Misplaced Pages

#507492

113-814: The organization has a collection of more than 20,000 items of rare Islamic art . The collection belongs to Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah and his wife Sheikha Hussa Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who personally oversees the Kuwait National Museum . Many items, especially those from the pre-Islamic period, are housed at Amricani Cultural Centre in Kuwait. The collection includes "books, manuscripts, ceramics, glass, metal, precious stones and jewelled objects, architectural ornaments, textiles and carpets, coins and scientific instruments." The Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah cultural centres include education wings, conservation labs, and research libraries. This article related to

226-718: A prayer rug , which would provide a clean place to pray). They have been a major export to other areas since the late Middle Ages, used to cover not only floors but tables, for long a widespread European practice that is now common only in the Netherlands . Carpet weaving is a rich and deeply embedded tradition in Islamic societies, and the practice is seen in large city factories as well as in rural communities and nomadic encampments. In earlier periods, special establishments and workshops were in existence that functioned directly under court patronage. Very early Islamic carpets, i.e. those before

339-500: A 14th-century flowering of Arabic illustrated literary manuscripts in Syria and Egypt collapsed at the end of the century, leaving Persia the undisputed leader in Islamic book illustration. Many of the best miniatures from early manuscripts were removed from their books in later centuries and transferred to albums, several of which are now in Istanbul ; this complicates tracing the art history of

452-775: A central hub for preserving and continuing the ancient traditions and arts of Iran, such as Seljuk art and resistance against foreign influences. Significant developments during this period include the flourishing of Persian poetry and literature, and the emergence of renowned figures like Saadi and Hafez. Calligraphy workshops thrived in Iran, and the production and illustration of Shahnameh (the Persian epic) had widespread popularity in Shiraz. The illustrations of Shirazi books were simple and reminiscent of Seljuk-era manuscripts, characterized by flat and vibrant colors, large figures, and shallow spaces, evoking

565-411: A cup seated upon a lion throne, similar to that of Solomon. A late 12th–13th century bowl depicts an enthroned Seljuk ruler with messengers to either side and headed winged jinn . Other usage of early figurative arts are illustrations of animal fables. Many of them are of Sanskrit origin and translated into Middle Persian in the sixth century for delight, ethical discussion, and political edification. In

678-424: A design may have figurative painting of animals or single human figures. These were often part of designs mostly made up of tiles in plain colours, but with larger fully painted tiles at intervals. The larger tiles are often shaped as eight-pointed stars, and may show animals or a human head or bust, or plant or other motifs. The geometric patterns, such as modern North African zellij work, made of small tiles each of

791-616: A disregard for their original meanings and a mere adoption of the Chinese pattern. One of the renowned artists of this period is Ahmad Musa. 2) Jalayirid Maktab of Art After the death of the last Mongol Ilkhan, Abu Sa'id, power struggles ensued among Mongol dynasties, and eventually, the Jalayirid dynasty seized power and established their rule in Tabriz and Baghdad. During this period, book illustration received significant attention, and artworks from

904-407: A facade. Costumes and architecture are always those of the time. Many figures are often depicted, with those in the main scene normally rendered at the same size, and recession (depth in the picture space) indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space. More important figures may be somewhat larger than those around them, and battle scenes can be very crowded indeed. Great attention

1017-526: A few figures on a larger scale, with less attention to the background, and tended to become drawings with some tints of coloured wash, rather than fully painted. In the example at right the clothes are fully painted, and the background uses the gold grisaille style earlier reserved for marginal decoration, as in the miniature at the head of the article. Many were individual portraits, either of notable figures (but initially rarely portraits of rulers), or of idealized beautiful youths. Others were scenes of lovers in

1130-622: A fresh wave of Chinese influence, who were replaced by the Black Sheep Turkmen in 1452, followed by the White Sheep Turkmen from 1468, who were in turn replaced by the Safavid dynasty by 1501; they ruled until 1722. After a chaotic period Nader Shah took control, but there was no long-lived dynasty until the Qajar dynasty , who ruled from 1794 to 1925. It was only in the 14th century that

1243-441: A garden or picnics. From about the middle of the 16th century these types of images became dominant, but they gradually declined in quality and originality and tended towards conventional prettiness and sentimentality. Books were sometimes refurbished and added to after an interval of many years, adding or partly repainting miniatures, changing the border decoration, and making other changes, not all improvements. The Conference of

SECTION 10

#1732858974508

1356-481: A large and widespread village and nomadic industry producing work that stayed closer to traditional local designs. As well as pile carpets, kelims and other types of flat-weave or embroidered textiles were produced, for use on both floors and walls. Figurative designs, sometimes with large human figures, are very popular in Islamic countries but relatively rarely exported to the West, where abstract designs are generally what

1469-497: A more tangible influence of Chinese art, and the third category consists of paintings abundant in Chinese elements and are almost foreign in nature. The artworks of the Jalayirid period belong to the first category, where Chinese elements are hardly seen. 3) The Maktab of Shiraz During the 8th century AH (14th century CE), while the Ilkhanid and Jalayirid maktabs were flourishing in Tabriz and Baghdad, an independent artistic movement

1582-424: A museum in Kuwait is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Islamic art Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities Islamic art

