Middle+East+and+Islam

Art of the Middle East and Islam Chapter 12 Islamic art is often defined in art books as being an art whose boundaries are not geographical but theological. That is, this style of art called Islamic, was produced in many different geographic regions whose diverse cultures were unified through the religion of Islam. This is correct.Then these same books typically cite the Islamic ban on figural representation as a defining characteristic of the style. Next, they give some explanation as to why they believe that figural art was created in these areas, anyway. Finally, they go on to discuss the figural pieces right alongside the non-figural pieces as examples of Islamic Art. This is incorrect. Islam still forbids the representation of figures and so, naturally, to call any art which contains figural representation "Islamic” is erroneous and offensive to Moslems (believers). For this reason, on this chapter at least, we will make a distinction between the figural representations and the non-figural pieces, which may be properly termed and discussed as Islamic art. Islam began as a religious movement in early 7th century Arabia and quickly spread throughout the Middle East. Before the next century Muslims had conquered and converted Byzantium and Persia, as well as parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. For the next six centuries, until the Mongol nomads sacked the Muslim capital of Baghdad in 1258, the nation of Islam was the world's largest empire and the site of a great cultural flowering.
 * A New Culture **

** Synthesis of many cultures ** This Islamic culture linked for the first time in history, such varied and distant peoples as Spaniards, Africans, Persians, Turks, Egyptians and Indians. The uniting of so many diverse cultures under one flag and one religion had the advantage of quickly disseminating the latest and best discoveries to all parts of the realm. Paper making from China, "Arabic" numerals from India, classical Greek science and philosophy translations, were all shared. In medicine the Muslims enhanced Greek theory by practical observation and clinical experience. Significant contributions were also made in chemistry, physics and mathematics. These diverse influences also encouraged new developments in the various fields of art.

Islamic contributions to different artistic fields: T o the early architects of the mosque we may attribute the development of the pointed arch, the brick dome, and brick vaulted arcades. Unique to Islamic architecture are the minaret, a tower from which the faithful are called to worship, and the //gumbat, turbe// or tomb tower. ||
 * ** Architecture **

** Use of script in designs ** J ust as the universal adoption of Arabic script aided considerably in the melding of these various cultures into one, the use of script as an artistic motif melded the art of these diverse peoples into a distinctive style. Muslims view Arabic as the sacred language and the writing of the Word as the highest form of art. Calligraphers hold a place of honor among Islamic artists. Two basic types of script are utilized in decoration: //kufic//, a very stylized, rather angular type of lettering and //naskhi//, a rounded cursive, flowing and easier to read. Also famous throughout the world were Islamic textiles, especially silks; these rich fabrics were celebrated for their texture, colors and woven patterns, which included calligraphy, abstracted plants and vine scrolls. Gold and silver threads often played a significant role amongst a riot of rich colors. ||
 * ** Silks **

** Ban on figural representation **

The Islamic Hadith or Traditions forbade the use of animal or human figures from religious art. Instead, Islamic artists created rhythmic patterns of script, geometric designs, or abstracted plant and floral forms. ||

In metalwork, Muslim artisans crafted elaborate boxes, basins, bowls, jugs and incense burners decorated with arabesques, inscriptions, and other highly stylized plant forms. These artisans specialized in brass and bronze, luxuriously inlaid with gold, silver and copper. || ** Abstraction or stylization ** The most famous Islamic motif, the arabesque, is a highly stylized version of a popular classical ornament, the acanthus plant's curving leaf. One way to stylize vegetation was to render it flattened, without light or shadow. Another was to create imaginary plants made up of elements borrowed from different types of vegetation. Finally an artist would isolate one part of the plant, repeat and rearrange it into an interlacing design. || The carpets of Islamic regions are world-renowned for their great beauty and technical excellence. Initially a peasant industry carpets were used not only as floor coverings, but as wall hangings, storage bags, cushions, blankets, prayer rugs, and saddle covers. The carpet styles of various regions developed independently of one another, employing different motifs and favoring certain color schemes. Severe geometric abstractions characterized Caucasian carpets. || Islamic potters strove to equal in technical excellence the very fine wares then coming from China. Unfortunately they lacked the correct type of clay for the most delicate pieces. Despite this handicap they succeeded in creating pieces of great beauty and developed many original decorative techniques including lustre ware and a method of polychrome painted ware called //Minai//. These same decorative techniques were utilized in tile making, and in this industry at least, the Muslims were unsurpassed. || One final characteristic of Islamic art, which is by no means unique to the style, but nonetheless notable, is the typical use of a very formal balance. The principles of balance and symmetry are strictly observed. In order to achieve symmetry the artist will repeat the same exact elements on both halves of a piece of art in reversed order, so that both halves mirror one another. Alternatively, a basic pattern may be constantly repeated across an expanse or around a central design or medallion. ||
 * Metalwork **
 * Carpets **
 * Carpets **
 * Ceramics **
 * ** Formal balance **

