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Educator Resource Guide
Table of Contents
About the Exhibition ................................................................................................................... 2
Preparing for Your Visit .............................................................................................................. 2
Curriculum Connections ............................................................................................................. 3
Seventh-Grade Social Studies Standards............................................................................... 3
Common Core State Standards .............................................................................................. 4
Elements of Design .................................................................................................................... 5
Principles of Design ................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction to Islam ................................................................................................................... 7
Ink, Silk, and Gold .................................................................................................................. 8
Early Islamic Art: Eighth to Tenth Century .................................................................................. 9
Educator Activity: The Art of the Written Word .......................................................................12
Art Trunk Activity: Animals in Ink—Introduction to Calligraphy ...............................................13
A Multicentered Islamic World: Eleventh to Fifteenth Century ...................................................15
Educator Activity: Geometric Patterns ...................................................................................19
Art Trunk Activity: Tessellation Mosaics.................................................................................20
Art Trunk Activity: Tessellations—Pattern in Puzzles .............................................................21
An Era of Empires: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century .................................................................23
Educator Activity: A Closer Look at the Empires ....................................................................29
The Modern Age: Nineteenth Century and Beyond ...................................................................30
Art Trunk Activity: Weaving—Warm and Cool Patterns in Paper ...........................................33
Art Trunk Activity: Woven Pattern Mini-Rug ...........................................................................35
Timeline of Major Islamic Empires and Dynasties .....................................................................38
Glossary....................................................................................................................................39
Dynasties and Empires .............................................................................................................42
Resources.................................................................................................................................44
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About the Exhibition
Ink, Silk, and Gold: Islamic Art from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
October 9, 2015–January 10, 2016
Ink, Silk, and Gold presents nearly one hundred works of Islamic art spanning the eighth to the twentyfirst centuries from the impressive collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This exhibition offers a
chronological and regional story of the dynamic and complex artistic traditions originating from across the
vast expanse of the Islamic world—Spain to Indonesia—and represents almost all forms of media,
including silver inlaid metalwork, Qurʾan pages inscribed with gold, brocaded velvets, and luster ceramics.
More than 130 years after the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston began collecting Islamic art, this exhibition
marks the first time these objects have been comprehensively studied, restored, and presented to the
public.
Ink, Silk, and Gold: Islamic Art from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was organized by the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Preparing for Your Visit
This Educator Resource Guide is designed to help educators prepare students for their gallery visit and
classroom follow-up discussion. This packet contains an Educator Resource Guide, related Art Trunk
activities, and art reproductions.
Educator Resource Guide
This guide focuses on the exhibition Ink, Silk, and Gold: Islamic Art from the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston. Each section highlights works of art from the exhibition and includes questions and activities that
encourage your students to look closely and critically. The educator activities are compatible with
Tennessee State Curriculum Standards for visual arts, language arts, and social studies.
Art Trunk Activities
Included in the Educator Resource Guide are extension art activities as part of the Art Trunk program. Art
Trunks are mobile educational kits designed for community partners to enrich the appreciation and
understanding of present and past art exhibitions at the Frist Center. The Art Trunk program provides
unique opportunities for participants to become more informed about works of art, their meanings, and the
artists who created them. Participants in the Art Trunk program receive the Educator Resource Guide and
the necessary materials needed to complete the guided lesson plans for three activity sessions.
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Curriculum Connections
Docent-guided school tours support the Tennessee State Curriculum Standards by introducing ideas
relevant to the visual arts, language arts, and social studies curricula. Specific standards are addressed
according to grade-appropriate levels. View connections for all grade levels (K–12) at
http://tn.gov/education/topic/academic-standards.
Seventh-Grade Social Studies Standards
Islamic World, 400–1500s AD/CE
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, social, and religious structures of the civilizations.
