1. Islamic Art & Architecture
Faith, Pattern, Geometry

2. Artist: n/a
Title: The Kaaba, Mecca
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: n/a
The Kaaba, Mecca. Pilgrims surrounding the Kaaba (dedicated by Mohammed)

3. Kaaba & Islam Originally held various “pagan” icons
Mohammed fled Medina (the hijira) for Mecca and threw out icons from the Kaaba (aniconism)
Islam calls for worship of only one god

4. Kaaba & Islam Figurative art, especially religion, avoided
Islamic artists use nonfigural ornament, text, arabesques (scrolling vines) & complex patterns
However this varies by region/time frame.. What examples can you think of?

5. The Kaaba Millions of faithful Muslims PILGRIMAGE or ha’ij to Mecca
Part of 5 pillars of Islam for those able to go
Inscribed with a few verses of the Qu’ran (Koran)
FLASHCARD

6. So how does this fit Islam?
Merchant al-Amin saw vision of angel in 610 CE
Mohammed (messenger of God), went to Mecca
Recited revelations of the angel in chanted verses
His followers wrote down the verses, became the Qur’an
Attracted 1000s of followers; but angered the powerful
Fled Mecca for Medina (built first mosque) place of worship/prayer
Returned to Mecca with army of 10,0000
Emptied the Kaaba - now symbolic center of all Muslim prayer and destination for the ha’ij.

7. 5 Pillars of Islam Allah (one god) : Mohammed = msgr
Prayer facing Mecca 5x day (fountains in courtyards for ablutions/washing)
Zakah - alms/tax to help poor
Daily fasting during Ramadan (annual festival)
Pilgrimage to Mecca - circumambulate Kaaba
What other monotheistic religions do you know of?

8. The Spread of Islam in the Middle East and Europe
Artist: n/a
Title: The Islamic World
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: n/a
Four caliphs/followers of Mohammed succeeded --spread into India, Africa, Spain

9. The 4 Caliphs
Arabic was used to study and teach, but also simply to delight the eye
Ruled after Mohammed
3rd Caliph Uthman - completed the Qur’an… unifying force of the Arabic language
Ali was the 4th caliph; power struggle - assassination in 661
DIVISIONS FROM THIS CONFLICT CONTINUE TODAY….
Shi’a = followers of Ali as the one true caliph
Sunni = believe all 4 caliphs were “rightfully guided”
Where are the Shia’s and Sunnis still fighting TODAY ?????

10. Early Dynasties of the Islamic Empire - Umayyads 661-750
The Dome of the Rock was the first great monument of Islamic Art.
Following Ali’s assassination, Umayyad Dynasty founded ( )
Empire expanded into Persia, Egypt, Syria & Palestine w/in 20 years
Went into India, N. Africa and Spain by the early 700s.
Built mosques and palaces from capital in Damascus.

11. The rock was where Mohammed ascended to God, according to Islam
Cutaway
View of
The Dome
Of the Rock In
Jerusalem
The rock was where Mohammed ascended to God, according to Islam
Artist: n/a
Title: Cutaway drawing of the Dome of the Rock
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: n/a

12. Golden dome, marble veneers, rich mosaics & patterned carpets
Dome of the Rock, interior
Jerusalem flashcard
Begun 691 CE, Umayyad
1st great Islamic monument
3rd most holy site in Islam
Built on holy site for Jews & Christians too;
Islamic view : Mohammed completed the prophecies of those faiths
Frieze of Qur’an writings of gold mosaic on turquoise background-oldest written Qur’an verses
Oldest use of Qur’an in architecture
Artist: n/a
Title: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (interior)
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 691–2
Source/Museum: n/a
Golden dome, marble veneers, rich mosaics & patterned carpets
Dome atop octagonal drum w/ arcades of piers and columns
ambulatory aisles for faithful to walk around

13. Frieze from façade of Palace at Mshatta (Jordan, 743 CE)
Umayyid caliphs built palaces such as the one at Mshatta
Frieze divided into triangular compartments, geometric shapes contrasting with organic vines, scrolls with birds and animals
Near the mosque portion no animals or birds were shown (aniconism).
Where did we see friezes in ancient and classical times?
Artist: n/a
Title: Frieze, detail of façade of the palace at Mshatta
Medium: Stone
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Museum für Islamische Kunst