No ancient canvases or wood panel paintings of Islamic origin have been found. However, excavations have uncovered fragmented wall paintings of a secular nature and Muslims are responsible for a great number of illuminations, small paintings on paper which serve as illustrations for books. || ** A Humble Art ** Islamic designs are created with rather humble aspirations; to enrich an environment or to beautify an object. They seek to enhance rather than to dominate. Islamic artists are not trying to reveal their own personality or to create art which tells a story of its own. This art willingly takes a secondary role because to Muslims, the lead roles were cast long ago. Allah is the personality of Islamic art and the Quar'n is the story.
 * ** Painting **

Geometric motifs were popular with Islamic artists and designers in all parts of the world, for decorating almost every surface, whether walls or floors, pots or lamps, book covers or textiles. As Islam spread from nation to nation and region to region, Islamic artists combined their penchant for geometry with existing traditions, creating a new and distinctive Islamic art. This art expressed the logic and order inherent in the Islamic vision of the universe. The wide spectrum of intellectual treasures allowed Islamic scholars to quickly embrace Greek philosophy and mathematics, translating and disseminating this knowledge for posterity. The works of Euclid and Pythagoras were among the first to be translated into Arabic. The study of geometry also fed an ardent preoccupation with the stars and astronomy. All this in turn nourished the Arabic passion for creating infinite, decorative patterns. The cultivation of mathematical analysis, in particular, had a harmonizing effect. Driven by the religious passion for abstraction and the related doctrine of unity -- al-tawhid, the Muslim intellectuals recognized in geometry the unifying intermediary between the material and the spiritual world. The development of this new distinctive art, in part may have been due to the discouragement of images in Islam on basis that it could lead to idolatry. For the Muslim, in recognizing the reality of the fundamental formula of Islam: "There is no divinity other than God". He sees in figurative art, a fundamental error or illusion in projecting the nature of the absolute into the relative, by attributing to the relative an autonomy that does not belong to it. In this way, Islamic artists did not seek to express themselves as such, but rather aimed to ennoble matter. Whilst this tradition may have frustrated some Islamic artists, others took up the challenge and became the greatest pattern makers of their time. Instead of covering buildings and other surfaces with human figures, they developed complex geometric decorative designs, as well as intricate patterns of vegetal ornament (such as the arabesque), with which to adorn palaces and mosques and other public places. Alternatively, the development of infinitely repeating patterns can represent the unchanging laws of God. Muslims are expected to observe certain rules as were originally set forth by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), characterized by the "Pillars of Faith". In this way the rules of construction of geometric patterns provide a visual analogy to religious rules of behavior.
 * ISLAMIC PATTERNS & GEOMETRY**

