What Rules Do Musilms Follow on the Subject of Art
Islamic Fine art
Islamic art encompasses visual arts produced from the seventh century onwards by culturally Islamic populations.
Learning Objectives
Identify the influences and the specific attributes of Islamic fine art
Fundamental Takeaways
Key Points
- Islamic art is not fine art of a specific religion, time, identify, or of a single medium . Instead it spans some 1400 years, covers many lands and populations, and includes a range of artistic fields including architecture, calligraphy , painting, glass, ceramics , and textiles, among others.
- Islamic religious art differs from Christian religious fine art in that it is not-figural considering many Muslims believe that the depiction of the human class is idolatry , and thereby a sin confronting God, forbidden in the Qur'an. Calligraphy and architectural elements are given important religious significance in Islamic art.
- Islamic fine art developed from many sources: Roman, early Christian fine art, and Byzantine styles ; Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia; Central Asian styles brought by diverse nomadic incursions, and Chinese influences announced on Islamic painting, pottery , and textiles.
Cardinal Terms
- Qu'ran: The central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the verbatim give-and-take of God (Arabic: Allah). It is widely regarded every bit the finest piece of literature in the Arabic linguistic communication.
- arabesque: A repetitive, stylized pattern based on a geometrical floral or vegetal pattern.
- idolatry: The worship of idols.
- monotheistic: Believing in a unmarried god, deity, spirit, etc., peculiarly for an organized faith, faith, or creed.
Islam
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic faith articulated by the Qur'an, a book considered past its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allah) and the teachings of Muhammad , who is considered to exist the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.
Nearly Muslims are of ii denominations: Sunni (75–90%),[vii] or Shia (10–20%). Its essential religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and the following of Islamic law, which touches on every aspect of life and society. The five pillars are:
- Shahadah (belief or confession of religion)
- Salat (worship in the course of prayer)
- Sawm Ramadan (fasting during the month of Ramadan)
- Zakat (alms or charitable giving)
- Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime)
Islamic Art
Islamic fine art encompasses the visual arts produced from the seventh century onward by both Muslims and non-Muslims who lived within the territory that was inhabited past, or ruled by, culturally Islamic populations. It is thus a very difficult art to define considering it spans some 1400 years, roofing many lands and populations. This art is too not of a specific religion, time, place, or single medium. Instead Islamic art covers a range of artistic fields including architecture, calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, and textiles, amongst others.
Islamic art is not restricted to religious art, merely instead includes all of the fine art of the rich and varied cultures of Islamic societies. Information technology frequently includes secular elements and elements that are forbidden by some Islamic theologians. Islamic religious fine art differs greatly from Christian religious art traditions.
Because figural representations are more often than not considered to be forbidden in Islam, the word takes on religious pregnant in art as seen in the tradition of calligraphic inscriptions. Calligraphy and the decoration of manuscript Qu'rans is an of import attribute of Islamic fine art as the word takes on religious and artistic significance.
Islamic architecture, such as mosques and palatial gardens of paradise, are besides embedded with religious significance. While examples of Islamic figurative painting do exist, and may cover religious scenes, these examples are typically from secular contexts, such as the walls of palaces or illuminated books of poetry.
Other religious fine art, such as glass mosque lamps, Girih tiles, woodwork, and carpets usually demonstrate the aforementioned style and motifs equally contemporary secular fine art, although they exhibit more prominent religious inscriptions.
A calligraphic console by Mustafa Râkim (belatedly 18th–early 19th century): Islamic art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Standard arabic calligraphy, rather than on figures, because information technology is feared by many Muslims that the delineation of the man class is idolatry. The console reads: "God, there is no god simply He, the Lord of His prophet Muhammad (peace exist upon him) and the Lord of all that has been created."
Islamic art was influenced past Greek, Roman, early Christian, and Byzantine art styles, every bit well as the Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia. Central Asian styles were brought in with various nomadic incursions; and Chinese influences had a formative result on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles.
Themes of Islamic Art
In that location are repeating elements in Islamic art, such as the use of stylized , geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as the arabesque . The arabesque in Islamic fine art is often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and infinite nature of God. Some scholars believe that mistakes in repetitions may exist intentionally introduced as a bear witness of humility by artists who believe but God tin can produce perfection.
