1. Architecture, Textiles, Mosaics.
Islamic Art
Architecture, Textiles, Mosaics.
Carly Snyder, Breanna Poston, Josh Rodriguez, Daniel Situ, Alexander Urman

2. Islamic Background
-Muhammad's religious method (Allah) spread with Arabs 7thC
-Koran - sacred book
-End of Umayyad Dynasty (750 C.E.) N Africa, Mid E, Spain, India, and Central Asia Islam
-Expanded under Abbasid Caliphate (in Baghdad)
-Mongol Sack of Baghdad 1258
-Split into East and West
-East = S. & Cent. Asia, Iran, Turkey
-West = Near East, Arabian Peninsula, N. Africa, Italy, and Spain

3. Background cont'd -Impact on Byzantine
-Hagia Sophia -> Islamic mosque
-Mediterranean: Byzantine rule -> Islamic lake
-Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople - fall Byzantium 1453
-Islam two principal divisions
-Shiite - minorities
-Sunni - majorities

4. Vocabulary
Arabesque - a flowing, intricate, and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motifs
Calligraphy - decorative or beautiful handwriting
Jali - perforated ornamental stone screens in Islamic Art
Koran - Islamic sacred text
Mecca - birthplace of Muhammad and the city all Muslims turn to in prayer
Medina - where Muhammad was first accepted as prophet, and where his tomb is located

5. Vocabulary
Mihrab - a central niche in a mosque, which indicates the direction to Mecca
Minaret - a tall, slender column used to call people to prayer
Mosque - Muslim house of worship
Muqarnas - a squinch made up of rows of nichelike faceted shapes
Qiblah - the direction toward Mecca which Muslim's face in prayer (Qiblah wall)
Tessellation - decoration using polygonal shapes with no gaps

6. Islamic Characteristics
Intellectual, refined and decorative
No strong emotions
Serene harmony
Either hypostyle hall (Córdoba) or unified open space (Selim II)
Koran does not ban images, but active tradition to avoid religious imagery
Sometimes imagery on only one side of building

7. Ornamentation
Based on plant motifs, sometimes intermingled with geometric figures and human/animal shapes
Arabesques form patterns that cover entire surfaces---> horror vacui "fear of empty space"
Repetitive patterns=divine infinity and indefinability
Design independent from carrier

8. Floor Mosaic Mediterranean tradition
bath at the Palace of Khirbat al Mafjar
Rich variety of floral and geometric patterns
Intricate abstract designs
Illusion of a downward projection of the dome

9. Colored Tile History in Middle East and Iran
luster ware=metallic sheen
Veneer over brick core
Enhances shape with beautiful conformity
Similar esthetic ideal to tapestry design
Dome of Masjid-i Shah

10. Stucco Relief Cheap, flexible and effective
Wet plaster--> works well with freely flowing line
Alhambra palace=best example
Visible representation of ornate Muslim poets
Deny solidity of stone structure
Airy, floating appearance

11. Textiles
Among the most prestigious and highly valued objects of Islamic art, textiles did far more than just utilitarian or decorative roles in the household. They were also used for:
Gifts
Rewards
Signs of Political Favors
Muslim weavers adapted the style from earlier Egyptian weavers, and later were adapted to the colder climates within Iran and Anatolia

12. Carpet from the Tomb-Mosque of Shah Tahmasp at Ardebil, Iran (1540)
Large example of the medallion type Textile and has a design filled with many details
Since it was created for a mosque, the design lacks any image of human or animal figure
Even though this is early Islamic art, previous bans on human figure still affected the creation of this work

13. Early Islamic Architecture
Fertile Crescent as the political and cultural center of the Muslim world
Two prominent dynasties
Umayyads in Syria ( ), Spain ( )
Abbasids in Iraq ( )
Two major architectural forms: The mosque and the palace

14. Dome of the Rock First major building of the Ummayad dynasty
Neither a mosque nor palace
Houses rock from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven
Erected on the site of Temple of Solomon

15. Dome of the Rock, cont'd Design: Domed octagon - similar to San Vitale
Double shelled wooden dome
Dome dominates elevation - Makes the octagon function more than just a base

16. Dome of the Rock, cont'd Exterior of the building has been restored
Tilework now replaces the original mosaic
Vivid colorful patterns on walls - characteristic of islamic ornamentation
Interior mosaics have been preserved
No distinguishment between decoration outside and inside.