1695-575: A parallel style of non-figurative ornamental decoration which was found in borders and panels in miniature pages, and spaces at the start or end of a work or section, and often in whole pages acting as frontispieces. In Islamic art this is referred to as "illumination", and manuscripts of the Quran and other religious books often included considerable number of illuminated pages. The designs reflected contemporary work in other media, in later periods being especially close to book-covers and Persian carpets , and it

1808-521: A plump rounded lower face better suited to portraying typical Central Asian or Chinese features than those of most Persians. Lighting is even, without shadows or chiaroscuro . Walls and other surfaces are shown either frontally, or as at (to modern eyes) an angle of about 45 degrees, often giving the modern viewer the unintended impression that a building is (say) hexagonal in plan. Buildings are often shown in complex views, mixing interior views through windows or "cutaways" with exterior views of other parts of

1921-575: A portion of the sky in the images. The peak of the First Tabriz art can be seen in the Demotte Shahnameh, where the influence of foreign arts is more evident. Nevertheless, this imitation gave rise to new visual patterns and concepts. For example, the dragon in Chinese art symbolizes nature and fertility, but the Iranian painter portrays Bahram fighting the dragon as a symbol of overcoming evil, indicating

2034-448: A rich tradition, especially in Persian , Mughal and Ottoman painting . These pictures were often meant to illustrate well-known historical or poetic stories. Some interpretations of Islam, however, include a ban of depiction of animate beings, also known as aniconism. Islamic aniconism stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that creation of living forms

2147-431: A show of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection, although this theory has also been disputed. East Persian pottery from the 9th to 11th centuries, decorated only with highly stylised inscriptions and called "epigraphic ware", has been described as "probably the most refined and sensitive of all Persian pottery". Large inscriptions made from tiles, sometimes with the letters raised in relief , or

2260-450: A significant genre in Persian art in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests , and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions , principally

2373-751: A significant influence on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles. From its beginnings, Islamic art has been based on the written version of the Quran and other seminal religious works, which is reflected by the important role of calligraphy, representing the word as the medium of divine revelation. Religious Islamic art has been typically characterized by the absence of figures and extensive use of calligraphic , geometric and abstract floral patterns. Nevertheless, representations of human and animal forms historically flourished in nearly all Islamic cultures, although, partly because of opposing religious sentiments, living beings in paintings were often stylized, giving rise to

SECTION 20

#1732858974508

2486-417: A single colour but different and regular shapes, are often referred to as " mosaic ", which is not strictly correct. Persian miniature A Persian miniature ( Persian : نگارگری ایرانی negârgari Irâni ) is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa . The techniques are broadly comparable to

2599-478: A single colour that are either cut to shape or are small and of a few shapes, used to create abstract geometric patterns. Later large painted schemes use tiles painted before firing with a part of the scheme – a technique requiring confidence in the consistent results of firing. Some elements, especially the letters of inscriptions, may be moulded in three-dimensional relief , and in especially in Persia certain tiles in

2712-509: A strict aversion to depiction of God throughout Islamic tradition. No Islamic artistic product has become better known outside the Islamic world than the pile carpet, more commonly referred to as the Oriental carpet ( oriental rug ). Their versatility is utilized in everyday Islamic and Muslim life, from floor coverings to architectural enrichment, from cushions to bolsters to bags and sacks of all shapes and sizes, and to religious objects (such as

2825-399: A style close to the Chinese qilin , fenghuang ( phoenix ), bixie and Chinese dragon , though they have a much more aggressive character in Islamic art, and are often seen fighting each other or natural beasts. The workshop tradition and division of labour within both an individual miniature and a book, as described above, complicates the attribution of paintings. Some are inscribed with

2938-532: A style of classical restraint and elegance, and the painters of Tabriz, a more expressive and imaginative style. Tabriz was the former capital of the Turkmen rulers, and in the early Safavid period the styles were gradually harmonized in works like the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp . But a famous unfinished miniature showing Rustam asleep, while his horse Rakhsh fights off a lion, was probably made for this manuscript, but

3051-447: A variety of decorative figural designs. Both religious and secular art objects often exhibit the same references, styles and forms. These include calligraphy, architecture, textiles and furnishings, such as carpets and woodwork. Secular arts and crafts include the production of textiles, such as clothing, carpets or tents, as well as household objects, made from metal, wood or other materials. Further, figurative miniature paintings have

3164-401: A wider audience. The Quran and other purely religious works are not known to have been illustrated in this way, though histories and other works of literature may include religiously related scenes, including those depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad , after 1500 usually without showing his face. As well as the figurative scenes in miniatures, which this article concentrates on, there was

3277-639: Is God's prerogative. Although the concept of "Islamic art" has been put into question by some modern art historians as a construct of Western cultural views, the similarities between art produced at widely different times and places in the Muslim world, especially in the Islamic Golden Age , have been sufficient to keep the term in wide use as a useful classification since the late 19th century. Scholars such as Jacelyn K. Kerner have drawn attention to its wide-ranging scope referring to more than 40 nations and to

