The Representation of Human Figures Is Rare in Islamic Religious Art Because

Islamic 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

Primal Takeaways

Key Points

• Islamic art is not art of a specific religion, time, place, or of a single medium . Instead it spans some 1400 years, covers many lands and populations, and includes a range of creative fields including architecture, calligraphy , painting, glass, ceramics , and textiles, among others.
• Islamic religious fine art differs from Christian religious art in that it is not-figural because many Muslims believe that the delineation of the human form is idolatry , and thereby a sin against 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 on Christian art, and Byzantine styles ; Sassanian fine art of pre-Islamic Persia; Central Asian styles brought past various nomadic incursions, and Chinese influences appear on Islamic painting, pottery , and textiles.

Primal Terms

• Qu'ran: The central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to exist the verbatim word of God (Arabic: Allah). It is widely regarded equally the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language.
• arabesque: A repetitive, stylized design based on a geometrical floral or vegetal design.
• idolatry: The worship of idols.
• monotheistic: Assertive in a single god, deity, spirit, etc., especially for an faith, faith, or creed.

Islam

Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Qur'an, a book considered past its adherents to exist the verbatim word of God (Allah) and the teachings of Muhammad , who is considered to exist the terminal prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.

Most Muslims are of two denominations: Sunni (75–90%),[7] or Shia (ten–20%). Its essential religious concepts and practices include the v pillars of Islam, which are bones concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and the following of Islamic police, which touches on every aspect of life and order. The 5 pillars are:

1. Shahadah (belief or confession of faith)
2. Salat (worship in the form of prayer)
3. Sawm Ramadan (fasting during the month of Ramadan)
4. Zakat (alms or charitable giving)
5. Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca at least one time in a lifetime)

Islamic Art

Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the seventh century onward by both Muslims and not-Muslims who lived inside the territory that was inhabited past, or ruled by, culturally Islamic populations. It is thus a very hard art to define because it spans some 1400 years, covering many lands and populations. This art is also not of a specific religion, time, place, or single medium. Instead Islamic art covers a range of creative fields including architecture, calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, and textiles, among others.

Islamic fine art is not restricted to religious art, but instead includes all of the art of the rich and varied cultures of Islamic societies. Information technology oft includes secular elements and elements that are forbidden by some Islamic theologians. Islamic religious art differs greatly from Christian religious art traditions.

Because figural representations are by and large considered to be forbidden in Islam, the give-and-take takes on religious significant in fine art every bit seen in the tradition of calligraphic inscriptions. Calligraphy and the decoration of manuscript Qu'rans is an important aspect of Islamic fine art equally the word takes on religious and creative significance.

Islamic compages, such every bit mosques and deluxe gardens of paradise, are also embedded with religious significance. While examples of Islamic figurative painting do be, and may embrace religious scenes, these examples are typically from secular contexts, such as the walls of palaces or illuminated books of poetry.

Other religious art, such equally drinking glass mosque lamps, Girih tiles, woodwork, and carpets usually demonstrate the aforementioned fashion and motifs as gimmicky secular art, although they showroom more prominent religious inscriptions.

A calligraphic panel by Mustafa Râkim (late 18th–early 19th century): Islamic art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Standard arabic calligraphy, rather than on figures, considering it is feared by many Muslims that the delineation of the man form is idolatry. The panel reads: "God, there is no god but He, the Lord of His prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Lord of all that has been created."

Islamic fine art was influenced by Greek, Roman, early on Christian, and Byzantine art styles, also as the Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia. Central Asian styles were brought in with diverse nomadic incursions; and Chinese influences had a determinative effect on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles.

Themes of Islamic Art

There are repeating elements in Islamic fine 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 space nature of God. Some scholars believe that mistakes in repetitions may be intentionally introduced as a evidence of humility past artists who believe only God can produce perfection.

Arabesque inlays at the Mughal Agra Fort, India: Geometrical designs in repetition, know as Arabesque, are used in Islamic fine art to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible, and space nature of God.

Typically, though not entirely, Islamic fine art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Standard arabic calligraphy, rather than human being or animal figures, considering it is believed by many Muslims that the depiction of the homo form is idolatry and thereby a sin against God that is forbidden in the Qur'an.

However, depictions of the homo class and animals can exist plant in all eras of Islamic secular art. Depictions of the human course in fine art intended for the purpose of worship is considered idolatry and is forbidden in Islamic law, known as Sharia constabulary.

