Islamic Decorative Arts

Kevin J. Benoy

The Basics

• Muslims believe in a world in which everything is pre-ordained by Allah.

• Allah is not anthropomorphic – so he is never presented in art.

• Most Muslims also do not show the images of man – though this ban was not accepted everywhere and in all periods.

The Basics

• Muslims see balance and harmony in all things as a manifestation of Allah’s Plan

Calligraphic Tradition• The injunction

against showing humans or animals and the belief in the importance of God’s word as dictated in the Koran, and the beauty of Arabic script, led to the development of an important calligraphic tradition. “Allah” in Arabic Script

Cursive Scripts

• There are six main cursive Arabic scripts.

• These are:– Deewani

– Kufi

– Farsi

– Req’aa

– Naskh

– Thuluth

Deewani

“Those who teach me have my everlasting respect.”

Kufi

• “The Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him.”

Farsi

• “Sufficient for me is Allah; in Him those who trust must put their trust.”

Req’aa

• "In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the day-break, "From the evil of what he has created; And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon as it sets or goes away), And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots, And from the evil of the envier when he envies." (From the Holy Qur'an, Surah: 113, Al-Falaq (The Day Break)

Naskh

• Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, (the) One. "Allah

As-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom

all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks).

"He begets not, nor was He begotten; "And there is

none co-equal or comparable unto Him."

• (From the Holy Qur'an, Surah: 111, Al-Ikhlas. )

Thuluth

• "... and if you count the Blessings of Allah, never you will be able to count them". (From the Holy Qur'an, Surah: 14, Ibrahim, Verse: 34.)

Calligraphic Tradition

• Bound by a belief that sacred scripture was directly revealed to Mohammed by Allah, the Arabic language binds all Muslims together and Arabic calligraphy is respected by all.

• All Koran’s must be in Arabic.

A 12th Century Koran

Calligraphy in Architecture

• Calligraphic verses decorate palaces, homes, businesses and public buildings.

The Wazir Khan Mosque – Lahore, Pakistan

Calligraphy in Carpets

• Carpet weaving is particularly important in Islam.

• Carpets are used in worship.

• They were ideal portable wealth to traveling Arab merchants.

Calligraphy in Metalwork

Calligraphy in Glassware

Calligraphy in Ceramics

Geometric Forms

• Another outcome of the largely observed ban on human and animal forms was the use of interlaced geometric forms.

• These reflected the interconnectedness of all things in the belief system of Muslims.

• Abstraction and unity are, therefore at the heart of Islamic art.

Geometry in Islamic Art

• The circle and its center are the starting point of Islamic art, as God is at the center of the Islamic system of belief.

• Three fundamental forms come out of this: – 1) the triangle

– 2) the square

– 3) the hexagon.

Geometry in Islamic Art• The triangle is the

symbol of human consciousness and the principle of harmony.

• The square symbolizes the physical or material world.

• The hexagon symbolizes heaven

Geometry in Islamic Art

• Infinitely repeated and intricate patterns may be seen as the “unchanging laws of God.”

Geometry in Islamic Art

•Repeated figures in geometric shapes or foliage are called “arabesques.”

•The design to the left is from the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain.

Floral decoration

• In addition to geometrical forms, floral decoration also serve to decorate any kind of surface.

Figurative Art

• The ban on figurative art seems to be based on the Hadith – oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of Mohammed.

• Note that the face of the prophet is not shown.

Islamic figurative Art

• This kind of art tends to be non-religious, though it also exists as manuscript illumination and can depict religious figures – though never Allah..

• It does not attempt to achieve three dimensionality.

• Colours are usually flat.

Mughal Painting

• The Mughal style of painting refers to miniatures produced mainly as book illustrations and as single works contained within albums.

• This developed from the Persian style of miniature painting – but with Hindu and Buddhist influences.

Mughal Painting• The Mughal style is

richly reflective of court life in Muslim India.

• Note that Mughal decoration reflected the Islamic tendency toward “horror vacui.”

• Note also the repetitive decoration on walls, furniture, carpets, fabrics and ceilings.

Muslim Carpets

• As noted earlier, carpet weaving was an important art form in Islam, and remains important in the Islamic world today.

Muslim Carpets

• Carpets were important among the nomadic people of the Middle East even before Islam arrived.

• Their prominence in the Muslim world is probably due to the habit of Muslims to go barefoot indoors.

Muslim Carpets

• Two traditions of carpet weaving are most important in the Muslim world.– Persian

– Turkish

Muslim Carpets

The primary difference is in the style of hand-weaving used.

Conclusion

• Most Islamic art was decorative and generally not figurative. There is no large scale sculpture or painting.

• Where human or animal shapes were present, they are in common objects or in scenes of everyday life – with very rare exceptions.

Conclusion

• This tendency toward the abstract and away from the realistic led to a love of abstract geometric, floral and calligraphic design

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