Arabesque inlays at the Mughal Agra Fort, Bharat: Geometrical designs in repetition, know as Arabesque, are used in Islamic fine art to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible, and infinite nature of God.
Typically, though non entirely, Islamic art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than human or animal figures, because it is believed by many Muslims that the depiction of the homo grade is idolatry and thereby a sin against God that is forbidden in the Qur'an.
However, depictions of the human being form and animals can be constitute in all eras of Islamic secular art. Depictions of the human course in art intended for the purpose of worship is considered idolatry and is forbidden in Islamic police, known as Sharia law.
Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of styles and the principal example is the mosque.
Learning Objectives
Describe the development of mosques, and their different features during dissimilar periods and dynasties
Central Takeaways
Key Points
- A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged soon later on Muhammad's time that incorporated Roman building traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the onetime Sassanid and Byzantine models.
- The Islamic mosque has historically been both a place of prayer and a community meeting space . The early mosques are believed to be inspired by Muhammad'southward home in Medina, which was the showtime mosque.
Cardinal Terms
- mosque: A identify of worship for Muslims, corresponding to a church or synagogue in other religions, often having at least one minaret. In Arabic: masjid.
- mihrab: A semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque, that indicates the qibla (management of Mecca), and into which the imam prays.
- minaret: The tall slender tower of an Islamic mosque, from which the muezzin recites the adhan (phone call to prayer).
Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles. The main Islamic architectural example is the mosque. A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged soon later Muhammad's fourth dimension that incorporated Roman building traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the former Sassanid and Byzantine models.
Early on Mosques
The Islamic mosque has historically been both a place of prayer and a community coming together infinite. The early mosques are believed to be inspired past Muhammad's dwelling in Medina, which was the first mosque.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan (in Tunisia) is one of the best preserved and most significant examples of early bully mosques. Founded in 670, it contains all of the architectural features that distinguish early mosques: a minaret , a large courtyard surrounded by porticos , and a hypostyle prayer hall.
Dome of the mihrab (ninth century) in the Smashing Mosque of Kairouan, likewise known as the Mosque of Uqba, in Kairouan, Tunisia: This is considered to exist the ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world.
Ottoman Mosques
Ottoman mosques and other compages first emerged in the cities of Bursa and Edirne in the 14th and 15th centuries, developing from earlier Seljuk Turk compages, with additional influences from Byzantine, Persian, and Islamic Mamluk traditions.
Sultan Mehmed II would later on fuse European traditions in his rebuilding programs at Istanbul in the 19th century. Byzantine styles equally seen in the Hagia Sophia served as particularly important models for Ottoman mosques, such as the mosque constructed by Sinan.
Building reached its peak in the 16th century when Ottoman architects mastered the technique of building vast inner spaces surmounted past seemingly weightless still incredibly massive domes , and achieved perfect harmony betwixt inner and outer spaces, too as articulated light and shadow.
They incorporated vaults , domes, square dome plans, slender corner minarets, and columns into their mosques, which became sanctuaries of transcendently aesthetic and technical residue, as may be observed in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey: The Blue Mosque represents the culmination of Ottoman construction with its numerous domes, slender minarets and overall harmony.
Architecture flourished in the Safavid Dynasty , attaining a high point with the edifice program of Shah Abbas in Isfahan, which included numerous gardens, palaces (such as Ali Qapu), an immense bazaar, and a large majestic mosque. Isfahan, the capital of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture, such every bit the the Imperial Mosque, which was constructed in the years after Shah Abbas I permanently moved the capital in that location in 1598.
Royal Mosque, Isfahan, Iran: Isfahan, the capital letter of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture.
Islamic Glass Making
Glassmaking was the most of import Islamic luxury art of the early Middle Ages.
Learning Objectives
Draw the art of Islamic drinking glass
Key Takeaways
Key Points
- Between the 8th and early 11th centuries, the accent in luxury glass was on effects achieved past manipulating the surface of the drinking glass, initially by incising into the glass on a cycle, and later by cut abroad the background to leave a design in relief .
- Lustre painting uses techniques similar to lustreware in pottery and dates back to the eighth century in Egypt; it became widespread in the 12th century.
Primal Terms
- luxury arts: Highly decorative appurtenances made of precious materials for the wealthy classes.
- glassmaking: The arts and crafts or industry of producing drinking glass.