3390-597: Is a contemporary miniaturist whose style has broadened the scope of this art. The maktab of Iranian miniature painting have been named based on the central authority of the ruling empires in the country. Wherever power and wealth were concentrated and considered the capital and seat of government, artists would come to those places willingly or sometimes forcibly. This naming and classification of Iranian miniature painting maktab have been commonly used in Western research and to some extent in Iranian studies. There may be overlaps in

3503-436: Is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide range of lands, periods, and genres, Islamic art is a concept used first by Western art historians in the late 19th century. Public Islamic art is traditionally non- representational , except for

Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah - Misplaced Pages Continue

3616-627: Is meant to include "all of the arts produced by Muslim peoples, whether connected with their religion or not." Calligraphic design is omnipresent in Islamic art, where, as in Europe in the Middle Ages , religious exhortations, including Qur'anic verses, may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles and metalwork, and most painted miniatures include some script, as do many buildings. Use of Islamic calligraphy in architecture extended significantly outside of Islamic territories; one notable example

3729-408: Is normally unclear. The scribes wrote the main text first, leaving spaces for the miniatures, presumably having made a plan for these with the artist and the librarian. The book covers were also richly decorated for luxury manuscripts, and when they too have figurative scenes these presumably used drawings by the same artists who created the miniatures. Paper was the normal material for the pages, unlike

3842-414: Is paid to the background, whether of a landscape or buildings, and the detail and freshness with which plants and animals, the fabrics of tents, hangings or carpets, or tile patterns are shown is one of the great attractions of the form. The dress of figures is equally shown with great care, although artists understandably often avoid depicting the patterned cloth that many would have worn. Animals, especially

3955-466: Is the Divan of Khwaju Kermani, which includes the signature of an artist named Junayd Baghdadi, making it the oldest known signature of an Iranian painter. In Junayd's paintings and generally in the Jalayirid maktab, the spaces expanded completely, and the paintings occupy an entire page. The figures in the images are slender and tall, and architectural spaces depict both interiors and exteriors simultaneously for

4068-540: Is the use of Chinese calligraphy of Arabic verses from the Qur'an in the Great Mosque of Xi'an . Other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic kufic and naskh scripts, which can be found adorning and enhancing the visual appeal of the walls and domes of buildings, the sides of minbars , and metalwork. Islamic calligraphy in

4181-405: Is thought that many carpet designs were created by court artists and sent to the workshops in the provinces. In later periods miniatures were increasingly created as single works to be included in albums called muraqqa , rather than illustrated books. This allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles and periods. The bright and pure colouring of

4294-583: The Gulistan and will begin to apply colour. ... All the painters are working on painting and tinting seventy-five tent-poles .... Mawlana Ali is designing a frontispiece illumination for the Shahnama . His eyes were sore for a few days." Apart from book arts, designs for tent-makers, tile-makers, woodwork and a saddle are mentioned, as is the progress of the " begim 's little chest". The ancient Persian religion of Manichaeism made considerable use of images; not only

4407-484: The Abbasid Caliphate (c. 749–1258). Prior to the early 14th century, a halo was a common symbol to designate rulers. Under Asian influence, the halo as a symbol of sacredness was replaced by a flame. Reminiscent of the Islamic prophet Solomon, rulers were often depicted as sitting on a throne endowed with religious symbols. An ivory casket carved in early eleventh century Cordova shows a Spanish Muslim ruler holding

4520-524: The Ilkhanate as a branch of the Mongol Empire , and despite the huge destruction of life and property, the new court had a galvanising effect on book painting, importing many Chinese works and probably artists, with their long-established tradition of narrative painting, and sponsoring a cultural revival and the creation of history-related literary works. The earliest known illustrated Persian manuscript under

4633-671: The Ottoman miniature in Turkey , and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent . Persian art under Islam had never completely forbidden the human figure , and in the miniature tradition the depiction of figures, often in large numbers, is central. This was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. It was therefore possible to be more free than in wall paintings or other works seen by

Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah - Misplaced Pages Continue

4746-482: The Persianate world, especially for poetry, and Turkish , with Urdu appearing in later centuries. Calligraphers usually had a higher status than other artists. For a long time, Islam was considered aniconic. Existing pictures among the Muslim royalty have been described as an "aberration" by Thomas Walker Arnold and ascribed to only a later Persinate and Turkic cultural period. However, figurative arts existed since

4859-458: The Reconquista . Armenian carpet -weaving is mentioned by many early sources, and may account for a much larger proportion of East Turkish and Caucasian production than traditionally thought. The Berber carpets of North Africa have a distinct design tradition. Apart from the products of city workshops, in touch with trading networks that might carry the carpets to markets far away, there was also

4972-484: The Western Medieval and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts . Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. Miniature painting became

5085-582: The vellum normally used in Europe for as long as the illuminated manuscript tradition lasted. The paper was highly polished, and when not given painted borders might be flecked with gold leaf. A unique survival from the Timurid period, found "pasted inconspicuously" in a muraqqa in the Topkapi Palace is thought to be a report to Baysunghur from his librarian. After a brief and high-flown introduction, "Petition from