7.3 Identify the physical location and features and the climate of the Arabian Peninsula, its relationship to
surrounding bodies of land and water, including Northern Africa, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian
Sea, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Nile River. (G)
7.4 Describe the expansion of Muslim rule through conquests and the spread of cultural diffusion of Islam
and the Arabic language. (C, E, G, H)
7.5 Trace the origins of Islam and the life and teachings of Muhammad, including Islam’s historical
connections to Judaism and Christianity. (C, H)
7.6 Explain the significance of the Qurʾan and the Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic beliefs,
practice, and law and their influence in Muslims’ daily life. (C, H, P)
7.7 Analyze the origins and impact of different sects within Islam, Sunnis and Shi’ites. (C, H)
7.8 Examine and summarize the contributions Muslim scholars made to later civilizations in the areas of
science, geography, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, art, and literature. (C, G, H)
7.9 Describe the establishment of trade routes among Asia, Africa, and Europe and the role of merchants
in Arab society. (E, G, H)
7.10 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources to examine the art and
architecture, including the Taj Mahal during the Mughal period. (C, H)
7.11 Explain the importance of Mehmed II the Conqueror and Suleiman the Magnificent. (H, P)
7.12 Write an explanatory text to describe the Shah Abbas and how his policies of cultural blending led to
the Golden Age and the rise of the Safavid empire. (C, H, P)
Primary Documents and Supporting Texts to Consider: excerpts from The Hadith, Muhammad;
excerpts from The Book of Golden Meadows, Masoudi
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Common Core State Standards
This Educator Resource Guide also acknowledges the Common Core State Standards Initiative
coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief
State School Officers. By aligning the goals of this packet with Common Core State Standards, the Frist
Center makes off-site learning effective for students and easy for educators. The following Common Core
State Standards are implemented in this Educator Resource Guide:
English Language Arts/Literacy Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. RF. 1.1, W. 1.1, W.1.2, W.1.5, W.1.8, SL.1.1, SL.1.2, SL.1.3, SL.1.4, SL.1.5, SL.1.6,
L.1.1,L.1.2, L.1.4, L.1.5, L.1.6
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. RI.2.1, RI.2.7, W.2.5, W.2.6, W.2.7, W.2.8, SL.2.1, SL.2.2, SL.2.3, SL.2.4, SL.2.6,
L.2.1, L.2.2, L.2.3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RI.3.3, RI.3.7, W.3.4, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, SL.3.3, SL.3.4, L.3.1,
L.3.2, L.3.3, L.3.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.4.2, W.4.3, W.4.4, SL.4.1, SL.4.4, L.4.1, L.4.2, L.4.3, L.4.5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.5.1, W.5.2, W.5.3, W.5.4, SL.5.1, SL.5.2, SL.5.4, L.5.1, L.5.2, L.5.5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. RH.6-8.7
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.3, SL.6.1, SL.6.4, L.6.1, L.6.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.7.1, W.7.2, W.7.3, SL.7.1, SL.7.4, L.7.1, L.7.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.8.1, W.8.2, W.8.3, SL. 8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.1, L.8.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.9-10.1, WHST.9-10.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy. W.11-12.1, WHST.11-12.2
Mathematics Standards
CCSS.MATH. 1.MD.1, 1.MD.2, 1.G.1, 1.G.2, 1.G.3
CCSS.MATH. 2.MD.1, 2.MD.2, 2.MD.3, 2.G.1, 2.G.2, 2.G.3
CCSS.MATH. 3.MD.5, 3.MD.6, 3.MD.7, 3.MD.8, 3.G.1, 3.G.2
CCSS.MATH. 4.MD.5, 4.MD.6, 4.MD.7, 4.G.1, 4.G.2, 4.G.3
CCSS.MATH. 5.MD.1, 5.G.1, 5.G.3, 5.G.4
CCSS.MATH. 6.G.1, 6.G.3, 6.G.4
CCSS.MATH. 7.G.1, 7.G.2, 7.G.4, 7.G.5, 7.G.6
CCSS.MATH. 8.G.1, 8.G.2, 8.G.3, 8.G.4, 8.G.9
CCSS.MATH. G-CO.1, G-CO.12, G-C.1, G-C.2, G-C.3, G-GMD.1, G-GMD.2, G-GMD.3, G-MG.1
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Elements of Design
The elements of art are the basic components used by the artist when producing works of art. The
elements emphasized in the guided lessons are color, line, and shapes. The other elements are value,
form, texture, and space. Elements will be highlighted for each artwork featured in this guide.