Islamic Glass
For virtually of the Middle Ages , Islamic luxury glass was the most sophisticated in Eurasia , exported to both Europe and China. Islam took over much of the traditional glass-producing territory of Sassanian and Ancient Roman glass. Since figurative ornamentation played a small part in pre-Islamic drinking glass, the change in mode was non abrupt—except that the whole area initially formed a political whole, and, for example, Farsi innovations were now almost immediately taken up in Egypt.
For this reason information technology is often impossible to distinguish betwixt the various centers of product (of which Egypt, Syria, and Persia were the most important), except by scientific analysis of the material, which itself has difficulties. From diverse documentary references, glassmaking and glass-trading seems to have been a specialty of the Jewish minority.
Between the eighth and early on 11th centuries, the emphasis in luxury glass was on effects achieved by manipulating the surface of the glass, initially by incising into the glass on a wheel, and afterwards by cutting away the background to go out a design in relief. The very massive Hedwig spectacles, merely constitute in Europe, just normally considered Islamic (or possibly from Muslim craftsmen in Norman Sicily), are an example of this, though they are puzzlingly tardily in date.
These and other glass pieces probably represented cheaper versions of vessels of carved rock crystal (articulate quartz)—themselves influenced by earlier glass vessels—and at that place is some evidence that at this flow drinking glass and hard-stone cut were regarded equally the same arts and crafts. From the twelfth century, the glass industry in Persia and Mesopotamia declined, and the chief production of luxury glass shifted to Egypt and Syria. Throughout this period, local centers made simpler wares, such every bit Hebron drinking glass in Palestine.
The Luck of Edenhall: This is a 13th-century Syrian chalice, in England since the Heart Ages. For most of the Middle Ages, Islamic glass was the most sophisticated in Eurasia, exported to both Europe and People's republic of china.
Lustre painting
Lustre painting, past techniques similar to lustreware in pottery, dates back to the eighth century in Egypt, and involves the application of metallic pigments during the glass-making process. Another technique used by artisans was decoration with threads of drinking glass of a dissimilar color, worked into the main surface, and sometimes manipulated by combing and other effects.
Gilded, painted, and enameled glass were added to the repertoire, as were shapes and motifs borrowed from other media , such every bit pottery and metalwork . Some of the finest work was in mosque lamps donated by a ruler or wealthy man.
Every bit decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and it oft exhibited bubbles and a brownish-xanthous tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major center afterward the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian glass industry around 1400 by conveying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By about 1500, the Venetians were receiving large orders for mosque lamps.
Some of the finest work was in mosque lamps donated by a ruler or wealthy man. Equally decoration grew more than elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and information technology often exhibited bubbles and a brownish-yellowish tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major center later the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have concluded the Syrian manufacture around 1400 by conveying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By near 1500, the Venetians were receiving large orders for mosque lamps.
Mosque lamp: Produced in Egypt, c. 1360.
Islamic Calligraphy
Calligraphic design was omnipresent in Islamic fine art in the Heart Ages, and is seen in all types of art including architecture and the decorative arts.
Learning Objectives
Explain the purpose and characteristics of Islamic calligraphy
Cardinal Takeaways
Key Points
- In a religion where figural representations are considered an deed of idolatry , information technology is no surprise that the discussion and its artistic representation became an important aspect in Islamic art.
- The earliest form of Standard arabic calligraphy is Kufic script .
- Besides Quranic verses, other inscriptions include verses of verse, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation.
Cardinal Terms
- Kufic script: The earliest grade of Arabic calligraphy, noted for its angular course.
- calligraphy: The art of writing messages and words with decorative strokes.
In a religion where figural representations are considered an human activity of idolatry, it is no surprise that the discussion and its artistic representation became an important attribute in Islamic art. The about important religious text in Islam is the Quran, which is believed to be the word of God. There are many examples of calligraphy and calligraphic inscriptions pertaining to verses from the Quran in Islamic arts.
ninth century Quran: This early Quran demonstrates the Kufic script, noted for its angular form and as the primeval form of Arabic calligraphy .
The earliest form of Arabic calligraphy is Kufic script, which is noted for its angular form. Arabic is read from right to left and only the consonants are written. The black ink in the paradigm higher up from a ninth century Quran marks the consonants for the reader. The carmine dots that are visible on the page note the vowels.