5198-586: The 13th century, strongly influencing the Ottoman miniature of Turkey and the Mughal miniature in India. The term "Persian miniature" refers whereby to the language used to decorate the images, and should not obscure its ties to Arabic imagery. Siyah Qalam (Black Pen), frequently depicts anecdotes charged with Islamic imagery about the animal souls ( nafs ) and the " ruling soul " ( rūḥ ). Most human characters are clothed like dervishes and bearded like ascetics in Islamic tradition. Animals often feature as symbol of

5311-409: The 16th and 17th centuries are still produced in large numbers today. The description of older carpets has tended to use the names of carpet-making centres as labels, but often derived from the design rather than any actual evidence that they originated from around that centre. Research has clarified that designs were by no means always restricted to the centre they are traditionally associated with, and

5424-543: The 16th century, are extremely rare. More have survived in the West and oriental carpets in Renaissance painting from Europe are a major source of information on them, as they were valuable imports that were painted accurately. The most natural and easy designs for a carpet weaver to produce consist of straight lines and edges, and the earliest Islamic carpets to survive or be shown in paintings have geometric designs, or centre on very stylized animals, made up in this way. Since

5537-600: The 21th century, iconophobic followers of various Islamist groups , such as the Taliban , aim to destroy forms of Islamic figurative depictions. Motivated by Saudi mentors ( Wahhabism ), the Taliban launched an attack on arts in March 2001 in Afghanistan . The religious justification derives from a hadith mentioned by Sahih Bukhari . Others see the rejection of iconography as rooting in

5650-450: The 8th century, they were translated into Arabic. Although there has been a tradition of wall-paintings, especially in the Persianate world, the best-surviving and highest developed form of painting in the Islamic world is the miniature in illuminated manuscripts , or later as a single page for inclusion in a muraqqa or bound album of miniatures and calligraphy . The tradition of the Persian miniature has been dominant since about

5763-546: The 8th century, under Egyptian influence, but most of the best production was much later, by potters presumed to have been largely Muslim but working in areas reconquered by the Christian kingdoms. It mixed Islamic and European elements in its designs, and much was exported across neighbouring European countries. It had introduced two ceramic techniques to Europe : glazing with an opaque white tin-glaze , and painting in metallic lusters . Ottoman İznik pottery produced most of

SECTION 50

#1732858974508

5876-662: The 8th century. Another significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics , originating from 9th century Iraq. The first industrial complex for glass and pottery production was built in Raqqa , Syria , in the 8th century. Other centers for innovative pottery in the Islamic world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550). Lusterwares with iridescent colours may have continued pre-Islamic Roman and Byzantine techniques, but were either invented or considerably developed on pottery and glass in Persia and Syria from

5989-506: The 9th century onwards. Islamic pottery was often influenced by Chinese ceramics , whose achievements were greatly admired and emulated. This was especially the case in the periods after the Mongol invasions and those of the Timurids . Techniques, shapes and decorative motifs were all affected. Until the Early Modern period Western ceramics had very little influence, but Islamic pottery

6102-515: The Abbasid caliphate. It had less influence from Iranian art and showed a stronger inclination towards Byzantine painting and realism. However, some works exhibited influences from Sasanian and Central Asian art. 2. Seljuk Maktab : This maktab emerged during the Seljuk period and was influenced by both Iranian and Central Asian art. 3. First Tabriz Maktab (or Ilkhanid Maktab) : This maktab developed during

6215-585: The Birds miniature in the gallery below is an addition of 1600 to a manuscript of over a century earlier, and elements of the style appear to represent an effort to match the earlier miniatures in the book. The famous painting Princes of the House of Timur was first painted in 1550-55 in Persia for the exiled Mughal prince Humayun , who largely began the Mughal miniature tradition by taking back Persian miniaturists when he gained

6328-524: The Chinese, Persian painters gained much more freedom through the Chinese traditions of "unrestricted space and infinite planes". Much of the Chinese influence in Persian art is probably indirect, transmitted through Central Asia. There appear to be no Persian miniatures that are clearly the work of a Chinese artist or one trained in China itself. The most prestigious Chinese painting tradition, of literati landscape painting on scrolls, has little influence; instead

6441-402: The Ilkhanid period were collected and preserved. Despite the numerous tensions of this period, many artists, especially during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Jalayir, received patronage, with many kings themselves reciting poetry and engaging in painting. Although the artists continued the tradition of the Ilkhanid maktab, they also advanced experimental approaches. The outstanding result of this period

6554-670: The Ilkhanid period, which was a Mongol dynasty. It had significant connections with Iranian and Central Asian art. 4. First Shiraz Maktab : This maktab emerged in Shiraz and had its own distinctive style. 5. Jalairid Maktab : This maktab developed during the Jalairid dynasty and had its own unique characteristics. 6. Second Shiraz Maktab : This maktab emerged as a revival of the First Shiraz Maktab and continued its artistic traditions. 7. Herat Maktab : This maktab flourished in Herat under

6667-665: The Mongols is the Tarikh-i Jahangushay (1290), commissioned by the Mongol emir Arghun Aqa , also one of the earliest examples of "Metropolitan style" of the Mongol Ilkhanid court, followed by the 1297-1299 manuscript Manafi' al-hayawan (Ms M. 500), commissioned by Mongol ruler Ghazan . The Ilkhanids continued to migrate between summer and winter quarters, which together with other travels for war, hunting and administration, made

