introduction to islamic art: art history survey i

Art History: Islamic ArtT, R, 12-1:20PM

Professor Paige Prater

Humay and Humayun in a Garden (1430). From a lost Khamseh by Khwaju Kirmani.

Prince Carried By an Angel (1380-1390). Lost manuscript from Baghdad.

The Five Pillars of Islam

First Pillar: (shahadah) There is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet.

Second Pillar: (salat) Prayer 5x daily, facing Mecca (east)

Third Pillar: (zakah) voluntary giving of alms (1/40th of one’s assets)

Fourth Pillar: (sawm) month of Ramadan, dawn-to-dusk fast

Fifth Pillar: (hajj) pilgrimage to Mecca (if physically/financially able to do so) Simple garments

Circumambulating the Kaaba

Kissing the Black stone

Sacrifice (usually a sheep) in memory of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691-692 CE

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691-692 CE

First great monument of Islamic art

Third most holy site in Islam

Muhammad’s “Night Journey”

Shrine over rock completed by Umayyads in 691-692 Byzantine trained Syrian artisans

Oldest surviving written Qur’anic verses on interior frieze

Arcades and ambulatories (aisles) in concentric circles

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691-692 CE

Interior & cutaway drawing

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691-692 CE

ARCHES

MSHATTA Palace in Amman, Jordan, 743-744 (probably)

16’ high frieze across façade’s base

High-relief rosettes

MSHATTA Palace in Amman, Jordan, 743-744 (probably)

Palatial hunting lodge by Umayyad caliphs Entertain/impress local chieftains

East and West sides unfinished

472 foot long sides

Towers/bastions on outer walls/gates

Large central court and mosque

Domed audience hall/private apartments

Hypostyle (shown)

Four-iwan

Centrally-planned

MOSQUE PLANS

Four-iwan Mosque plan

Centrally-planned mosque

The Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia, 836-875 CE

The Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia, 836-875 CE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l3NT1L_SqQ

Early form of mosque + new additions: Hypostyle mosque

Repeated bays and aisles

Minaret –huge tower for calls to prayer

Qibla wall (closest to Mecca)

Central mihrab niche (holy space)

Maqsura (ruler’s enclosure in front of the mihrab)

Minbar (pulpit)

The Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia, 836-875 CE - interior

The Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain

The Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain, 965.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULptVmaMjYw

Rick Steves on Cordoba: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvNMDy_h3g

Visigothic Christian church site>Umayyad began to build in 785>3x expanded later (620x460’ today; 1/3 is the courtyard)

The Great Mosque at Cordoba –horseshoe arches

The Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain - mihrab

The Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain

Muqarnas Dome, Hall of the Abencerrajes, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain, 1354-1391 CE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEseJViidy8

Bowl with Kufic Border, 9-10th Century, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Earthenware with slip, pigment, and lead glaze; 14 ½” diameter

Mimics Chinese Porcelain; Samarkand connected to Silk Road

“Knowledge: the beginning of it is bitter to taste, but the end is sweeter than honey”

Textile with Elephants and Camels or Shroud of Saint Josse, Khurasan or Central Asia, before 961

Dyed silk, fragment

“Glory and happiness to the Commander Abu Mansur Kukhtakin. May God prolong his prosperity.”

Page from the Qur’an (Surah II: 286 and title Surah III) in Kufic script, Syria, 9th Century.

Black ink pigments, and gold on vellum

8 1/8” x 11 1/8” .

Courtyard, Masjid-I Jami, Isfahan, Iran 11-18th century (14th century iwan vault, 17th century minarets)

Tile Mosaic Mihrab Madrasa Imami, Isfahan, Iran, founded 1354. Outer inscription Surah 9:

duties/Five Pillars

Framing the pointed arch: sayings of the Prophet

Central panel in Kufic and cursive: “The mosque is the house of every pious person.”

Mamluk Glass Oil Lamp, Syria or Egypt, c. 1355

Glass, polychrome enamel, and gold, 12”

Inscription on flared neck Surah 24:35

“God is the light of the heavens and the earth His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp, the lamp in a glass, the glass as a glittering star.”

Carpet-making

Flat weave vs. pile/knotted

Warp: vertical strands; dyed, covers weft.

Weft: horizontal/cross-wise strands; usually undyed

Kilim weaving pattern Symmetrical (Iran) and Asymmetrical knot (Turkey)

Medallion Rug, Variant Star Ushak Style

16th Century, wool

10’3”x7’6 ¼”

Mosque of Sultan Selim, Edirne, Turkey. 1568-1575

Ottoman Empire

Architect Sinan (1489-1588)

102’ dome (larger than Hagia Sophia!)