Download The Art of Islam

The Art of Islam
Oct. 13, 2011
I. Introduction: art and religion
Metropolitan
Museum of Art,
New York, opening
Nov. 1, 2011
II. Introduction to Islam
Abraham and his son Isaac, Ravenna, Church of San
Vitale, 547, mosaic
Muhammad and Islam
• Muhammad, the Prophet, 570- 632 CE in Mecca
• Qur’an (sometimes spelled Koran), was revealed to
Muhammad in approximately 23 years between 610-632 CE
• In 622 CE Muhammad fled Mecca with his followers and went
to Medina, a desert oasis This event the Hegira marks the
beginning of the
• His followers returned and conquered Mecca in 630
• By Muhammad’s death the Arabian tribes were united and
had joined Islam
Qur’an. 9th or 10th Century
Islam
Islam and Muslim come from words meaning submission to
the will of Allah (God)
Islam is emphatically monotheistic
Five pillars of Islam
1 The testimony
2. Daily prayer
3 Fasting during Ramadan
4 Almsgiving
5 A pilgrimage to Mecca Hadj
Also observance of moral code in the Qur’an
Kaa’ba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia,
III. The Dome of the Rock and
Haram al-Sharif
Jerusalem, Western Wall, wall of the foundation of the second Temple 19 B.C.E.
Dome of the Rock, Haram el Sharif, late 7th century
Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock, late
7th century
Tile, Kashan, 13th century
Jerusalem, Western Wall, wall of the foundation of the second Temple 19 B.C.E.
Dome of the Rock, Haram el Sharif, late 7th century
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, Israel, plan and
reconstruction of the Constantinian church, ca. 325
Domes of the church of the Holy Sepulchre,
Jerusalem, 326
IV. Ceramics and Textiles
Dish, Iran, 10th century
Bowl,
earthenware,
1425-50
Ceramic tile with an
Arabic inscription, Iran,
1215
Ardabil carpet, Iran, 1539-1540
Ardibil Carpet, Iran 1539-40
Mosque lamp, glass,
gilded and enamelled
glass, Syria or Egypt c.
1360
V. The Great Mosque of Cordoba
Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain begun 786,
Umayyad, Caliphate
Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain begun
786, Umayyad, Caliphate
Dome of the Rock,
Jerusalem, late 7th
century, Umayyad
Caliphate
Qu’ran which has blood (purportedly Uthman’s) on its
pages
Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain begun
786, Umayyad, Caliphate
Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain begun 786, Ummayyad,
Caliphate, hypostyle hall
Plan of the Great Mosque,
Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836-875.
Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain begun
786, Umayyad, Caliphate
Marble capital from
the great Mosque at
Cordoba, 10th
century
Mihrab niche which identifies the qibla wall (direction of Mecca and
the Kaa’ba), Great Mosque at Cordoba, 965
Dome in front of the mihrab niche, Great Mosque at Cordoba, 965
Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain begun
786, Umayyad, Caliphate
Stained glass, Notre Dame, Cathedral of Reims, France, 1211-1255
Great Mosque at Cordoba,
Spain begun 786, Umayyad,
Caliphate
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, late 7th century,
Umayyad Caliphate
Cathedral of Cordoba,
inside the mosque of
Cordoba, 15th Century