Islamic Architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of styles and the principal case is the mosque.

Learning Objectives

Describe the development of mosques, and their different features during different periods and dynasties

Fundamental Takeaways

Cardinal Points

• A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged soon afterwards Muhammad's time that incorporated Roman building traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the former Sassanid and Byzantine models.
• The Islamic mosque has historically been both a place of prayer and a community meeting space . The early on mosques are believed to exist inspired by Muhammad'due south domicile in Medina, which was the first mosque.

Fundamental Terms

• mosque: A place of worship for Muslims, corresponding to a church or synagogue in other religions, oft having at least one minaret. In Standard arabic: masjid.
• mihrab: A semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque, that indicates the qibla (direction of Mecca), and into which the imam prays.
• minaret: The tall slender tower of an Islamic mosque, from which the muezzin recites the adhan (telephone call to prayer).

Islamic Architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a broad range of both secular and religious styles. The primary Islamic architectural instance is the mosque. A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged presently after Muhammad's fourth dimension that incorporated Roman edifice traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the erstwhile Sassanid and Byzantine models.

Early on Mosques

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's dwelling in Medina, which was the first mosque.

The Bully Mosque of Kairouan (in Tunisia) is 1 of the all-time preserved and most significant examples of early on cracking mosques. Founded in 670, it contains all of the architectural features that distinguish early on mosques: a minaret , a large courtyard surrounded by porticos , and a hypostyle prayer hall.

Dome of the mihrab (9th century) in the Swell Mosque of Kairouan, too known every bit the Mosque of Uqba, in Kairouan, Tunisia: This is considered to be the ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world.

Ottoman Mosques

Ottoman mosques and other architecture commencement emerged in the cities of Bursa and Edirne in the 14th and 15th centuries, developing from earlier Seljuk Turk architecture, with additional influences from Byzantine, Farsi, and Islamic Mamluk traditions.

Sultan Mehmed Two would later fuse European traditions in his rebuilding programs at Istanbul in the 19th century. Byzantine styles as seen in the Hagia Sophia served as particularly important models for Ottoman mosques, such every bit the mosque synthetic by Sinan.

Building reached its height in the 16th century when Ottoman architects mastered the technique of building vast inner spaces surmounted by seemingly weightless still incredibly massive domes , and achieved perfect harmony between inner and outer spaces, likewise 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 remainder, as may be observed in the Blueish Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Bluish Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey: The Blue Mosque represents the culmination of Ottoman structure with its numerous domes, slender minarets and overall harmony.

Architecture flourished in the Safavid Dynasty , attaining a high point with the building program of Shah Abbas in Isfahan, which included numerous gardens, palaces (such every bit Ali Qapu), an immense bazaar, and a big majestic mosque. Isfahan, the capital  of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the near prominent samples of the Safavid compages, such as the the Imperial Mosque, which was constructed in the years later Shah Abbas I permanently moved the capital letter there in 1598.

Royal Mosque, Isfahan, Iran: Isfahan, the capital of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture.

Islamic Drinking glass Making

Glassmaking was the most important Islamic luxury art of the early Center Ages.

Learning Objectives

Draw the art of Islamic glass

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Betwixt the 8th and early 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 cycle, and later by cutting away the background to leave a design in relief .
• Lustre painting uses techniques similar to lustreware in pottery and dates back to the 8th century in Egypt; it became widespread in the 12th century.

Key Terms

• luxury arts: Highly decorative goods made of precious materials for the wealthy classes.
• glassmaking: The arts and crafts or industry of producing glass.

Islamic Drinking glass

For well-nigh of the Heart Ages , Islamic luxury glass was the near sophisticated in Eurasia , exported to both Europe and Communist china. Islam took over much of the traditional drinking glass-producing territory of Sassanian and Ancient Roman glass. Since figurative decoration played a small office in pre-Islamic drinking glass, the alter in style was not precipitous—except that the whole expanse initially formed a political whole, and, for example, Farsi innovations were now well-nigh immediately taken up in Egypt.

For this reason it is often impossible to distinguish between the various centers of production (of which Arab republic of egypt, Syria, and Persia were the most important), except by scientific analysis of the material, which itself has difficulties. From various documentary references, glassmaking and glass-trading seems to have been a specialty of the Jewish minority.