"... as the soul of an individual seeks sources and reasons for its existence it is led inward and away from the three-dimensional world towards fewer and more comprehensive ideas and principles" (Critchlow) Both the contemplation of and the creative skill in making patterns lead in their own way to an understanding of the perfections of Universal Nature as it moves the elements. Islamic pattern, unique as an art form, is also unitary in its aim and function. Symbols can exhaust verbal explanation but verbal explanation can in no way exhaust symbols -and the symbols inherent in Islamic pattern and geometry are directed towards that undifferentiated unity. Thus, the circles, and its centre, are the point at which all Islamic patterns begin and is an apt symbol of a religion that emphasizes one God, symbolizing also, the role of Mecca, the center of Islam, toward which all Moslems face in prayer. The circle has always been regarded as a symbol of eternity, without being and without end, and is not only the perfect expression of justice-equality in all directions in a finite domain--but also the most beautiful parent of all polygons, both containing and underlying them. From the circle come three fundamental figures in Islamic art, the triangle, square and hexagon. The triangle by tradition is symbolic of human consciousness and the principle of harmony. The square, the symbol of physical experience and the physical world-or materiality-and the hexagon, of Heaven. Another symbol prevalent in Islamic art is the star and has been the chosen motif for many Islamic decorations. In Islamic iconography the star is a regular geometric shape that symbolizes equal radiation in all directions from a central point. All regular stars -- whether they have 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16 points -- are created by a division of a circle into equal parts. The center of the star is center of the circle from which it came, and its points touch the circumference of the circle. The rays of a star reach out in all directions, making the star a fitting symbol for the spread of Islam. One such use of the of the star in mosaics is in 'God's spider web', the very name of which evokes the 'miracle of the spider': When the Prophet (pbuh), to escape his persecutors, fled from Mecca, he and his companion Abu Bakr hid for three days and three nights in a cave. The hostile Meccans rode out in search of them, and on the first morning they reached the entrance to the cave. But a spider had spun its net across it, a dove had laid its eggs on the threshold, and a wild rose-bush had stretched out its blossoming branches, so that the pursuers thought that no one could possibly have recently entered the cave. The mosaic spider's web, however, resembles its model only remotely. It is in fact a geometrical rosette, which begins as a star and then extends outwards in interlacing bands that follow a rigorous plan, and form a rich extensive network. Several such complete designs can intertwine with one another on one surface, and then they form, especially when they originate in stars with varying numbers of rays, a shimmering planetarium, in which each line starts from a centre and leads to a centre, a motif that once again strongly evokes the Islamic idea of omnipresent unity. Even though the geometric patterns, consisted of, or were generated from, such simple forms as the circle and the square, they were combined, duplicated, interlaced, and arranged in intricate combinations, becoming one of the most distinguishing features of Islamic art. However, these complex patterns seem to embody a refusal to adhere strictly to the rules of geometry. As a matter of fact, geometric ornamentation in Islamic art suggests a remarkable amount of freedom; in its repetition and complexity, it offers the possibility of infinite growth and can accommodate the incorporation of other types of ornamentation as well. In terms of their abstractness, repetitive motifs, and symmetry, geometric patterns have much in common with the so-called arabesque style seen in many vegetal designs. Calligraphic ornamentation also appears in conjunction with geometric patterns. Many of the patterns used in Islamic art look similar, even though they decorate different objects. They are two dimensional both in form and intent and are made up of a small number of repeated geometric elements that create a complex whole by repeating a few elements and. This practical and useful level of operation of archetypal expressions in no way diminishes or reduces their effectiveness as symbols, on the contrary it merely reinforces the fact that what we take to be simple and 'in the nature of things' has become profound to the point of us becoming oblivious to it, in much the same way that we find ourselves in an environment with a great deal of noise for any appreciable length of time we cut out our awareness of that noise.
 * Pattern & symbols

