Islamic Art 1000-1400

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Islamic Art 1000-1400
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Historical Context-Islam 1000-1100

• Arab lands were North and North-east Africa with
  Arab trading stations along the African East
  coast
• Islam expansion had slowed and was divided
  between Samanid rulers of Persia, the Fatimids of
  Egypt, and the Umayyad caliphs of Spain
• Islam was revitalized with the Seljik conquers
  (Central Asia Nomad conquers recently converted
  to Islam)
• Loss of some Christian Byzantine land ( Armenia)
  and Jerusalem captured from the more tolerant
  Fatimid caliphs of Egypt (they allowed Christian
  pilgrimages to Jerusalem)
• The regeneration of Islam posed an immediate
  threat ot the Christian people of the western
  world- the start of the Holy Wars- The First
  Crusade- 1095-
• Jerusalem was taken in by the crusaders in 1099

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Contributions to Architecture and Art and Science

• Cult of the Garden-cool, well watered and
  essentially formal
• Rigid orthodoxy- exiled figurative painting from
  mosque and home alike
• Repeated vegetal and geometric patterns,
  patterned brickwork
• Medical encyclopaedias, pioneering work on
  optics, furthered understanding of Hindu algebra
  and arithmetic, astrological and navigational
  tables

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Islam- Muslim Spain

• 1198
• Isolated from the other areas of Islamic rule
• Giralda tower in Seville- a minaret of the
  Almohad mosque (since made into a bellfry)

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Earlier Byzantine Studies

• Remember -Dome of the Rock
• Haigis Sophia was a Byzantine church- now it is a
  Mosque

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• First state, left.  "Minaret and observatory of
  the Great Mosque, completed by the Almohades in
  1198, also commemorating the battle of Alarcos,
  happened three years before."
•   Second state, right. "Bell Tower of the main
  Church of the Christian reconquerors, after the
  fall of the balls due to the earthquake on august
  24, 1356.."
•   Third state, center, present day. "Bell tower
  of the Cathedral completed in 1568 the Christian
  part by the Cordoba architect Fernando Ruiz and
  other masters, including the 1890 restoration

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• Muslim Spain was intellectual centre in the 12th
  century-study of science and philosophy in the
  Muslim world (Almohad dynasty)
• Averroes commentator of Aristotle Ibn al-Arabi
  mystical scholar Ibn al-Baytar famous botanist,
  Abu Marwan ibn Zuhr physician and co-author with
  Averroes of a medical encyclopedia

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Mosque of Al-Aqmar
Al-Aqmar
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INDIA AND ISLAM

• Arab interest in trading Western Africa- gold
  ivory and slaves
• Indias warring rulers left the door open for
  Muhammad Guris invasion of Northern India
• Taking of Dehli on 1192- Muslim domination in
  Northern India would remain for centuries
• It took a century and a half to take over India
  as it retreated southward.

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• The exotic art of Hindu and Buddhist India was
  considered Icons by the Muslim conquerors
• The Mosque of Islam at Delhi was supplied by
  stones taken from Hindu shrines
• Dominant feature is the Qutb Minar a great
  minaret begun in 1199 and conceived as a tower of
  victory
• Inscriptions from the Koran, decoration
  traditional Indian inspiration

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Islamic Art

• Mongol invasion effected the Islamic culture-
  causing early internal divisions yet began to
  recover at the end of the 1200s
• Some of the brilliance was preserved at Seljuk,
  Anatolia early 13th century Sultans. Among these
  were the Medreses (schools of theology)

Ince Medrese Turkey 1267
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• Though built (1267) as a Muslim theological
  seminary, it has been restored and is now Konya's
  Museum of Wooden Artifacts and Stone Carving.
• Grand portal, heavily and completely carved with
  Seljuk decoration and Kur'anic inscriptions, is
  among the finest of all Seljuk grand portals.
• The minaret, partially destroyed by a lightning
  strike in 1901, was exceptionally tall (see the
  old photo below) and finely decorated with
  typically Seljuk sky-blue tiles
• Exhibits include elaborately carved wooden mosque
  doors and decorative panels, marble panels carved
  with typical Seljuk designs of birds, lions,
  angels and double-headed eagles and even a few
  elephants.

Kubab-abad Palace wall tiles
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Ribbon of dragons
http//www.turkishhan.org/sultankayseri.htm
Sultan Han-1232- fortified, built a stops for
refreshment between major Anatolian cities- great
lodging-hospital- mosque. The han faces south. It
is the second largest han in Turkey, and is one
of the most spectacular and striking hans of the
entire Middle East. It was undoubtedly one of the
most luxurious inns known, the five-star "Hilton"
of its day.
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detail of dragon heads at summit of mosque arches
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• Into this culture the Mongols broke
• Lost some of its artisans that fled especially
  skilled metal workers
• Gained some knowledge of Chinese painting and
  pottery
• Loss of territory in Spain (but not Granada)
• Religious refugees from Spain great exodus of
  scholars and mystics

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Islamic Decorative Art

• Emphasis on abstract decoration due to
  religiously inspired
• Frequently accompanied by Calligraphy
• Men and animals occasionally shown, but rare
• shape and pattern
• Though they resulted in a loss of dramatic power
  (due to no figurative art) they made up for the
  loss was in the intricate ingenuity of its
  flowering designs.

