ISLAMIC ART

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ISLAMIC ART
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Origins of Islam

• Night of Destiny
• In the desert (near the Mecca) in 610ce, an Arab
  merchant named Al-Amin sought solitude in a cave
• An angel appeared and commanded him to recite
  revelations from God (Allah)
• Al-Amin becomes Muhammad messenger of God

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Origins of Islam

• Muhammad recited these revelations for the rest
  of his life.
• After his death, his followers Caliphates
• recited and memorized them after his death
  Quran recitation

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Origin of Islam

• Those who disagreed forced Muhammad and his
  followers to flee
• settled in Medina where he built the
• 1st Islamic Mosque (a house)
• 630ce Muhammad returned w/ an army and
  established the city mecca as a spiritual capitol
  of Islam

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CHRONOLOGY

• c. 570 CE birth of Muhammad
• 610 CE Night of Destiny
• 622 CE hijra
• 630 CE returns to Mecca and defeats enemies
• 632 CE death of Muhammad
• 632 661 CE Early Caliphates (Muhammadss
• successors)
• 661 750 CE Umayyad Dynasty
• 750 1258 CE Abbasid Dynasty
• 759 1031 CE Spanish Umayyad Dynasty
• 909 1171 CE Fatimid Dynasty (Egypt)

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CHRONOLOGY

• 1037 1194 CE Saljuq Dynasty
• late 11th early 14th century CE Saljuq
  Dyansty of Rum
• 1232 1492 CE Spanish Nasrid Dynasty
• 1250 1517 CE Egyptian Mamluk Dynasty
• 1281 1918 CE Ottoman Empire
• 1370 1507 Timurid Dynasty
• 1453 CE Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman Turks
  ? Istanbul
• 1918 CE modern Turkey founded

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MECCA THE KAABA (BLACK SHRINE)
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Mecca / Kabba

• Abraham built a cubical shrine for God as the
  focus of pilgrimage and worship
• Muhammad emptied shrine of all its pagan idols
• Is now the symbolic center of the Islamic world
• Aniconism avoidance of figural imagery,
• geometric designs (arabesque) and caligraphy
  (scripts Quran)

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• Five Pillars of Islam
• 1. Faith There is no God but God (Allah)
  Muhammad is his messenger
• 2. Prayer Salatobligatory prayers said
  five times daily
• 3. Charity Zakatpurification or growth
• 4. Fasting during month of Ramadan
• 5. Pilgrimage Hajjtrip to Mecca once in a
  lifetime, some go yearly during Ramadan

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Aerial view of Haram Al-Sharif, Jerusalem
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Cut away drawing of the Dome of the Rock
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Title Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
(interior)Date 691692 CE
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What makes this rock a pilgrimage site? What is
its significance and to whom?
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Title Plan of the palace at Mshatta,
JordanMedium frieze - stoneDate 743744 CE
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How it is evident that this design is of Persian
inspiration?Would this be a good example of
Islamic design? Why/Why not?
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MOSQUE PLANS

• Mosque of Samarra

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minaret
Malwiya minaret and Great Mosque Samarra, Iraq
ca. 848-852
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HYPOSTYLE HALL MOSQUE
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Centrally-Planned Mosque
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Four-Iwan Mosque
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EARLY DYNASTIES

• Umayyad Abassid

Great Mosque of Damascus
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Title The Great Mosque, Kairouan, TunisiaDate
83675 CE
QIBLA WALL
minaret
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Entrance to the Great Mosque Córdoba, Spain 8th
to 10th centuries
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Title Prayer Hall, Great Mosque, Cordoba,
SpainDate Begun 785786 CE
voussoirs
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Maqsura of the Great Mosque Córdoba, Spain 961-965
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Title Dome in front of the Mihrab, Great Mosque
of CordobaDate 965
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The Koran and Calligraphy
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Title Page from the Qur'an (Surah II 286 and
Title Surah III) in kufic script Medium Black
ink pigments, and gold on vellum Size 8? X 11?"
(21.8 X 29.2 cm) Date 9th century
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Artist Attributed to GalinusTitle Arabic
manuscript pageDate 1199 Source Iraq
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History of Paper

• 105 ce (some say 305 ce) Chinese made paper from
  Mulberry tree bark
• 600 ce Chinese used paper for writing and
• in 740 ce wood block printing
• In 751 ce the Tang army was defeated by the
  Ottoman turks who captured paper makers and
  learned the guarded trade
• Not until 1150 ce did paper arrive in Europe, as
  a result of the crusades
• 1453 ce Gutenberg invents the printing press

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Title Bowl with kufic border Medium Earthenware
with slip, pigment, and lead glaze Size diameter
14½" (37 cm) Date 9th10th century Source
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
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Title Textile with elephants and camels (known
today as the Shroud of Saint Josse) Medium Dyed
silk Size largest fragment 20½ X 37" (94 X 52
cm) Date Before 961 Source From Khurasan or
Central Asia.
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Title Mamluk glass oil lampMedium Glass,
polychrome enamel, and goldSize height 12"
(30.5 cm)Date c. 1355Source Syria or Egypt
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4 point essay

• Compare and contrast the basic models of the
  Islamic mosque with that of the Christian
  basilica.
• Form and function
• Architecture