6780-441: The Mughal court. After this the number of illustrated book manuscript commissions falls off, and the tradition falls into over-sophistication and decline. Tabriz in the north-west of Iran is the longest established centre of production, and Baghdad (then under Persian rule) was often important. Shiraz in the south, sometimes the capital of a sub-ruler, was a centre from the late 14th century, and Herat , now in Afghanistan ,

6893-423: The Persian miniature is one of its most striking features. Normally all the pigments used are mineral-based ones which keep their bright colours very well if kept in proper conditions, the main exception being silver, mostly used to depict water, which will oxidize to a rough-edged black over time. The conventions of Persian miniatures changed slowly; faces are normally youthful and seen in three-quarters view, with

SECTION 60

#1732858974508

7006-600: The Safavid period and played a significant role in the development of Iranian miniature painting. 12. Qajar Maktab : This maktab emerged during the Qajar dynasty and had its own distinct style. 1) Tabriz Maktab of Art (First Period) With the Mongol invasion and the establishment of the Ilkhanate rule, Maragheh and Tabriz transformed into cultural centers. The Ilkhanate rule had two important consequences for Iranian painting. The first

7119-439: The Seljuk period. The technique of hatching, the depiction of clouds and mountains, the rendering of faces, composition, and shading all borrowed from Chinese art, while the use of silver color and the depiction of garments recalled Byzantine and Mesopotamian art. However, the figurative style of the human figures and their arrangement in the composition remained Iranian in nature. The scenes became more expansive, and we can even see

7232-741: The Timurid dynasty and produced remarkable works. 8. Bukhara Maktab : This maktab developed in Bukhara and had its own distinct artistic style. 9. Second Tabriz Maktab : This maktab emerged as a revival of the First Tabriz Maktab during the Safavid period and incorporated elements from various artistic traditions. 10. Qazvin Maktab : This maktab emerged in Qazvin and had its own artistic characteristics. 11. Isfahan Maktab : This maktab developed in Isfahan during

7345-521: The ancient traditions of Iranian art. In the Maktab of Shiraz, the central theme is humanity, while other motifs fill the surrounding spaces. After the death of Abu Sa'id, the last ruler of the Injou dynasty, Shiraz and some other cities became artistically independent. For instance, in cities like Behbahan, a unique style of nature illustration without human presence can be observed. During the Mozaffarid period,

7458-672: The background cut away, are found on the interiors and exteriors of many important buildings. Complex carved calligraphy also decorates buildings. For most of the Islamic period the majority of coins only showed lettering, which are often very elegant despite their small size and nature of production. The tughra or monogram of an Ottoman sultan was used extensively on official documents, with very elaborate decoration for important ones. Other single sheets of calligraphy, designed for albums, might contain short poems, Qur'anic verses, or other texts. The main languages, all using Arabic script , are Arabic , always used for Qur'anic verses, Persian in

7571-406: The background, with recession (distance from the viewer) indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space, but at essentially the same size. The colours, which are often very well preserved, are strongly contrasting, bright and clear. The tradition reached a climax in the 16th and early 17th centuries, but continued until the early 19th century, and has been revived in the 20th. Since

7684-409: The best manuscripts represent an overview of the finest work of the period. The scribes or calligraphers were normally different people, on the whole regarded as having a rather higher status than the artists - their names are more likely to be noted in the manuscript. Royal librarians probably played a significant role in managing the commissions; the extent of direct involvement by the ruler himself

7797-426: The best work in the 16th century, in tiles and large vessels boldly decorated with floral motifs influenced, once again, by Chinese Yuan and Ming ceramics. These were still in earthenware; there was no porcelain made in Islamic countries until modern times, though Chinese porcelain was imported and admired. The medieval Islamic world also had pottery with painted animal and human imagery. Examples are found throughout

7910-570: The classic period artists were exclusively male, and normally grouped in workshops, of which the royal workshop (not necessarily in a single building) was much the most prestigious, recruiting talented artists from the bazaar workshops in the major cities. However the nature of the royal workshop remains unclear, as some manuscripts are recorded as being worked on in different cities, rulers often took artists with them on their travels, and at least some artists were able to work on private commissions. As in Europe, sons very often followed their father into

8023-640: The closest parallels are with wall-paintings and motifs such as clouds and dragons found in Chinese pottery, textiles, and other decorative arts. The format and composition of the Persian miniature received strong influence from Chinese paintings. The Ilkhanid rulers did not convert to Islam for several decades, meanwhile remaining Tantric Buddhists or Christians (usually Nestorians ). While very few traces now remain, Buddhist and Christian images were probably easily available to Persian artists at this period. Especially in Ilkhanid and Timurid Mongol - Persian mythological miniatures, mythical beasts were portrayed in

8136-399: The clouds in the normally small area of sky left above the landscape, are depicted in conventions derived from Chinese art. Even when a scene in a palace is shown, the viewpoint often appears to be from a point some metres in the air. The earliest miniatures appeared unframed horizontally across the page in the middle of text, following Byzantine and Arabic precedents, but in the 14th century