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Detail from the Seljuk Friday mosque at Isfahan.
The architectural complexity of the muqarnas is
highlighted by the geometric pattern of the
decoration.
Mina'i Bowl Late 12th-early 13th century
Persian, Seljuk Dynasty Ceramic The Seljuks
were responsible for the most important
innovation in early medieval Islamic pottery.
They rediscovered a frit body of clay, quartz,
and potash, an ancient Egyptian invention which
permitted a variety of color and decoration.
http//www.dia.org/collections/ancient/islamicart/
30.421.html
Mina'i (enameled) was the most elaborate Seljuk
pottery style, requiring several firings for
pigments and gold leaf. Its figural style,
derived from wall and miniature painting, The
mina'i bowl depicts a scene from the Shahnama
(The Book of Kings), the 11th-century Persian
poet Firdausi's epic poem. The subject, the
victorious Iranian King Faridun leading his
vanquished Arab foe Zahhak, was chosen for
narrative and symbolic reasons.
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Metropolitan museum of Art Tile assemblage,
first half of 13th century Seljuq-Anatolia
Metropolitan of Art Frieze tile with phoenix, ca.
1270sIran (probably Takht-i Sulayman)Fritware,
overglaze luster-painted
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Miniatures
There are very few secular illustrated texts
which survive from late Antiquity or Byzantium.
The rise of illustrated secular works under Islam
occur in the late 12th and 13th centuries. Kalila
wa Dimna were the examples of these works that
illustrate the appearance of an immensely rich
merchant class in the Near East with means and
pretensions to ape the rulers. Meanwhile, the
Persian paintings were mostly about the pride of
the kings and rulers. There were also religious
Persian paintings which represent the Persian
interpretations of Islam.
A. Miniature Paintings "Miniatures" or small
paintings were often used to illustrate books.
They were more common in Turkey and Persia (now
Iran and parts of Iraq), and later in Muslim
India (the Mughal Empire). The art of these
places was also influenced by the Mongol
conquests of the 1200's. After that time, Persian
and Turkish paintings were influenced by Chinese
art styles.
I- Early Islamic Illustrations
http//www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/history/early.html
II- Secular illustrations and Persian Painting
http//www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/history/pers-II.html
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King Khusraw Parviz Listening to Barbad the
Concealed MusicianIllustration from a manuscript
of the Shahnama (Book of kings)Iraq, Baghdad(?),
c. 1300Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on
paper6 x 5 1/8 in. (15.3 x 13 cm) The Nasli M.
Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan
PalevskyM.73.5.406
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Gallery underneath the dome, tomb of the Ilkhanid
ruler, Uljaitu, in Sultaniya in Iran1307-131
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Geometry and Islam

• The star was chosen as the most popular motif for
  Islamic decorations because its regular geometric
  shape symbolized equal radiation in all
  directions from A central point.
• All regular stars are created with A division of
  A circle into equal parts. The center of the star
  is the center of the circle which represents one
  god and the center of islam which is mecca
  toward which all moslems face in prayer.
• The rays of the star reach out in all directions
  which represent the spread of islam throughout
  all the world.

http//everyschool.org/u/logan/culturalmath/geoisl
.htm
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BowlEgypt, twelfth centuryEarthenware,
overglaze luster paintedHeight 2 9/16 in. (6.51
cm)Diameter 6 13/16 in. (17.3 cm)The Madina
Collection of Islamic Art, gift of Camilla
Chandler FrostM.2002.1.35
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Folding Loran stand Seljuk, 13th c crafted from a
single piece of wood- geometrical and plant
motifs, peacocks and Solomon's seal and cypress
trees were commonly used in their carving
http//www.islamicarchitecture.org/art/islamic-woo
dwork.html
Manuscript of Sughrat (Socrates) belongs to a
13th century Seljuk illustrator. It is currently
kept at Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul, Turkey.
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Islam 1300-1400

• Islamic society future lay with the Ottman vigor
  which took over Constantinople in 1391, having
  absorbed most of its territory (the high point of
  Ottman architecture is in the mid 16th century,
  they had little time at this date)
• Granada Spain was still Islamic- the most
  remarkable building- the Alhambra
• An Islamic citadel a large, fortified,
  enclosure- palace of the ruler
• It included within its walls- mosques,, schools,
  administration buildings with gardens and
  apartments for the court
• During a time when Muslim, Jews and Christian
  people lived side by side (at times uneasily)
• Time of artistic brilliance

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Alhambra

• The Alhambra sits on a plateau in the Sierra
  Nevada Mountains just ouside Granada, Spain.
• MuhammadV (1361-91) was the principal patron of
  the complex as we know it today. Although Yusuf 1
  (1333-54) established the current layout and
  decorative tone.
• Elaborate use of light, water and garden spaces
• Expresses Arabic poetic tradition and Quranic
  imagery of paradise
• Numerous inscriptions, mostly verses of Ibn
  Zamrak-Muhammads Vs court poet.

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Court of the Lions
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• http//www.mcah.columbia.edu/alhambra/flash/palace
  _qtvr3.html
• http//www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/islamic_grana
  da_lion1_high.htm
• http//www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/islamic.html