sultan Selim (8-26). Sinan. Mosque of Sultan Selim, Edirne, Tukey: 1568-75.

Mosque of Sultan Selim cont. Sinans best accomplishment was completed in 1579, a mosque he designed in the capital of Edirne for Suleymans son Selim II (1566-74). The huge hemispheric dome atop of the mosque is larger than the dome of the Hagia Sophia (over 102 ft. in diameter). Dome crowns a building of great complexity on the exterior & complete adherence on the interior.

Mosque of Sultan Selim cont. Along with the mosque, the complex also has a madrasa & other educational buildings, baths, a burial ground, hospital, and charity kitchens.Framed by the vertical lines of four minarets & raised on a platform, the Selimiye mosque dominated the skyline. The minarets around the prayer hall are sleek with fluted walls & needle-nosed spires. Also. only royal mosques were allowed to have multiple minarets.

Interior of the Mosque of Sultan Selim(8-27). Interior, Mosque of Sultan Selim.

Interior of the Mosque of Sultan Selim cont. The interior seems very much like Hagia Sophias: an open expanse under a vast dome floating on a ring of light. However, this mosque is true to the central-plan structure and doesnt have Hagia Sophias longitudinal pull from entrance to sanctuary. A small fountain covered by a Muezzin (crier) platform emphasizes the centralization & the mosque floor is actually carpeted with rugs from patrons.

Interior of the Mosque of Sultan Selim cont. The arches supporting the dome spring from eight huge piers (often called elephant feet).Smaller half domes between the piers define the corners of a square. Windows at every level flood the interiors cream colored stone, restrained tile decoration, and softly growing carpers with light. Sinan is known for more than 300 imperial commissions and 124 large and small mosques.

Illuminated Manuscripts & TugrasOttoman painting can be characterized as an abstract setting with realism in figures and details.The Ottoman Turks in Anatolia adopted the style of the Heart school for their miniatures, enhancing the decorated aspects with an intensity of religious feeling.At the Ottoman court of Sultan Suleyman in Constantinople, the imperial workshops produced even more notable illuminated manuscripts.

Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman(8-28). Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman, fromInstanbul, Turkey. c. 1555-60. Ink, Paint, and goldon paper, New York.

Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman cont. Following a practice begun by the Seljuks & Mamluks, the Ottomans put calligraphy to another, political use, developing the design of imperial ciphers (codes) tugras- into a special art form. Ottoman tugras combined the rulers name with the title khan (lord), his fathers name, & the motto Eternally victorious into a monogram.It symbolized the authority of the Sultan and a few select officials who were given an emblem.

Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman cont. Tugras appeared on seals, coins, buildings, & official documents called firmans, imperial edicts supplementing Muslim law. This particular tugra is from a document endowing an institution in Jerusalem that was established by Suleymans wife, Sultana Hurrem. Tugras were drawn in black or blue with three long, vertical strokes to the right of two concentric horizontal teardrops.

Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman cont. Decorative foliage patterns fill the space. Fill decoration become more naturalistic in later centuries, spilled outside the emblems boundary lines. This oversized tugra required more than the usual skill to create. The sweeping fluid line had to be drawn with perfect control according to set proportions. The color scheme of the floral interlace may have been inspired by Chinese blue & white ceramics.