Yet, calligraphic design is not limited to the book in Islamic art. Calligraphy is found in several dissimilar types of fine art, such as architecture. The interior of the Dome of the Stone (Jerusalem, circa 691), for example, features calligraphic inscriptions of verses from the Quran too equally from additional sources. As in Europe in the Centre Ages , religious exhortations such as Quranic verses may exist included in secular objects, specially coins, tiles, and metalwork .
Interior view of the Dome of the Rock: The interior of The Dome of the Rock features many calligraphic inscriptions, from both the Quran and other sources; it demonstrates the importance of calligraphy in Islamic art and its use in several different media.
Calligraphic inscriptions were non exclusive to the Quran, but also included verses of poetry or recorded buying or donation. Calligraphers were highly regarded in Islam, which reinforces the importance of the word and its religious and artistic significance.
Islamic Book Painting
Manuscript painting in the late medieval Islamic world reached its height in Persia, Syrian arab republic, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire.
Learning Objectives
Hash out the origin and development of Islamic manuscript painting
Key Takeaways
Cardinal Points
- The art of the Western farsi book was born under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged past the patronage of aristocrats for big illuminated manuscripts .
- Islamic manuscript painting witnessed its first golden age in the 13th century when it was influenced by the Byzantine visual vocabulary and combined with Mongol facial types from 12th-century book frontispieces.
- Nether the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the art of manuscript illumination achieves new heights, in item in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense re-create of Ferdowsi's epic verse form that contains more 250 paintings.
- The medieval Islamic texts called Maqamat were some of the earliest coffee-table books and among the showtime Islamic art to mirror daily life.
- Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript analogy include the two books of festivals, ane from the end of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad III.
Key Terms
- Mongols: An umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
- illuminated manuscripts: A book in which the text is supplemented by the add-on of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia), and miniature illustrations.
- miniature: An illustration in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript.
- muraqqa: An album in book course containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other affair.
- Maqamat: The plural for Maqāma, an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry that often ruminates on spiritual topics.
Islamic Book Painting
Book painting in the late medieval Islamic globe reached its summit in Persia, Syrian arab republic, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire . The art form blossomed across the different regions and was inspired by a range of cultural reference points.
The evolution of book painting first began in the 13th century, when the Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, swept through the Islamic world. Upon the death of Genghis Khan, his empire was divided amongst his sons and dynasties formed: the Yuan in Mainland china, the Ilkhanids in Iran, and the Gilded Horde in northern Iran and southern Russia.
The Ilkhanids
The Ilkhanids were a rich civilization that developed under the petty khans in Iran. Architectural activity intensified as the Mongols became sedentary yet retained traces of their nomadic origins, such as the north–south orientation of buildings. Western farsi, Islamic, and East Asian traditions melded together during this menstruum and a procedure of Iranization took identify, in which construction according to previously established types, such as the Iranian-plan mosques , was resumed.
The art of the Persian book was born under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged past the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts, such every bit the Jami' al-tawarikh past Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Islamic volume painting witnessed its first gold historic period in the 13th century, mostly within Syria and Iraq.
Miniatures
The tradition of the Persian miniature (a small painting on paper) adult during this period, and it strongly influenced the Ottoman miniature of Turkey and the Mughal miniature in India. Considering illuminated manuscripts were an art of the court, and not seen in public, constraints on the depiction of the human figure were much more relaxed and the human grade is represented with frequency inside this medium.
Influence from the Byzantine visual vocabulary (blue and gold coloring, angelic and victorious motifs, symbology of curtain) was combined with Mongol facial types seen in twelfth-century book frontispieces. Chinese influences in Islamic book painting include the early adoption of the vertical format natural to a book. Motifs such as peonies, clouds, dragons, and phoenixes were adapted from China also, and incorporated into manuscript illumination.
Mongol soldiers, in Jami al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani: The Jāmi al-tawārīkh is a work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia. The breadth of the work has acquired it to be chosen the first world history and its lavish illustrations and calligraphy required the efforts of hundreds of scribes and artists.
The largest commissions of illustrated books were usually classics of Western farsi poetry, such as the Shahnameh. Under the rule of the Safavids in Islamic republic of iran (1501 to 1786), the art of manuscript illumination accomplished new heights. The most noteworthy example of this is the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi's epic verse form that contains more than 250 paintings.
The Court of Gayumars, from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp: Illuminated manuscripts of the Shahnameh were often deputed by royal patrons.