Color is produced when light strikes an object and is reflected back to the eyes. Various
wavelengths produce different colors.
Line refers to the continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. Types of line
include: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, straight, and curved.
Shape is an enclosed space. Examples of shapes include: circle, oval, triangle, square, and
rectangle.
Form refers to an element of art that is three-dimensional (height, width, and depth) and encloses
volume. For example, a triangle, which is two-dimensional, is a shape, but a pyramid, which is
three-dimensional, is a form.
Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. Value is an especially important element in
works of art when color is absent.
Texture is the surface quality or ―feel‖ of an object—its smoothness, roughness, softness, etc.
Artists can simulate textures through techniques such as painting different areas of a picture.
Space refers to the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things.
5
Principles of Design
The principles of design describe the ways that artists use the elements of art in a work of art. Principles
will be highlighted for each artwork featured in this guide.
Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space.
Symmetrical balance is characterized by artwork that, if divided in half, would be exactly the
same on each side; asymmetrical balance describes an artwork that looks different on each
side but one side does not overwhelm the other because the visual weight is distributed equally;
radial balance is the arrangement of elements expanding from a central point.
Contrast is the juxtaposition of different elements of design, such as light and dark values, or
rough and smooth textures.
Harmony is the arrangement of elements to give the viewer the feeling that all parts of the piece
form a coherent whole.
Movement is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. Such
movement can be directed along lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art.
Pattern is the regular arrangement of alternated or repeated elements throughout a work.
Scale is the relationship between objects with respect to size, number, and so on, including the
relation between parts of a whole.
Repetition works with pattern to make the work of art seem active. The repetition of elements of
design creates unity within the work of art.
Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling
of organized movement. Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing. To keep rhythm exciting
and active, variety is essential.
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Introduction to Islam
Works of art are among the most tangible manifestations of Islamic culture. We can easily see that the
tiles used to decorate a mosque or the painted flourishes that enhance a copy of the Qurʾan belong to
an Islamic cultural world. But this can also be said of objects made for secular purposes—candlesticks,
ceramic bowls, and silk garments—because Islamic culture is much more than the religion of Islam. It
encompasses a wide array of traditions, social practices, and aesthetic conventions.
Islam
Islam is a major religion practiced by more than a billion-and-a-half people around the world. It arose in
Arabia in the seventh century CE, during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Muslim
tradition, Muhammad was God’s messenger, the final prophet in the lineage of the Abrahamic religions.
A monotheistic faith, Islam holds that God’s will was communicated to Muhammad in a series of
revelations that form the Islamic scriptures, the Qurʾan.
Muhammad recounted to others the divine revelations he received, gradually gaining followers, with
whom he left Mecca—the spiritual center of the Islamic world—for the city of Medina in 622. This move,
known as the hijra (Arabic, ―migration‖), marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Hijra dates are
indicated with AH (for the Latin anno hegirae, ―in the year of [Muhammad’s] migration‖). The Islamic
calendar is strictly lunar, in contrast to the Gregorian calendar, which is mainly solar, and the months
have Arabic names.
Muhammad founded the first Islamic state in Medina, and by the time he died in 632, Muslim territory
encompassed two-thirds of Arabia. Growing quickly beyond these borders, the Islamic world has at times
stretched from North Africa to South Asia. There are two main branches of Islam. The Sunni branch,
which is the larger, believes that the first four caliphs—Muhammad’s successors—rightfully followed him
as the leaders of the Muslims and recognizes their heirs as legitimate religious leaders. The Shiʿa branch
believes instead that only the fourth caliph, Ali, and his heirs are the legitimate successors of Muhammad.
Islamic mystics, who can be Sunni or Shiʿa, are known as Sufis.
Muslim
A Muslim is a person who follows the religion of Islam. Muslim is an Arabic word meaning ―one who submits.‖
7
Ink, Silk, and Gold
INK
Black ink streams across nearly all Islamic works of art on paper, defining forms and articulating details.
Traditionally made by artists and calligraphers from lampblack (finely powdered black soot), gallnuts, or
mineral compounds, ink could be applied with a brush or pen, depending on the purpose and the kind of
line desired.