Betwixt the 8th and early 11th centuries, the emphasis in luxury drinking glass was on effects achieved by manipulating the surface of the glass, initially by incising into the glass on a cycle, and afterwards by cutting away the groundwork to leave a design in relief. The very massive Hedwig glasses, only found in Europe, but normally considered Islamic (or maybe from Muslim craftsmen in Norman Sicily), are an example of this, though they are puzzlingly belatedly in date.

These and other glass pieces probably represented cheaper versions of vessels of carved stone crystal (articulate quartz)—themselves influenced past earlier glass vessels—and there is some evidence that at this flow glass and hard-stone cutting were regarded equally the aforementioned craft. From the 12th century, the drinking glass industry in Persia and Mesopotamia declined, and the main production of luxury glass shifted to Egypt and Syrian arab republic. Throughout this flow, local centers made simpler wares, such as Hebron drinking glass in Palestine.

The Luck of Edenhall: This is a 13th-century Syrian chalice, in England since the Eye 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 dorsum to the 8th 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 glass of a different colour, worked into the main surface, and sometimes manipulated by combing and other effects.

Gold, painted, and enameled glass were added to the repertoire, equally were shapes and motifs borrowed from other media , such equally pottery and metalwork . Some of the finest work was in mosque lamps donated by a ruler or wealthy man.

As decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and it often exhibited bubbles and a dark-brown-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major center subsequently the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian drinking glass industry around 1400 by carrying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By about 1500, the Venetians were receiving large orders for mosque lamps.

Some of the finest piece of work was in mosque lamps donated by a ruler or wealthy man. Every bit decoration grew more than elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and information technology ofttimes exhibited bubbles and a brownish-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major centre after the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian manufacture around 1400 by conveying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By almost 1500, the Venetians were receiving big orders for mosque lamps.

Mosque lamp: Produced in Egypt, c. 1360.

Islamic Calligraphy

Calligraphic blueprint 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

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• In a religion where figural representations are considered an act of idolatry , information technology is no surprise that the word and its artistic representation became an important attribute in Islamic art.
• The earliest course of Arabic calligraphy is Kufic script .
• Too Quranic verses, other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation.

Key Terms

• Kufic script: The primeval form of Arabic calligraphy, noted for its angular class.
• calligraphy: The fine art of writing messages and words with decorative strokes.

In a religion where figural representations are considered an act of idolatry, information technology is no surprise that  the discussion and its artistic representation became an important aspect in Islamic art. The nigh 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.

9th century Quran: This early on Quran demonstrates the Kufic script, noted for its angular form and as the earliest grade of Arabic calligraphy .

The primeval form of Standard arabic calligraphy is Kufic script, which is noted for its angular class.  Arabic is read from correct to left and but the consonants are written.  The black ink in the epitome higher up from a 9th century Quran marks the consonants for the reader.  The cherry dots that are visible on the folio note the vowels.

Withal, calligraphic design is non limited to the book in Islamic art. Calligraphy is plant in several different types of art, such as architecture. The interior of the Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem, circa 691), for example, features calligraphic inscriptions of verses from the Quran likewise equally from additional sources. As in Europe in the Middle Ages , religious exhortations such as Quranic verses may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles, and metalwork .

Interior view of the Dome of the Stone: The interior of The Dome of the Stone features many calligraphic inscriptions, from both the Quran and other sources; information technology demonstrates the importance of calligraphy in Islamic art and its utilize in several different media.

Calligraphic inscriptions were not exclusive to the Quran, but also included verses of poetry or recorded ownership 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 globe reached its elevation in Persia, Syrian arab republic, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the origin and development of Islamic manuscript painting

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The fine art of the Western farsi book was born under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged by the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts .
• Islamic manuscript painting witnessed its first gilded age in the 13th century when it was influenced by the Byzantine visual vocabulary and combined with Mongol facial types from 12th-century volume frontispieces.
• Nether the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the fine art of manuscript illumination achieves new heights, in item in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi'due south ballsy poem that contains more than 250 paintings.
• The medieval Islamic texts called Maqamat were some of the earliest coffee-table books and amidst the first Islamic fine art to mirror daily life.
• Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the ii books of festivals, one from the finish of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad 3.

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 volume form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and peradventure other matter.
• Maqamat: The plural for Maqāma, an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of verse that oftentimes ruminates on spiritual topics.