Maqamat and Albums
The medieval Islamic texts called Maqamat that were copied and illustrated past Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, were some of the earliest java-table books. They were among the first texts in Islamic fine art to hold a mirror to daily life, portraying humorous stories and showing piddling adherence to prior pictorial traditions.
In the 17th century a new type of painting developed based around the album (muraqqa). The albums were the creations of connoisseurs who bound together single sheets of paintings, drawings, or calligraphy by various artists; they were sometimes excised from earlier books and other times created as contained works.
The paintings of Reza Abbasi figure largely in this new class of book fine art. The class depicts 1 or two larger figures, typically arcadian beauties in a garden setting, and often utilize the grisaille techniques previously used for background edge paintings .
Mughal and Ottoman Manuscripts
The Mughals and Ottomans both produced lavish manuscripts of more recent history with the autobiographies of the Mughal emperors and purely armed forces chronicles of Turkish conquests. Portraits of rulers developed in the 16th century, and later in Persia, where they became very pop.
Mughal portraits, normally in profile, are very finely drawn in a realist manner , while the best Ottoman ones are vigorously stylized . Album miniatures typically featured picnic scenes, portraits of individuals, or (in Bharat peculiarly) animals, or arcadian youthful beauties of either sexual practice.
Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the two books of festivals, ane from the cease of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad III. These books comprise numerous illustrations and exhibit a stiff Safavid influence, perhaps inspired by books captured in the course of the Ottoman–Safavid wars of the 16th century.
Islamic Ceramics
Islamic fine art has notable achievements in ceramics that reached heights unmatched by other cultures.
Learning Objectives
Discuss how developments such as tin-opacified glazing and stonepaste ceramics made Islamic ceramics some of the most advanced of its time
Primal Takeaways
Key Points
- The showtime Islamic opaque glazes date to effectually the 8th century, and another significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics in 9th century Republic of iraq.
- Lusterwares with irised colors were either invented or considerably developed in Persia and Syria from the ninth century onward.
- The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated past Islamic potters, especially subsequently the Mongol and Timurid invasions.
- The Hispano–Moresque mode emerged in the 8th century, with more than refined production happening later on, presumably past Muslim potters working in areas reconquered by Christian kingdoms.
Key Terms
- Hispano–Moresque style: A style of Islamic pottery created in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Spain, which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles that blended Islamic and European elements.
- lusterware: A type of pottery or porcelain having an iridescent metallic glaze.
- coat: The vitreous blanket of pottery or porcelain, or a transparent or semi-transparent layer of pigment.
- ceramics: Inorganic, nonmetallic solids created by the action of heat and their subsequent cooling. Nearly common ceramics are crystalline and the earliest uses of ceramics were in pottery.
Islamic Ceramics
Islamic fine art has notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for buildings, which reached heights unmatched past other cultures . Early pottery had usually been unglazed, but a tin-opacified glazing technique was developed by Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be institute as blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to effectually the 8th century.
Another meaning contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq. The first industrial complex for glass and pottery product was built in Ar-Raqqah, Syria, in the 8th century. Other centers for innovative pottery in the Islamic world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to effectually 1600), and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).
Lusterware
Lusterware is a type of pottery or porcelain that has an irised metallic glaze. Luster first began every bit a painting technique in glassmaking , which was and so translated to pottery in Mesopotamia in the 9th century.
tenth century dish: Islamic art has very notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for walls, which reached heights unmatched by other cultures. This dish is from East Persia or Central Asia.
The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated by Islamic potters, especially subsequently the Mongol and Timurid invasions. Until the Early on Modern period, Western ceramics had niggling influence, but Islamic pottery was highly sought after in Europe, and was often copied.
An case of this is the albarello, a type of earthenware jar originally designed to agree apothecary ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of chemist's jar had its roots in the Islamic Eye East. Hispano–Moresque examples were exported to Italy, inspiring the earliest Italian examples, from 15th century Florence.
Hispano–Moresque Style
The Hispano–Moresque way emerged in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Spain, in the eighth century, nether Egyptian influence. More refined production happened much later, presumably by Muslim potters who worked in the areas reconquered by the Christian kingdoms.
The Hispano–Moresque style mixed Islamic and European elements in its designs and was exported to neighboring European countries. The manner introduced two ceramic techniques to Europe:
- Glazing with an opaque white tin-glaze.