For a viewer with roots in an Islamic society, the presence of ink might provoke consideration not just of
the beauty of its handling or the forms it outlines, but also a range of ideas about ink. Some of these find
their origins in religious practices and texts. On the most basic level, ink has sacred associations because
of its use in the copying out of the Qurʾan. The Qurʾan and the Hadith (sayings attributed to Muhammad)
specifically link ink with Creation; the first thing God created, it is said, was the pen. Ink is also associated
with moral, intellectual, and aesthetic cultivation in Islamic culture. Correct and graceful use indicates a
mind equipped for careful judgment and understanding.
SILK
Silk weaving was an important art form in the Islamic world as early as the seventh century, when
Muslims conquered silk-producing regions in the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. They adopted some
existing uses of and attitudes toward silk, and then shaped them anew through cultural practices like
khilʿat (Arabic, ―robe of honor‖), the gifting of a fine robe by an Islamic ruler to a subject, visiting head of
state, or envoy as a way to establish the balance of power between them. Such robes were often made of
brightly colored silk and sometimes embroidered in Arabic with the name of the ruler or official under
whose auspices they had been produced.
In religious contexts, one of silk’s most important appearances is as a covering for the Kaʿba, the cubeshaped building in Mecca that is considered the holiest place in the Islamic world. In the first centuries of
Islam, this covering known as the kiswa (Arabic, ―robe‖) was woven from a range of materials in Yemen,
Egypt, and eastern Iran, among other places. Silk eventually became the preferred material, and
surviving examples from the early Ottoman period are made of red, black, and green silk with inscriptions
embroidered in silver and gold thread. Today the kiswa is black and is produced in Mecca out of silk
embroidered with metallic thread.
GOLD
The desirability of gold is a nearly universal principle. When this precious substance was available in
Islamic societies, artists put it to innumerable uses: they cast it to make vessels and jewelry, wove it into
textiles, laid it into bronze, and painted it onto the pages of manuscripts. Beliefs about the proper uses
and properties of gold were informed by the vicissitudes of fashion and finance as well as by the Qurʾan,
the Hadith, and Islamic law. According to the Qurʾan, gold will be a common sight for those who, having
been found worthy on the Day of Judgment, will ―be adorned with bracelets of gold‖ and will dine with
―dishes and goblets of gold.‖ These sources warn, however, that until that day, excessive use of gold
could lead to arrogance, and several Qurʾanic verses explicitly prohibit the hoarding of such precious
metals. This sometimes resulted in restrictions on wearing and using gold, but not always. Islamic rulers
adorned their palaces and possessions with it and gifted gold objects to favored courtiers. Unfortunately,
few such treasures survive today, since the metal could so easily be melted down and returned to
circulation.
8
Early Islamic Art: Eighth to Tenth Century
The first centuries of Islamic art were a time of great political shifts and of the gradual coalescence of an
artistic tradition unique to Islamic societies. When the Muslim state emerging in the seventh century
conquered lands that had belonged to the Byzantine and Sasanian empires, it absorbed their highly
sophisticated cultures. These were perpetuated and transformed in the development of Islamic art.
Islamic culture became richer still as the state’s frontiers expanded further during the Umayyad (661–
750) and Abbasid (750–1258) caliphates (Islamic states ruled by a caliph), under which the first
monuments of Islamic architecture were constructed and Arabic was established as the language of state.
Early Islamic art was so indebted to the artistic traditions that preceded Islam in the Middle East that it
can at times be difficult to determine if a piece of metalwork or a glass vial should be considered Islamic
art or not. The most distinctive Islamic art form in this period was the illuminated Qurʾan manuscript.
Though in essence an oral communication, the Qurʾan took material form even during the lifetime of
Muhammad, when passages were handwritten on scraps of wood, palm leaves, bark, and bone. Codices
of the Qurʾan were made soon after his death, probably in black ink on cream-colored animal skins. Over
time, calligraphy and even pseudo-script, imbued with the sanctity of the Qurʾan, came to be used on
everyday objects as a gesture toward the divine.