8249-490: The depiction of lyrical poems (ghazals) received more attention, and the spaces became more expansive. Although the Maktab of Shiraz had its distinct path compared to Tabriz and Baghdad, there was artistic and cultural exchange between these cities, influencing one another. It can be inferred that the vibrant colors of the Maktab of Shiraz influenced Baghdad and Tabriz, while in return, the spacious compositions from Tabriz and Baghdad reached Shiraz. The production of books in Shiraz

8362-687: The east and north. Before the Mongol Ikhanid dynasty (1253-1353), narrative representations are only known in Persia in architecture and ceramics. With the large tradition of Arabic manuscripts in the 12th-13th centuries, illustrated manuscripts probably also existed in Persia, but the only Persian-language illustrated manuscript securely datable to before Mongol conquest is the Varka and Golshah , attributable to Konya in Central Anatolia c.1250. The traumatic Mongol invasion of 1219 onwards established

8475-548: The first time. In this period, books were written in a new style of Nasta'liq calligraphy, and the colors became more vibrant compared to the Ilkhanid period, while the issue of the relationship between humans and nature was resolved. Overall, the artworks of the Ilkhanid and Jalayirid periods can be divided into three main categories. The first category consists of pure Iranian works, which, even if influenced by other arts, are combined with Iranian elements. The second category includes paintings that combine Iranian and Chinese art, with

8588-533: The flowing loops and curves of the arabesque are central to Islamic art, the interaction and tension between these two styles was long a major feature of carpet design. There are a few survivals of the grand Egyptian 16th century carpets, including one almost as good as new discovered in the attic of the Pitti Palace in Florence, whose complex patterns of octagon roundels and stars, in just a few colours, shimmer before

8701-468: The form of painting or sculptures is sometimes referred to as Quranic art . The various forms of traditional Arabic calligraphy and decoration of the manuscripts used for written versions of the Qur'an represent a central tradition of Islamic visual art. The arabesque is often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and infinite nature of God. Mistakes in repetitions may be intentionally introduced as

8814-623: The formative stage of Islam. Such arts have been boasted by Arabic speaking caliphats of Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordova, inspired by Sasanid and Byzantine models. Figurative arts enjoyed prestige among both orthodox Sunni circles as well as Shia Muslims. The disappearance of royal-sponsored figurative arts in Arabic-speaking lands at a later period is best explained by the overthrow of their ruling dynasties and reduction of most their territories to Ottoman provincial dependencies, not by religious prohibition. Another drawback for Arnold's argument against

8927-566: The growing public interest both in Western as well as, more recently, in Muslim societies. Further, the List of Islamic museums bears witness to this art historical term having found wide acceptance. The Encyclopædia Britannica defines "Islamic arts" as including visual arts, literature, performing arts and music that "virtually defies any comprehensive definition". In a strict sense, the term might only refer to artistic manifestations that are closely related to religious practice. Most often, however, it

9040-427: The historical periods discussed later due to the dispersion of governments and their capitals within the realm of Iranian culture and art, rather than their political territories. Some of the Iranian miniature painting maktab include the following (in chronological order): 1. Baghdad Maktab (or Abbasid Maktab) : This maktab had a relatively short period during the late 12th century in the capital city of Baghdad under

9153-418: The horses that very often appear, are mostly shown sideways on; even the love-stories that constitute much of the classic material illustrated are conducted largely in the saddle, as far as the prince-protagonist is concerned. Landscapes are very often mountainous (the plains that make up much of Persia are rarely attempted), this being indicated by a high undulating horizon, and outcrops of bare rock which, like

9266-639: The image, or be omitted completely. Another later development was the album miniature, conceived as a single picture rather than a book illustration, though such images may be accompanied by short lyric poems. The withdrawal of Shah Tahmasp I from commissioning illustrated books in the 1540s probably encouraged artists to transfer to these cheaper works for a wider circle of patrons. Albums or muraqqas were assembled by collectors with album miniatures, specimen pages of calligraphy, and miniatures taken from older books, to which border paintings were often added when they were remounted. Album miniatures usually showed

9379-437: The involvement of designers used to the latest court style in the general Persian tradition. These use a design style shared with non-figurative Islamic illumination and other media, often with a large central gul motif, and always with wide and strongly demarcated borders. The grand designs of the workshops patronized by the court spread out to smaller carpets for the merely wealthy and for export, and designs close to those of

9492-498: The leading miniaturist of the late Timurid era, and founder of the Safavid school, remained supreme in the Persianate world, and at least some of his work, and style, can be identified with a degree of confidence, despite a good deal of continuing scholarly debate. Sultan Mohammed , Mir Sayyid Ali , and Aqa Mirak , were leading painters of the next generation, the Safavid culmination of the classic style, whose attributed works are found together in several manuscripts. Abd al-Samad

9605-449: The lower and untaimed self. The abstract forces to tame the physical body are depicted in the forms of demons ( dīv ) and angels . Chinese influences included the early adoption of the vertical format natural to a book, which led to the development of a birds-eye view where a very carefully depicted background of hilly landscape or palace buildings rises up to leave only a small area of sky. The figures are arranged in different planes on