14. Early Dynasties of the Islamic Empire
The Dome of the Rock was the first great momument of Islamic Art.
Ummayids were replaced by Abbasid dynasty in 750;
Ruled from Baghdad until 1258.
Abbassids borrowed artistically from Roman, Byzantium, China, Persia & India
Abbassids; medicine, arts, literature

15. Mosque Features & Plans
Hypostyle (multicolumned) mosques such as the Great Mosque of Tunisia
Added courtyard, flat roofed hypostyle prayer hall towards Mecca
Qibla wall - mihrab
Mihrab = niche for holy place, such as Torah scrolls in a synagogue or niche for Roman god statue

16. Muqarnas are unique to Islam
Know & recognize these 3 characteristic arches/niches from Islamic architecture
Muqarnas are unique to Islam
Often stacked and used in multiples, very intricate and dazzling to the eye
Sometimes vault domes, or used as part of a mihrab
SEE EXAMPLES ON NEXT PAGES
Artist: n/a
Title: Elements of Architecture: Arches and Muqarnas
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: Arches and Muqarnas: horseshoe arch, pointed arch, muqarnas

17. Tile Mosaic Mihrab, from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan
Medium: Glazed and cut tiles
Size: 11'3" X 7'6"
14th century Iran
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
One of finest examples of early architectural ceramic decoration
3 inscriptions: outer in cursive, Qur’an verses about 5 Pillars of Islam.
Inner Kufic sayings of prophet
Center panel: line in Kufic says
“The mosque is the house of every pious person.”
FLASHCARD
Tile Mosaic Mihrab, from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan
Medium: Glazed and cut tiles
Size: 11'3" X 7'6" (3.43 X 2.29 m)
Date: Founded 1354
Source/Museum: Iran. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
FLASHCARD
Artist: n/a
Title: Tile Mosaic Mihrab, from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan
Medium: Glazed and cut tiles
Size: 11'3" X 7'6" (3.43 X 2.29 m)
Date: Founded 1354
Source/Museum: Iran. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Harris Brisbane Dick Fund (39.20)

18. Minbar (pulpit)
Example of beautiful wood and ivory inlaid Minbar from mosque in Cairo, Egypt (15th Century)
Artist: n/a
Title: Aerial view of Haram Al-Sharif, Jerusalem
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: n/a

19. Qibla wall from Sultan Hasan Madrasa-Mausoleum-Mosque
Cairo Egypt
14th century
Artist: n/a
Title: Qibla wall with mihrab and minbar, Sultan Hasan Madrasa-Mausoleum-Mosque Complex
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 1356–63
Source/Museum: Main iwan (vaulted chamber) in the mosque, Cairo, Egypt
Example of elaborate Qibla (prayer wall) with minbar (pulpit), mihrab (niche)

20. Prayer Hall, Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain
Spanish Umayyad dynasty, 8th century
Flashcard
Emir was patron of arts
Cordoba was capital
Appropriated former Christian church from Visigoths
Expanded by later rulers
Hypostyle prayer hall marble columns
Horseshoe arches (adopted from Romans!)
Alternating red brick and white stone voussoirs in the curved arch
Domes were beautiful mosaics done by master Byzantine artists; trade diplomacy and competition in the medeival Mediterranean
Artist: n/a
Title: Prayer Hall, Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: Begun 785–86
Source/Museum: n/a

21. Dome of Great Mosque of Cordoba, in front of the mihrab
Note intricate mosaics
Islamic interest in mathematics & geometry
Artist: n/a
Title: Dome in front of the Mihrab, Great Mosque
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 965
Source/Museum: n/a

22. Student presentations on Mosque of Cordoba here
Artist: n/a
Title: Elements of Architecture: Mosque Plans (Hypostyle Mosque)
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: Hypostyle mosque: Great Mosque, Cordoba, after extension by al-Hakam II

23. Students will discuss this with the class. Note dome, and minarets
Sultan Selim Mosque
Artist: n/a
Title: Elements of Architecture: Mosque Plans (Centrally-Planned Mosque)
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: Centrally-planned mosque: Sultan Selim Mosque, Edirne