- Painting in metal lusters.
Ottoman Iznik pottery produced most of the finest ceramics of the 16th century—tiles and large vessels boldly busy with floral motifs that were influenced past Chinese Yuan and Ming ceramics. These were withal in earthenware, since porcelain was not made in Islamic countries until modern times.
The medieval Islamic world also painted pottery with brute and homo imagery . Examples are found throughout the medieval Islamic world, peculiarly in Persia and Egypt.
Islamic Textiles
The virtually important textile produced in the Medieval and Early Mod Islamic Empires was the carpet.
Learning Objectives
Discuss the making and designs of Islamic textiles
Cardinal Takeaways
Key Points
- The product and trade of textiles pre-dates Islam , and had long been important to Centre Eastern cultures and cities, many of which flourished due to the Silk Road .
- When the Islamic dynasties formed and grew more powerful they gained control over cloth production in the region, which was arguably the near important arts and crafts of the era.
Key Terms
- textile arts: The production of arts and crafts that utilize plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to create objects.
Islam and the Textile Arts
The cloth arts refer to the production of arts and crafts that employ plant, animal, or constructed fibers to create objects. These objects tin be for everyday apply, or they can be decorative and luxury items. The production and trade of textiles pre-dates Islam, and had long been important to Middle Eastern cultures and cities, many of which flourished due to the Silk Road.
When the Islamic dynasties formed and grew more powerful they gained control over textile production in the region, which was arguably the near important craft of the era. The near important textile produced in Medieval and Early on Modern Islamic Empires was the carpet.
The Ottoman Empire and Rug Production
The fine art of rug weaving was particularly important in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman state was founded past Turkish tribes in northwestern Anatolia in 1299 and became an empire in 1453 after the momentous conquest of Constantinople.
Stretching across Asia, Europe, and Africa, the Empire was vast and long lived, lasting until 1922 when the monarchy was abolished in Turkey. Within the Ottoman Empire, carpets were immensely valued every bit decorative furnishings and for their practical value . They were used not just on floors but as well as wall and door hangings, where they provided boosted insulation.
These intricately knotted carpets were made of silk, or a combination of silk and cotton wool, and were often rich in religious and other symbolism. Hereke silk carpets, which were made in the littoral town of Hereke, were the most valued of the Ottoman carpets because of their fine weave. The Hereke carpets were typically used to replenish royal palaces.
Carpeting and interior of the Harem room in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul: The Ottoman Turks were famed for the quality of their finely woven and intricately knotted silk carpets.
Farsi Carpets
The Iranian Safavid Empire (1501–1786) is distinguished from the Mughal and Ottoman dynasties past the Shia faith of its shahs, which was the majority Islamic denomination in Persia. Safavid art is contributed to several aesthetic traditions, particularly to the material arts.
In the sixteenth century, carpet weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant craft to a well-executed industry that used specialized design and manufacturing techniques on quality fibers such as silk. The carpets of Ardabil, for example, were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty and are now considered to exist the best examples of classical Persian weaving, particularly for their utilise of graphical perspective.
Textiles became a large export, and Persian weaving became 1 of the about popular imported goods of Europe. Islamic carpets were a luxury item in Europe and there are several examples of European Renaissance paintings that certificate the presence of Islamic textiles in European homes during that time.
The Ardabil Carpeting, Persia, 1540: The Ardabil Carpet is the finest example of 16th century Persian carpet production.
Indonesian Batik
Islamic textile production, however, was non express to the carpet. Royal factories were founded for the purpose of fabric production that besides included cloth and garments.
The development and refinement of Indonesian batik textile was closely linked to Islam. The Islamic prohibition on certain images encouraged batik blueprint to become more than abstract and intricate. Realistic depictions of animals and humans are rare on traditional batik, but serpents, puppet-shaped humans, and the Garuda of pre-Islamic mythology are all commonplace.
Although its beingness in Indonesia pre-dates Islam, batik reached its high point in the royal Muslim courts, such as Mataram and Yogyakarta, whose Muslim rulers encouraged and patronized batik production. Today, batik has undergone a revival, and cloths are used for other purposes too wearing, such as wrapping the Quran.
Javanese court batik: The evolution and refinement of Indonesian batik cloth was closely linked to Islam.
Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/introduction-to-islamic-art/