9718-485: The market expects. Islamic art has very notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for walls, which in the absence of wall-paintings were taken to heights unmatched by other cultures. Early pottery is often unglazed, but tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra , dating to around

9831-716: The medieval Islamic world, particularly in Persia and Egypt . The earliest grand Islamic buildings, like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem , had interior walls decorated with mosaics in the Byzantine style, but without human figures. From the 9th century onwards the distinctive Islamic tradition of glazed and brightly coloured tiling for interior and exterior walls and domes developed. Some earlier schemes create designs using mixtures of tiles each of

9944-572: The mid-20th century following the departure of the Dutch colonialists, several Indonesian painters combined Abstract Expressionism with geometric forms, Indonesian symbols and Islamic calligraphy , creating religiously influenced Abstract Art . The spiritual centre of this movement is the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), with leading teachers such as A.D. Pirous , Ahmad Sadali , Mochtar Apin and Umi Dachlan as their main representatives. In

10057-422: The most humble servants of the royal library, whose eyes are as expectant of the dust from the hooves of the regal steed as the ears of those who fast are for the cry of Allahu akbar ..." it continues with very businesslike and detailed notes on what each of some twenty-five named artists, scribes and craftsmen has been up to over a period of perhaps a week: "Amir Khalil has finished the waves in two sea-scenes of

10170-469: The name of the artist, sometimes as part of the picture itself, for example as if painted on tiles in a building, but more often as a note added on the page or elsewhere; where and when being often uncertain. Because of the nature of the works, literary and historical references to artists, even if they are relied upon, usually do not enable specific paintings to be identified, though there are exceptions. The reputation of Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād Herawī , or Behzād,

10283-690: The notable events of this period was the creation of a cultural complex near Tabriz, known as Rab'-e Rashidi, by the order of Rashid al-Din Fazlullah Hamadani, the vizier of Ghazan Khan. This place served as a gathering place for Iranian and foreign artists, scholars, and calligraphers. One of the works produced in Rab'-e Rashidi is the Comprehensive Book of Chronicles, which was worked on by numerous artists in various styles. The First Tabriz style brought about fundamental changes compared to its previous period,

10396-568: The origin of many carpets remains unclear. As well as the major Persian, Turkish and Arab centres, carpets were also made across Central Asia, in India, and in Spain and the Balkans. Spanish carpets, which sometimes interrupted typical Islamic patterns to include coats of arms , enjoyed high prestige in Europe, being commissioned by royalty and for the Papal Palace, Avignon , and the industry continued after

10509-410: The period. Miniatures from the Safavid and later periods are far more common than earlier ones, but although some prefer the simpler elegance of the early 15th and 16th centuries, most art historians agree in seeing a rise in quality up to the mid-16th century, culminating in a series of superb royal commissions by the Safavid court, such as the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (or Houghton Shahnameh). There

10622-426: The picture area, which is enclosed in a frame, eventually of several ruled lines with a broader band of gold or colour. The rest of the page is often decorated with dense designs of plants and animals in a muted grisaille , often gold and brown; text pages without miniatures often also have such borders. In later manuscripts, elements of the miniature begin to expand beyond the frame, which may disappear on one side of

10735-456: The portable form of the illustrated book the most suitable vehicle for painting, as it also was for mobile European medieval rulers. The Great Mongol Shahnameh , now dispersed, is the outstanding manuscript of the following period. After 1335 the Ilkhanate split into several warring dynasties, all swept aside by the new invasion of Timur from 1381. He established the Timurid dynasty , bringing

10848-571: The practice began of commissioning illustrated copies of classic works of Persian poetry , above all the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi (940-1020) and the Khamsa of Nizami , which were to contain many of the finest miniatures. Previously book illustration, of works in both Arabic and Persian, had been concentrated in practical and scientific treatises, often following at several removes the Byzantine miniatures copied when ancient Greek books were translated. However

10961-625: The religion was repressed strongly from the Sassanid era and onwards so that only tiny fragments of Manichean art survive. These no doubt influenced the continuing Persian tradition, but little can be said about how. It is also known that Sassanid palaces had wall-paintings, but only fragments of these have survived. There are narrative scenes in pottery ( Mina'i ceramics), though it is hard to judge how these relate to lost contemporary book painting. Recent scholarship has noted that, although surviving early examples are now uncommon, human figurative art

11074-474: The religious value of figurative arts in Islamic culture is, that a sizable number of rulers ordering figurative arts in the 14th-17th century, were religious zealots proclaiming to spread and enforce the laws of the sharia. Although not many early examples survived, human figurative art was a continuous tradition in Islamic lands, notably several of the Umayyad Desert Castles (c. 660–750), and during

11187-428: The throne. It was then twice updated in India (c.1605 and 1628) to show later generations of the royal house. The dimensions of the manuscripts covered a range not dissimilar to typical modern books, though with a more vertical ratio; many were as small as a modern paperback, others larger. Shah Tamasp's Shahnameh stood 47 cm high, and one exceptional Shahnameh from Tabriz of c. 1585 stood 53 cm high. In