University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies
https://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/maps-middle-east
9
Calligraphy is an important means of transcribing the Qurʾan and important documents, and also reveals
the spiritual and social state of the calligrapher. Being a master or at least a satisfactory calligrapher was
a sign of piety, intellect, discipline, and faith. The letters of calligraphy are always proportional even
though the language, style, and composition may vary based on time period, location, language, and
calligrapher. Because calligraphy was a holy occupation, calligraphers enjoyed the highest status of all
artists in Islamic society. Calligraphers, which included both men and women, had to go through long and
arduous training and their work often was anonymous. Most Muslims knew the Qurʾan by heart, so the
calligraphy of the Qurʾan served only as a memory prompt, allowing calligraphers to focus on elaborate,
stylized scripts rather than legibility.
Bowl with peacock, Iran (possibly Khurasan), 10th–early 11th century.
Earthenware with dark brown decoration on buff slip under transparent
glaze. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Keith McLeod Fund, 65.1277.
Photograph © 2015 MFA, Boston
In ceramic production, potters who admired the hard white surface of
Chinese porcelain and fritware adapted the look to their own materials
and aesthetic, reviving an ancient technique: local clay was glazed in
white, and then color and sometimes Arabic inscriptions were added.
In eastern Iran, between the ninth and eleventh centuries, the production of many ceramic objects seems
to have been driven by a local aesthetic that favored bold, dark forms on a white ground. While the dark
forms often appear as calligraphy, here they represent a bird perched among tree branches. The animal’s
body and elongated legs stretch across the bowl, its feet and three tail feathers extending to the rim.
Strips of decoration above and below the bird resemble branches or the highly stylized Arabic calligraphy
known as pseudo-script.
Important Elements of Design
Shape
Space
Line
Value
Important Principles of Design
Contrast of values
Repetition of line and shape
Asymmetrical balance
Movement as lines guide the viewer’s eye
Identify
What characteristics identify this work of art as part of Islamic culture?
Describe
How would you describe what you see in this image? What kinds of lines and shapes do you see?
Examine
How has repetition been used in the object’s design? How did the artist use contrast for aesthetic effect?
10
Qurʾan folio on blue parchment, North Africa or Near East, 800–900. Ink,
gold, silver, and color on indigo-stained parchment. Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Samuel Putnam Avery Fund, 33.686. Photograph © 2015 MFA,
Boston
This leaf is from the ―Blue Qurʾan,‖ among the grandest of medieval
manuscripts. With its gold script on dark blue parchment, the Blue
Qurʾan was an aesthetic glorification of the holy text. But it may have
had other connotations. Its rich colors emulated—and perhaps
competed with—imperial Byzantine manuscripts of the Bible, written in gold and silver on purple or blue
parchment. The gold perhaps symbolized the light of the holy text shining through darkness and
illuminating the infinite.
More gold was originally visible on the pages of this Qurʾan than we can now see. Beneath the nowtarnished silver medallion in the margin, which may have been added during a medieval refurbishment, is
an original gold element. Some traces of red, and occasionally green, pigment remain. Just why the gold
was covered up is unknown.
Important Elements of Design
Value
Shape
Important Principles of Design
Contrast of values
Unity
Repetition of shape and color
Identify
What is this object? What is its purpose?
Describe
How would you describe what you see in this image?
Examine
How does the contrast between the gold calligraphy and blue parchment reflect the spiritual significance
of the text?
11
Educator Activity: The Art of the Written Word
Objective
Students will look closely at the Qurʾan folio on blue parchment and create a text-based drawing or
painting that reflects the chosen word or phrase.
Introduction
The creator of this Qurʾan folio placed gold script on indigo-stained parchment as a glorification of the
holy text ―shining through darkness and illuminating the infinite.‖ These aesthetic choices brought to life
the sacred nature of the text.
Activity
Students will identify an interesting or inspiring word or quote that will be the basis for their own work of
art. The words themselves will be the artwork, but decorative elements should also be included. Students
must make aesthetic choices that are visually consistent with the idea or feeling associated with the word
or phrase.
Consider sharing examples such as logo designs for products or title treatments for movies. Lead a
discussion about design choices. Talk about why a flyer for a haunted house looks different from a
postcard from a dentist’s office.