"Wisdom reveals herself in the dialect of the Greeks, the craftsmanship of the Chinese, and the language of the Arabs." (Arab Proverb) For nearly 14 centuries, calligraphy has been the most important medium of artistic expression in Islamic culture. This is due to it being the noblest of the visual arts in the world of Islam, for it is the writing of the Qur'an that is sacred art //par excellence//. It plays a part more or less analogous to that of the icon in Christian art, for it represents the visible body of the Divine word. Thus calligraphy itself was considered a major art - great calligraphers, who introduced new styles of forming the script, were more famous than great painters, and calligraphy was not only the affair of the craftsman, it was also practiced by many learned people and even by sultans. Arabic is the language of Islam. It is the language in which the Holy Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture, was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) by God; thus, daily Muslim life vibrates with its sacred formulae. Quranic inscriptions, whether engraved in stucco, carved in wood, or chiseled in ceramic tiles, have something of the holiness of the Quranic words which passes over into the writing that embodies them. Arabic is written from right to left; this is as much to say that the writing runs back from the field of action towards the heart. It is the language which binds Muslims of all times and places together in a single cohesive brotherhood. Over the centuries, many different scripts have evolved in various regions of the Muslim world. Its smooth linking of its characters when forming words has added to the sense of continuity of design, which parallelism of form has already produced. A band of Arabic writing marching across a door or circling around a platter could thus replace a border in creating the impression of an integrated unit but without putting an end to its sense of indefinite extendibility. The friezes of inscriptions crowning the inner walls of a hall of prayer, or surrounding mihrab, recall to the believer, as much by their rhythm and their hieratic form as by their meaning, the majestic and forceful current of the Quranic language. This preoccupation with beautiful writing extended to all arts-including secular manuscripts; inscriptions on palaces; and those applied to metalwork, pottery, stone, glass, wood, and textiles-and to non-Arabic-speaking peoples within the Islamic commonwealth whose languages-such as Persian, Turkish, and Urdu-were written in the Arabic script. The term Kufic means "the script of Kufah," an Islamic city founded in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) in AD 638. Kufic is a more or less square and rectilinear script characterized by its heavy, bold, and lapidary style. Its letters are generally thick, squat, and unslanted, and it was particularly suitable for writing on stone or metal, for painting or carving inscriptions on the walls of mosques, and for lettering on coins. Professional copyists employed a particular form of Kufic for reproducing the earliest copies of the Qur'an that have survived. The writing is frequently large, especially in the early examples, so that there may be as few as three lines to a single page. The script can hardly be described as stiff and angular; rather, the pace is majestic and measured. With the high development of Arabic calligraphy, Kufic writing became an exceptionally beautiful script. From it, there were derived a number of other styles, chiefly medieval, in North and Central Africa, Spain, and northern Arabia. Naskh, which means "copying," was developed in the 10th century, and refined into a fine art form in Turkey in the 16th century. Since then it became generally accepted for writing the Qur'an and has remained to be perhaps the most popular script in the Arab world. It is a cursive script based on certain laws governing the proportions between the letters. Naskh is legible and clear and was adapted as the preferred style for typesetting and printing. It is a small script whose lines are thin and letter shapes are round. Naskhi was always employed chiefly for writing on papyrus and in time, it evolved into innumerable styles and varieties, including the ta'liq, the riqa', and the diwani scripts, and became the parent of the modern Arabic writing. The Thuluth script was first formulated in the 7th century during the Umayyad caliphate, but it did not develop fully until the late 9th century. The name means 'a third' -- perhaps because of the proportion of straight lines to curves, or perhaps because the script was a third the size of another popular contemporary script. Though rarely used for writing the Holy Qur'an, Thuluth has enjoyed enormous popularity as an ornamental script for calligraphic inscriptions, titles, headings, and colophons. It is still the most important of all the ornamental scripts and was used on some of the functions of the early Kufic script; it was used to write surah headings, religious inscriptions, and princely titles and epigraphs. It was also used for many of the large copies of the Koran produced from the 13th century. The term ta'liq means "suspension" and aptly describes the tendency of each word to drop down from its preceding one. Designed specifically to meet the needs of the Persian language, Ta'liq was used widely for royal as well as daily correspondence until the 14th century, when it was replaced by Nasta'liq. Nasta'liq was the predominant style of Persian calligraphy during the 15th and 16th centuries. Nasta'liq is a combination of naskhi and ta'liq. Like ta'liq, this is a fluid and elegant script, and both were popularly used for copying Persian literary works. The Diwani script is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th-early 17th century). As decorative as it was communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the line within the letter and the close juxtaposition of the letters within the word. Diwani is excessively cursive and highly structured with its letters undotted and unconventionally joined together with no vowel marks.
 * CALLIGRAPHY**
 * Kufic Script
 * Naskhi Script
 * Thuluth Script
 * Ta'liq Script
 * Diwani Script

· **Zoomorphic Script** This new mode was not a matter of script metamorphosing into living forms which are also readable letters, but of using script to delineate such forms. Seldom had the flexibility of the Arabic alphabet been so tested. This practice established itself only relatively late in Islamic art, when the taboos outlawing religious iconography had lost some of their power. Zoomorphic calligraphy developed in Ottoman Turkey, India and Qajar Iran and was known as early as 1458.