ISLAMIC ART

In the seventh century, Islam — the religion established by the prophet Muhammad — and Islamic culture dominated the Middle East, North Africa, northern India, and Spain.

OBJECTIVES

• Discuss the various influences on Islamic art.

• Explain the origin of the mosque form.

• Identify the features of mosques and the characteristics of Islamic pottery.

• Describe the contributions of the great Islamic architect Sinan.

VOCABULARY

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ISLAM, ITS ART, AND ARCHITECTURE

Islam

Born in Mecca around 570, the Prophet Muhammad (also spelled Mohammed or Muhammed) grew up to be a wealthy merchant. Unhappy with his life, he withdrew from society and spent several years meditating. At the age of forty, he experienced a series of revelations and began to preach a new faith. His revelations were written down in the Quran the religious text of Islam.

The Quran is the holy scripture, the source of Muslim law and the focus of all educational practice in Islamic society. Believed to be the thoughts of Allah, the Quran has remained unchanged since 652. This fact has contributed to the continuity of Arabic for more than 1,400 years. As seen in the Quran, calligraphy contributed greatly and became an art form.

After Muhammad died, a system of caliphs was instituted to carry forth the religion and rule over its followers. Several different sects of the religion developed, including the Sunni, Shia, and Sufi. In the seventh century, Islam spread to the Persian Empire, Syria, and Egypt. During later centuries, the Turks and many people of India, Africa, and Malay embraced Islam. In 1453, the Islamic Turks under Mehmet the Conqueror conquered Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire. Today Islam is growing in Europe and America as well.

Islamic Art and Architecture

Like the Romans, who borrowed from the Greeks and Etruscans, and like the Byzantines, who borrowed from the Romans, Greeks, and Persians, the first followers of Muhammad also used the art of other cultures as a starting point for their own.

Here are some of the cultures and styles that influenced Islamic art:

• Romans

• Early Christians

• Byzantines

• The Sassanids of the Persian Empire

• Turks

• Mongols

• Chinese

However, because it would be idolatrous, Islamic artists stayed away from representations of humans and animals. Instead they turned to patterns of geometric shapes and flowers. The rules of their religion meant that Islamic artists would have to use old influences to forge new artistic expressions.

As with the Christians in Constantinople, the Islamic artists poured their creativity into creating exquisite buildings for worship. But unlike the Christians, the Muslims (or Moslems) had a built-in structure to follow, based on the original site established by the first worshippers of the religion. This site was the Prophet's own residential compound. The setup included:

• an enclosed oblong courtyard with huts (the houses of Muhammad's wives) along one side wall

• a zulla (originally for shade) at one end for the poorer followers.

From that foundation, the traditional mosque form is made up of a sahn, a building for prayer, and riwaqs.

You probably know that Muslims face toward Mecca when they pray. The direction is known as the Qibla. Inside the mosques, the Qibla determines the orientation and spatial organization. The Qibla is marked by a decorative mihrab within the mosque.

When the Muslims conquered Syria in 636, they transformed the basilican churches into mosques. They placed the mihrab on the southern wall and made new entrances in the northern wall. Instead of facing toward the altar, the worshippers prayed across the aisles. An enclosed courtyard with arcades at the side was added to the basilica, creating the same basic features as the first mosque at the Prophet's house.

Although long aisles were added to later designs to accommodate the growing population, the influence remained true to Islamic art's use of infinite repetition.

Consider these concepts in the images:

There are several typical features of Islamic architecture:

• Minarets — tall spires that reach toward the sky

• Domes — rounded tops developed from Persian and Early Christian sources

• Arches — commonly the horseshoe arch that was borrowed from Roman design, but sometimes the pointed arch

• Mimbar — a pulpit for preaching

• Maqqsura — a screen protect the leaders of the community

MORE ON ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Islamic Architecture

Read the article about first Mosque of al-Aqsa at Jerusalem, which was adapted from a ruined basilica: Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem.

You will be responsible for the information in your assessment which includes the atrium of Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is known for its trees, fountains, and lawns which offer an oasis of peace and tranquility. In the atrium can be found the Dome of the Rock; a holy shrine whose outer dome was once made of lead, but is now lined with gold.

In later examples, more long aisles were added to the end of the courtyard — as in the great eighth- to tenth-century Mosque of Córdoba, Spain — and any resemblance to churches with their focus at the narrow end disappeared. Such additions were made in response to population growth, but the process of expanding the mosque is analogous to a feature characteristic of all Islamic art: the infinite repetition of patterns. Consider these concepts in the images:

There are several typical features of Islamic architecture:

• minarets — tall spires that reach toward the sky

• domes — rounded tops developed from Persian and Early Christian sources

• arches — commonly the horseshoe archthat was borrowed from Roman design, but sometimes the pointed arch

• eyvan — an open, vaulted, two-story passageway or hall, on each side of the arcades surrounding the mosque courtyard

• mimbar — a pulpit for preaching

• maqqsura — a screen or enclosure placed around the mihrab to protect the leaders of the community during services (developed after three early caliphs were murdered)

Sinan — A Great Islamic Architect 

Sinan, the Ottoman Empire's greatest architect, modeled his masterpiece, the Suleimaniye Mosque, after the Hagia Sophia. Charged with building mosques in the conquered Christian city of Constantinople, Sinan's Suleimaniye remained the precedent in design throughout the reign of the Ottoman Empire. It included 138 arched windows, marble sheathing and a light, disembodied interior. 

Architectural Decoration 

Mosques were decorated with plaster, patterned brickwork, and tile or glazed brick and tiles. Whole molded mihrab facings, composed of columnar bands of Quranic inscriptions, were made in luster faience, one of the earthenware styles used for tile. Tiles in various shapes, such as stars, were fitted together into wall panels. Mihrab coverings were made of brilliant tile mosaic.

Other Islamic architectural decoration included wood carving, occasionally inlaid with ivory — used on maqqsuras, mimbars, windows and doors, and various structural elements. Stone reliefs and marble inlays are found in buildings in Spain, Turkey, and Egypt (from the Mameluke period).

SECULAR ARTWORKS – JEWELRY, POTTERY, AND GLASS

Jewelry

Generally the Islamic religion forbade the use of gold or silver, but when making secular artworks such as this bracelet from the "golden age" of the Islamic civilization, the artists did not always follow the rules. This gold was typically brought in from distant countries, including Ghana and Sudan.

Pottery

Luster painting, painting with a metallic solution on a fired pot, spread throughout the world and into northeastern Iran. Pots painted with this technique were often crowded with ornaments and calligraphy, while others included visual representations of poetry and heroes. Important ceramics, decorated with color patterns of turquoise, green, purple, brown, and black, were produced by the Ottoman. 

Click on the link to this example: Pottery sample 

Glass 

Syrians produced beautiful enameled mosque lamps that have remained unsurpassed in it beauty. 

SECULAR ARTWORKS – BRONZE WORK, MANUSCRIPT ILLUSTRATION, AND TEXTILES

Bronze Work 

Bronze was a favored material during this time. Ewers, basins, and candlesticks were produced in Mosul (Iraq) workshops. These bronzes were decorated beautifully with silver and gold. The detailed workmanship of the bronzers was on display in the bands of decorations, figures, and inscriptions housed on each piece. 

LET'S REVIEW!

In this lesson, you have covered the following subjects:

• the influence of earlier civilizations on Islamic art — notably Greece, Persia, and Byzantine

• the adoption of Christian basilicas into mosques

• the work of the great Islamic architect Sinan

• the depiction of elaborate geometric and floral designs

• Islamic pottery, glass, manuscript illumination, bronze and rugs

Complete the quiz before moving on.