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Art Trunk Activity: Animals in Ink—Introduction to Calligraphy
All Ages
Objective
Participants will gain a basic understanding of calligraphy as a decorative element and prepare their own
folio in their language of choice.
Images
Qurʾan folio on blue parchment
Bowl with peacock
Pathology of Suspension #6 (see page 32)
Vocabulary
Calligraphy/calligraphic
Design
Folio
Materials
Book: Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325–1354 by James Rumford
Pencil
Eraser
8 ½‖ x 11‖ sketch paper
Animal stencils (three Middle Eastern animals: camel, elephant, and peacock)
Calligraphy pens in different colors
4‖ x 5‖ calligraphy paper
Glue sticks
5‖ x 11‖ decorative wallpaper
Introduction
Refer to both the Qurʾan folio on blue parchment and the bowl with peacock; ask participants how these
works are similar or different. Explain to participants the importance and meaning of the Qurʾan folio and
how it compares to the bowl with peacock.
Read the book Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325–1354 to younger participants.
Directions
1. Prepare the art-making space by setting out pencils, erasers, animal stencils, and sketch paper.
2. Ask participants to select one animal stencil for their design. Tell them to write the name of the
animal across the top of a sheet of sketch paper, then trace their stencil below. Note: Participants
may also use their own name, their initials, or a poem.
3. Ask participants to practice writing their word(s)—the animal name, their name, their initials, or
the poem—on the sketch paper to fit and fill the animal shape by stretching or squeezing letters
together. Explain that they are creating special lettering that can be called calligraphic.
4. Ask participants to continue filling out the animal shape by adding patterns within or around the
text inside the shape.
5. When the participants have finished thinking and sketching out their designs, hand out the 4‖ x 5‖
sheets of calligraphy paper.
6. Instruct the participants to trace the designs created in steps 3 and 4 onto the calligraphy paper,
in pencil.
7. Hand out calligraphy pens for participants to complete their designs in ink.
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8. Set out wallpaper and glue sticks. Ask each participant to choose a wallpaper for the back of their
new artwork. Have them glue their calligraphic folio to the wallpaper.
9. Have an art show! Set a special space aside in your building, hallway, or classroom for others in
your community to enjoy!
Learn more about the art of Islamic calligraphy by visiting
http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/teacherresources/islam.pdf
14
A Multicentered Islamic World: Eleventh to Fifteenth Century
Lands on the periphery of the Islamic world began to break off into separate kingdoms in the tenth and
eleventh centuries. With them, strong regional traditions began to define Islamic art, even while common
elements persisted. North Africa was among the earliest regions to become independent, first under the
rule of the Fatimid caliphate (909–1171) and later under the Mamluk sultanate (1250–1517), which
ruled a kingdom encompassing Egypt, the Levant, and western Arabia. In Islamic Spain, a caliphate
based in Córdoba (929–1031) was succeeded by a series of shorter-lived dynasties, including the
Nasrids (1232–1492), whose rulers built the extraordinary palace known as the Alhambra. Meanwhile, at
the eastern edge of the Islamic world, groups of Central Asians began to move westward and to claim
territory. The Seljuqs and later the Mongols and Timurids established urban centers in which Islamic
culture flourished.
University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies
https://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/maps-middle-east
15
Egypt and Syria
In the early tenth century the Fatimids, a dynasty claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad’s own
family, took control of North Africa and established a caliphate to rival that of the Abbasids in Baghdad.
The Fatimid caliphate (909–1171) was succeeded eventually by the Mamluk sultanate (1250–1517),
which controlled Egypt and Syria as well as western Arabia and parts of Anatolia. The rulers of the
Mamluk sultanate, powerful military generals with slave-soldier origins, made their capital of Cairo the
most important city of the Arab Islamic world.
In the Mamluk cities of Cairo, Aleppo, and Damascus, art and architecture blossomed under the
patronage of Mamluk rulers made rich by trade. Mosques and tombs were outfitted with elaborate lamps,
pulpits, and stands holding monumental Qurʾan manuscripts. Deluxe objects were also made for use at
court, many out of brass heavily inlaid with silver and copper. These works often bore the emblems and
titles of their royal or noble sponsors, for whom patronage of art was an important way to assert and
reinforce personal status.