Islamic Book Painting

Book painting in the tardily medieval Islamic globe reached its pinnacle in Persia, Syria, Republic of iraq, and the Ottoman Empire . The fine art class blossomed beyond the unlike regions and was inspired by a range of cultural reference points.

The evolution of book painting kickoff began in the 13th century, when the Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, swept through the Islamic world. Upon the decease of Genghis Khan, his empire was divided among his sons and dynasties formed: the Yuan in Communist china, the Ilkhanids in Islamic republic of iran, and the Golden Horde in northern Iran and southern Russia.

The Ilkhanids

The Ilkhanids were a rich civilization that developed nether the little khans in Islamic republic of iran. Architectural activeness intensified every bit the Mongols became sedentary still retained traces of their nomadic origins, such as the north–south orientation of buildings. Persian, Islamic, and East Asian traditions melded together during this period and a procedure of Iranization took place, in which structure according to previously established types, such every bit the Iranian-program mosques , was resumed.

The art of the Farsi volume 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 start golden historic period in the 13th century, mostly within Syria and Iraq.

Miniatures

The tradition of the Persian miniature (a small painting on paper) developed during this period, and it strongly influenced the Ottoman miniature of Turkey and the Mughal miniature in India. Because illuminated manuscripts were an art of the court, and not seen in public, constraints on the depiction of the man figure were much more relaxed and the human form is represented with frequency within this medium.

Influence from the Byzantine visual vocabulary (blue and golden coloring, celestial and victorious motifs, symbology of drapery) was combined with Mongol facial types seen in 12th-century book frontispieces. Chinese influences in Islamic book painting include the early adoption of the vertical format natural to a book. Motifs such every bit peonies, clouds, dragons, and phoenixes were adjusted from China equally well, 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 caused it to be called 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 Persian poetry, such as the Shahnameh. Under the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the fine art of manuscript illumination achieved new heights. The almost noteworthy example of this is the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense re-create of Ferdowsi's epic poem that contains more than than 250 paintings.

The Court of Gayumars, from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp: Illuminated manuscripts of the Shahnameh were oft commissioned past 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 art to hold a mirror to daily life, portraying humorous stories and showing lilliputian adherence to prior pictorial traditions.

In the 17th century a new blazon of painting developed based around the anthology (muraqqa). The albums were the creations of connoisseurs who bound together unmarried sheets of paintings, drawings, or calligraphy by diverse artists; they were sometimes excised from before books and other times created as independent works.

The paintings of Reza Abbasi effigy largely in this new form of volume fine art. The form depicts one or two larger figures, typically idealized beauties in a garden setting, and often use the grisaille techniques previously used for groundwork border 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 military chronicles of Turkish conquests. Portraits of rulers developed in the 16th century, and later in Persia, where they became very pop.

Mughal portraits, unremarkably in profile, are very finely drawn in a realist style , while the best Ottoman ones are vigorously stylized . Anthology miniatures typically featured picnic scenes, portraits of individuals, or (in India specially) animals, or arcadian youthful beauties of either sex.

Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the two books of festivals, ane from the end of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad III. These books contain numerous illustrations and exhibit a strong Safavid influence, perhaps inspired past books captured in the grade of the Ottoman–Safavid wars of the 16th century.

Islamic Ceramics

Islamic art has notable achievements in ceramics that reached heights unmatched by other cultures.

Learning Objectives

Discuss how developments such as can-opacified glazing and stonepaste ceramics fabricated Islamic ceramics some of the most advanced of its time

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The beginning Islamic opaque glazes engagement to effectually the 8th century, and another meaning contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics in 9th century Iraq.
• Lusterwares with iridescent colors were either invented or considerably developed in Persia and Syrian arab republic from the 9th century onward.
• The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated by Islamic potters, specially after the Mongol and Timurid invasions.
• The Hispano–Moresque way emerged in the 8th century, with more refined production happening after, presumably past Muslim potters working in areas reconquered by Christian kingdoms.

Key Terms

• Hispano–Moresque style: A manner of Islamic pottery created in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Spain, which continued to exist produced under Christian rule in styles that blended Islamic and European elements.
• lusterware: A type of pottery or porcelain having an iridescent metallic glaze.
• glaze: 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. Most mutual 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 by other cultures . Early pottery had usually been unglazed, but a tin can-opacified glazing technique was developed by Islamic potters. The start Islamic opaque glazes tin be found every bit blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the eighth 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 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 around 1600), and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).