11300-455: The vertical format was introduced, perhaps influenced by Chinese scroll-paintings. This is used in all the luxury manuscripts for the court that constitute the most famous Persian manuscripts, and the vertical format dictates many characteristics of the style. The miniatures normally occupy a full page, later sometimes spreading across two pages to regain a square or horizontal "landscape" format. There are often panels of text or captions inside

11413-647: The viewer. Production of this style of carpet began under the Mamluks but continued after the Ottomans conquered Egypt. The other sophisticated tradition was the Persian carpet which reached its peak in the 16th and early 17th century in works like the Ardabil Carpet and Coronation Carpet ; during this century the Ottoman and Mughal courts also began to sponsor the making in their domains of large formal carpets, evidently with

11526-761: The widespread use of plant forms, usually in varieties of the spiralling arabesque . These are often combined with Islamic calligraphy , geometric patterns in styles that are typically found in a wide variety of media, from small objects in ceramic or metalwork to large decorative schemes in tiling on the outside and inside of large buildings, including mosques . Other forms of Islamic art include Islamic miniature painting, artefacts like Islamic glass or pottery , and textile arts, such as carpets and embroidery . The early developments of Islamic art were influenced by Roman art , Early Christian art (particularly Byzantine art ), and Sassanian art, with later influences from Central Asian nomadic traditions. Chinese art had

11639-513: The workshop, but boys showing talent from any background might be recruited; at least one notable painter was born a slave. There were some highly placed amateur artists, including Shah Tahmasp I (reigned 1524–1576), who was also one of the greatest patrons of miniatures. Persian artists were highly sought after by other Islamic courts, especially those of the Ottoman and Mughal Empires , whose own traditions of miniature were based on Persian painting but developed rather different styles. The work

11752-466: Was a crisis in the 1540s when Shah Tahmasp I , previously a patron on a large scale, ceased to commission works, apparently losing interest in painting. Some of his artists went to the court of his nephew Ibrahim Mirza , governor of Mashad from 1556, where there was a brief flowering of painting until the Shah fell out with his nephew in 1565, including a Haft Awrang , the "Freer Jami". Other artists went to

11865-407: Was also a continuous tradition in Islamic lands in secular contexts (such as literature, science, and history); as early as the 9th century, such art flourished during the Abbasid Caliphate (c. 749-1258, across Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Mesopotamia, and Persia). The great period of the Persian miniature began when Persia was ruled by a succession of foreign dynasties, who came from

11978-540: Was important in the periods when it was controlled from Persia, especially when the Timurid prince Baysonqor was governor in the 1420s; he was then the leading patron in Persia, commissioning the Baysonghor Shahnameh and other works. Each centre developed its own style, which were largely reconciled and combined under the Safavids. The schools of Herat, where the Timurid royal workshops usually were, had developed

12091-529: Was never finished and bound in, perhaps because its vigorous Tabriz style did not please Tahmasp. It appears to be by Sultan Mohammad, whose later works in the manuscript show a style adapted to the court style of Bizhad . It is now in the British Museum . Before Chinese influence was introduced, figures were tied to the ground line and included "backgrounds of solid color", or in "clear accordance with indigenous artistic traditions". However, once influenced by

12204-433: Was often divided between the main painter, who drew the outlines, and less senior painters who coloured in the drawing. In Mughal miniatures at least, a third artist might do just the faces. Then there might be the border paintings; in most books using them these are by far the largest area of painted material as they occur on text pages as well. The miniatures in a book were often divided up between different artists, so that

12317-613: Was one of the most successful Persian painters recruited by the Mughal Emperors to work in India. In the next generation, Reza Abbasi worked in the Late Safavid period producing mostly album miniatures, and his style was continued by many later painters. In the 19th century, the miniatures of Abu'l-Hasan Khan Gaffari ( Sani ol molk ), active in Qajar Persia, showed originality, naturalism, and technical perfection. Mahmoud Farshchian

12430-509: Was taking place in the city of Shiraz. When the Mongols invaded, the rulers of Fars managed to protect the city through diplomacy and intelligence, allowing it to continue its existence under the same previous rulers. Many Iranian artists and intellectuals sought refuge in Shiraz under the patronage of local dynasties, namely the Al-e Injou and later the Al-e Mozaffar. Consequently, Shiraz became

12543-452: Was the founding prophet Mani (c.216–276) a professional artist, at least according to later Islamic tradition, but one of the sacred books of the religion, the Arzhang , was illustrated by the prophet himself, whose illustrations (probably essentially cosmological diagrams rather than images with figures) were regarded as part of the sacred material and always copied with the text. Unfortunately,

12656-437: Was the transfer of elements and techniques of Chinese art to Iran, and the second was the establishment of a form of collective artistic education in workshops and royal libraries. The Tabriz Maktab of Art, also known as the Mongol or Ilkhanid Maktab, along with its subsequent period, the Jalayirid period, formed the main foundation of Iranian painting. During this period, artists sought to integrate visual and pictorial art. One of

12769-596: Was very sought after in Europe, and often copied. An example of this is the albarello , a type of maiolica earthenware jar originally designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Islamic Middle East. Hispano-Moresque examples were exported to Italy, stimulating the earliest Italian examples, from 15th century Florence. The Hispano-Moresque style emerged in Al-Andalus - Muslim Spain - in

#507492