17. Muslim Religious Architecture
Religious Architecture often closely related to the Muslim prayer
Obligation to the Qur'an
Prayer - importance of facing East (Qibla)
Transformation of Prayer into communal act
Importance of the imam, minbar and khutba, which are features that become standard in the Islamic Mosques
Mihrab becomes standard in Islamic Mosques
One theory - to honor where the prophet stood in his house at Medina

18. Muslim Religious Architecture, cont'd
Origin of the Mosque
One prototype: Prophet's house in Medina
Once well established in their conquered territories, they began to build on a large scale
Visible evidence of their power

19. Great Mosque at Damascus
Built in 706, in Damascus, Syria
Built on the foundations of a Roman Temple
Courtyard bounded by pier arcades similar to the Roman Aqueducts
Use of recycled capitals and columns
Roman tower converted to a Minaret - calls the faithful to prayer
Mosaics -Roman and
Byzantine influence

20. Great Mosque, cont'd Space is discontinuous
Perspectives are contradictory
Outside and inside views are given simultaneously
Representative of the Islamic influence against the representation of fauna in sacred places.

21. The Mosque at Qairawan Hypostyle Mosque
Built of stone - walls have square buttresses
Two domes and a Minaret
Axis is defined by a raised nave flanked by eight columned aisles on either side - space for a large congregation.
Had the flexibility to be easily enlarged and added to.

22. Mosque of Córdoba
Begun in 786, and enlarged in the 9th and 10th centuries
Additions followed the original style and pattern of arches and columns

23. Mosque of Cordoba, cont'd
One of 4 domes build during the 10th century to emphasize the mihrab
Large ribs subdivide the surface of the dome into smaller purely ornamental sections

24. Early Palaces
Only scattered remains have survived, serving to show the way of life of Muslim aristocrats
Built in both cities and open country
May have been symbols of conquered territories and newly acquired wealth

25. Palace at Ukhaydir (Iraq)
Built in the second half of the 8th century under the Abbasids
Separate entity within a fortified enclosure
Residential and Official functions
Included fairly elaborate baths - similar to Rome
Decoration seems to be sparse and confined to simply molded stucco and decorative brickwork

26. Later Islamic Architecture
3 Primary forms: Mosque, Madrasa, Mausoleum
Madrasa - a higher theological college adjoining and often containing a mosque
Shares with the hypostyle mosque in its open court but replaced the forests of columns with masses of brick and stone.
Now surrounded by four vaulted halls, the one Qibla side being larger than the others
Rooms for education are crowded in the corners created by the vaults.
Mausoleums - central-plan, domed structures
Adopted either from Iran - Not originally part of the Islamic Architecture
Built either as memorials to holy men or for the secular function of celebrating rulers

27. Taj Mahal at Agra
Built by Shah Jahan, a Muslim ruler in India, as a memorial to his wife.
Now considered an architectural metaphor for Paradise and the Throne of God.
Basic form is the Cairo Mausoleum, but modifications have converted it into a "weightless vision of cream-colored marble."
Elimination of the Cairo structure's heavy, projecting cornice ties the elements together
Interplay of shadowy voids gives impression of transparency.
Carefully placed minarets help stabilize it.

28. Ottoman Architecture Late regional style of Islamic Architecture
Ottoman builders developed a new type of mosque
Square prayer hall covered by a dome
The dome itself, became the center of the Ottoman Architecture
At first used singly, it began to be used in multiples
Created desire to create a unity of space
Resulted in a geometric and formalistic form, rather than ornamental.

29. The Selimiye Cami at Edirne
Built by Sinan the Great for Selim II to commemorate the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus
Embellished from the spoils of Cyprus
Structure's dome dominates city's skyline surrounded by four minarets
dome equal in width to Hagia Sophia's
Dependencies surrounding the mosque and aligned with it
Avlu placed behind the mosque
same size as mosque