Lusterware

Lusterware is a type of pottery or porcelain that has an iridescent metallic glaze. Luster starting time began as a painting technique in glassmaking , which was then 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 past 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 catamenia, Western ceramics had piddling influence, but Islamic pottery was highly sought after in Europe, and was frequently copied.

An instance of this is the albarello, a type of earthenware jar originally designed to concord apothecary ointments and dry drugs. The development of this blazon of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Islamic Middle East. Hispano–Moresque examples were exported to Italy, inspiring the earliest Italian examples, from 15th century Florence.

Hispano–Moresque Style

The Hispano–Moresque style emerged in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Spain, in the 8th century, under Egyptian influence. More than refined production happened much later, presumably past Muslim potters who worked in the areas reconquered by the Christian kingdoms.

The Hispano–Moresque fashion mixed Islamic and European elements in its designs and was exported to neighboring European countries. The fashion introduced two ceramic techniques to Europe:

1. Glazing with an opaque white tin-glaze.
2. 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 by Chinese Yuan and Ming ceramics. These were still in earthenware, since porcelain was not made in Islamic countries until modernistic times.

The medieval Islamic world also painted pottery with beast and human being imagery . Examples are found throughout the medieval Islamic world, especially in Persia and Arab republic of egypt.

Islamic Textiles

The most of import fabric produced in the Medieval and Early Modern Islamic Empires was the carpet.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the making and designs of Islamic textiles

Fundamental Takeaways

Cardinal Points

• The production and merchandise of textiles pre-dates Islam , and had long been important to Heart Eastern cultures and cities, many of which flourished due to the Silk Road .
• When the Islamic dynasties formed and grew more than powerful they gained control over textile production in the region, which was arguably the most important craft of the era.

Key Terms

• textile arts: The production of arts and crafts that employ found, brute, or synthetic fibers to create objects.

Islam and the Textile Arts

The textile arts refer to the production of craft that utilise plant, animal, or constructed fibers to create objects. These objects tin be for everyday use, or they can exist decorative and luxury items. The production and trade of textiles pre-dates Islam, and had long been important to Heart 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 most important craft of the era. The most of import fabric produced in Medieval and Early Modernistic Islamic Empires was the carpet.

The Ottoman Empire and Carpet Production

The art of rug weaving was particularly important in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman state was founded by Turkish tribes in northwestern Anatolia in 1299 and became an empire in 1453 afterward 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 as decorative effects and for their practical value . They were used not just on floors just likewise as wall and door hangings, where they provided boosted insulation.

These intricately knotted carpets were fabricated of silk, or a combination of silk and cotton, and were often rich in religious and other symbolism. Hereke silk carpets, which were fabricated in the coastal town of Hereke, were the virtually valued of the Ottoman carpets considering of their fine weave. The Hereke carpets were typically used to furnish royal palaces.

Carpet 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.

Persian Carpets

The Iranian Safavid Empire (1501–1786) is distinguished from the Mughal and Ottoman dynasties by the Shia faith of its shahs, which was the majority Islamic denomination in Persia. Safavid fine art is contributed to several artful traditions, specially to the textile arts.

In the sixteenth century, carpet weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant arts and crafts to a well-executed manufacture 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 be the best examples of classical Western farsi weaving, particularly for their use of graphical perspective.

Textiles became a large export, and Farsi weaving became one of the most popular imported goods of Europe. Islamic carpets were a luxury item in Europe and at that place are several examples of European Renaissance paintings that document the presence of Islamic textiles in European homes during that time.

The Ardabil Rug, Persia, 1540: The Ardabil Carpet is the finest example of 16th century Persian rug production.

Indonesian Batik

Islamic textile production, however, was not limited to the carpet. Royal factories were founded for the purpose of textile production that too included cloth and garments.

The development and refinement of Indonesian batik material was closely linked to Islam. The Islamic prohibition on sure images encouraged batik pattern to become more 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 existence in Indonesia pre-dates Islam, batik reached its loftier betoken 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 besides wearing, such every bit wrapping the Quran.

Javanese court batik: The development and refinement of Indonesian batik textile was closely linked to Islam.

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Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/introduction-to-islamic-art/

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