24. Mosque of Sultan Selim, Edirne
Ottoman Empire, 16th century Turkey
Architect Sinan (for Suleyman the Magnificent)
Flashcard
Minarets almost 300’ high, only 12’ in diameter
Only royal mosques allowed multiple minarets
Artist: n/a
Title: Mosque of Sultan Selim, Edirne
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 1568–75
Source/Museum: Turkey
Square base transitioned to central dome with corner half domes
Gigantic hemispheric dome larger than Hagia Sophia
Complex held mosque, madrasa, hospittal, kitchens, market, baths
Central plan with fountain (see plans)

25. Mosque of Sultan Selim Edirne
Interior of dome of
Mosque of Sultan Selim Edirne
STUDENTS PRESENT THIS
Artist: n/a
Title: Interior, Mosque of Sultan Selim
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: Turkey

26. Congregational Mosque, Isfahan Developed in Iran
Four Iwan Mosque plan
Congregational Mosque, Isfahan
Developed in Iran
Iwan = huge, barrel vaulted walls with arch entrances
Cross-axial emphasis
Central courtyard
Qibla is the prayer wall
KNOW THIS VOCABULARY
Artist: n/a
Title: Elements of Architecture: Mosque Plans (Four-Iwan Mosque)
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: Four-iwan mosque: Congresgrational Mosque, Isfahan

27. Great Mosque of Ishafan (Iran) Note iwan walls with vaulted entrances
Mosaic tile decoration
Minarets
Four iwan plan
17th century, lots of additions since
Artist: n/a
Title: Courtyard, Masjid-I Jami, Isfahan Iran
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 11th–18th century 14th-century iwan vault, 17th-century minarets
Source/Museum: Iran

28. Calligraphy Students will present Art of fine hand lettering
Qur’an word of god- must be written with devotion & embellishment
Verbal information & aesthetics

29. Arabic manuscript page Kufic headings Naskhi (Iran) scripts
Calligraphers enjoyed very high status, included women and princes
20 cursive scripts in use by the 10th century
Qur’an usually wrote on parchment or vellum
Artist: Attributed to Galinus
Title: Arabic manuscript page
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 1199
Source/Museum: Iraq. / Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

30. Artist: n/a
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: 8⅜ X 11⅛" (21.8 X 29.2 cm)
Date: 9th century
Source/Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, 1937 ( )

31. Ceramics & Glassware Students will present Samarkand Fritware
Figurative embellishment, especially when illuminated manuscripts & books popular

32. Border is Kufic script;
Samarkand ceramics had a beautiful white ground like Chinese porcelain.
Border is Kufic script;
Calligraphy often used for decoration as well as text.
Artist: n/a
Title: Bowl with kufic border
Medium: Earthenware with slip, pigment, and lead glaze
Size: diameter 14½" (37 cm)
Date: 9th–10th century
Source/Museum: Samarkand, Uzbekistan. / Musée du Louvre, Paris.

33. Mamluk Glass Oil Lamp, Syria or Egypt, 14th century
Glass, polychrome enamel, gold
Egyptians produced 1st glass in 2nd millenium BCE
13th century CE artistic exchanges in Italy, Syria, Egypt developed new molding and blowing techniques
Used for mosques
Kuranic inscription: God is the light of the heavens.
European heraldry symbols
FLASHCARD - DISCUSS INFLUENCES, FIGURATIVE IMAGERY, ETC.
Artist: n/a
Title: Mamluk glass oil lamp
Medium: Glass, polychrome enamel, and gold
Size: height 12" (30.5 cm)
Date: c. 1355
Source/Museum: Syria or Egypt. Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. ( )

35. Painted fritware, incised 1215-1216, Iran
The Macy Jug
Ceramic
Painted fritware, incised
, Iran
Now at Metropolitan Museum of Art
FLASHCARD IMAGE
Technique to produce lustrous metallic surface on fired ceramic
Painted dense, elaborate patterns of animals, foliage, etc.
Originally FRITWARE used for beads in ancient Egypt
Artist: n/a
Title: The Macy Jug
Medium: Composite body glazed, painted fritware and incised (glaze partially stained with cobalt), with pierced outer shell
Size: 6 ⅝ X 7 ¾" (16.8 X 19.7 cm)
Date: 1215–16
Source/Museum: Iran. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Fletcher Fund, 1932 ( )

37. “Oriental” Rugs Students will present
Worldwide popularity even through today
Knotted carpets date back 4th century BCE
Silk weaving exchange with China (China Silk Road)
Paradise & garden associations

38. Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa Silk tapestry weave with gilt parchment
Trophy taken by Christian King Ferdinand III.. Detail of center section
Calligraphic panels
Artist: n/a
Title: Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa
Medium: Silk tapestry-weave with gilt parchment
Size: 10'9 ⅞" X 7'2 ⅝" (3.3 X 2.2 m)
Date: 1212–50
Source/Museum: Detail of center panel, from southern Spain. / Museo de Telas Medievales, Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, Spain

39. “Oriental” Rugs Rugs used for Muslim prayer
Knotted rugs technique passed down thru generations

40. Note patterns which reverse symmetry
Medallion Rug
Star Ushak Style
Note patterns which reverse symmetry
Infinite arabesque that repeats in all directions
Artist: n/a
Title: Medallion Rug, variant Star Ushak style
Medium: Wool
Size: 10'3" X 7'6 ¼" (313.7 X cm)
Date: 16th century
Source/Museum: Anatolia (present-day Turkey). / The St. Louis Art Museum. Gift of James F. Ballard

41. Artist: n/a
Title: A woman weaving
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: n/a

42. Artist: n/a
Title: Technique: carpet making
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: a. Kilim weaving pattern used in flat-weaving, b. Symmetrical knot, used extensively in Iran, c. Asymmetrical knot, used extensively in Turkey

43. Art of the Book Students will present
Parallels illuminated manuscripts in Europe
More figurative embellishment allowed
Persian miniatures
Islamic emphasis on Qur’an

44. Qur’an Frontspiece, Cairo Egypt, 1368 CE.
Nonfigural designs from Mamluk Egypt
Intricate designs paralleled
What????
Artist: n/a
Title: Qur’an frontispiece (right half of two-page spread)
Medium: Ink, pigments, and gold on paper
Size: 24 X 18" (61 X 45.7 cm)
Date: c. 1368
Source/Museum: Cairo, Egypt. / National Library, Cairo. Ms. 7.

45. Caliph Harun Al Rashid Visits Turkish Bath Kamal al Din-Bihzad
From Herart School of Miniature painting in western Afghanistan
Bihzad paintings illustrated Khamsa Five Poems.
Bathhouse accepted from Roman society in Islamic world in Turkey, Jordan.
Artist: Kamal al-Din Bihzad
Title: The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid Visits the Turkish Bath
Medium: Ink and pigments on paper
Size: approx. 7 X 6" (17.8 X 15.3 cm)
Date: c. 1494
Source/Museum: From a copy of the 12th-century Khamsa (Five Poems) of Nizami. Herat, Afghanistan. / The British Library, London. Oriental and India office Collections (Ms. Or. 6810, fol. 27v)

46. Another Bihzad miniature Shirin sees Khusraus Portrait
Artist: n/a
Title: The Portrait of Khusrau Shown to Shirin
Medium: Ink, pigments, and gold on paper
Size: 9⅞ X 6¾" (25 X 17 cm)
Date: c. 1494
Source/Museum: From a copy of the 12th-century Khamsa (Five Poems) of Nizami.Herat, Afghanistan. / The British Library, London

47. Tugra of Sultan Suleyman
Istanbul, Turkey
16th Century, Ottoman Empire
Ink, paint, and gold on paper
Tugras combined the ruler’s name with the phrase Eternally Victorious
Tugras appeared on seals, coints, buildings, edicts
Body design may have been inspired by Chinese ceramics
FLASHCARDS
Artist: n/a
Title: Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman
Medium: Ink, paint, and gold on paper
Size: removed from a firman and trimmed to 20½ X 25⅜" (52 X 64.5 cm)
Date: c. 1555–60
Source/Museum: Istanbul, Turkey. / The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, 1938 ( )

48. Recognize Court of the Lions
Flashcard
Recognize Court of the Lions
Artist: n/a
Title: Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: 1354–91
Source/Museum: Spain
Court of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain; 14th Century
City of Gardens .. Islamic palace set in gardens. Complex citadel with dramatic views, miradors (lookout windows). Beautiful ceiling with clustered muqarnas
8 pointed star ceiling (next image)

49. Muqarnas Dome, hall of the Abencerrajes,
Palace of the Lions, Alhambra
Artist: n/a
Title: Muqarnas Dome, Hall of the Abencerrajes, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: Built between 1354–91
Source/Museum: n/a