Door, Egypt (Cairo), 14th–15th century with later additions. Wood (ebony, Aleppo pine,
abura, boxwood) and ivory or bone. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Martin
Brimmer, 77.1. Photograph © 2015 MFA, Boston
Intricately patterned woodwork filled mosques sponsored by the Mamluk rulers, and
also appeared as ornate window shutters, doors, and furniture in Cairo’s royal halls
and religious schools. This door was probably assembled by Europeans in
nineteenth-century Cairo out of salvaged Mamluk woodwork. Its design exploits the
natural colors of its materials—ivory or bone, dark ebony, and wood of other hues—
to create a dazzling polychromatic effect. The panel across the bottom addresses
the sultan al-Zahir Barquq (reigned 1382–89 and 1390–99): ―Honor to our master
the sultan the king . . . al-Zahir Barquq. God magnify his victory.‖
Important Elements of Design
Shape
Line
Value
Important Principles of Design
Symmetrical balance
Repetition of shape
Pattern
Identify
What is this object, and what is its purpose?
Describe
How would you describe this object? What kinds of lines, colors, shapes, and values do you see? Refer
to the link above and discuss how this door was constructed.
Examine
How have repeated shapes been used to form patterns on this object? What does the inscription across
the bottom tell you about how or where this object might have been used?
Learn more about this object by visiting
http://www.mfa.org/collections/conservation/conservationinaction_minbardoor
16
Spain, Italy, and North Africa
In al-Andalus (a term for lands ruled by Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula), the caliphate of Córdoba
(929–1031) was succeeded by a series of shorter-lived dynasties. The region reached a cultural peak in
the thirteenth century that lasted until 1492, when the united armies of Castile and Aragón brought
Muslim rule in Spain to an end. Islamic Spain was linked in this period to southern Italy, North Africa, and
the Middle East by a flourishing network of mercantile, diplomatic, and, occasionally, military relations that
crisscrossed the Mediterranean.
Some aspects of Islamic culture became a common heritage among the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim
inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, who were continually engaged in political and economic interaction.
Silks from al-Andalus were among the products highly valued among Christian elites, and many ended up
in church treasuries and tombs. Islamic communities north and south of the Mediterranean shared a
distinctively rounded form of Arabic script known as maghribi (from the Arabic word for ―West‖) and used
for the copying out of the Qurʾan.
Fragment of silk lampas with birds and interlace, Spain (possibly Granada), 13th–14th
century. Lampas of silk and metallic thread (gilded animal membrane wrapped on a
linen core). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Harriet Otis Cruft Fund, 30.40. Photograph
© 2015 MFA, Boston
Lampas is a type of luxury textile woven with a compound structure, combining two
different yet interconnected sets of threads (one for the ground, another for the
pattern). In this length of silk lampas, weft threads of green, yellow, blue, and red
traverse warp threads of pinkish red and orange. The textile’s colors remain vibrant
today, a testament to improved dyeing and weaving techniques, including the
―floating‖ of red warp threads in a satin weave on the surface of the textile, where
they could catch the light. Even more brilliant than the colorful silk threads are the
copious metallic ones. Another piece of this same opulent textile, in the Museu Nacional d’Art de
Catalunya in Barcelona, is in the form of a half chasuble, a Christian clerical garment.
Important Elements of Design
Shape
Line
Important Principles of Design
Pattern
Symmetrical balance
Repetition of shape
Harmony
Identify
What is this object? What materials were used to create it?
Describe
What are its recurring patterns, designs, and motifs? How does the design show visual harmony?
Examine
How was this and similar textiles regarded among Christian elites? How did churches use them?
17
Iran and Central Asia
In the eleventh century, Turkic tribesmen from Central Asia began to move westward into Abbasid
territory, adopting Islam and establishing independent kingdoms. The Seljuq dynasty ruled Iran, Iraq, and
most of Syria between 1037 and 1194. The last independent Seljuq outpost was lost in 1243 to Mongol
armies who, led initially by Genghis Khan, unified the tribes of the Central Asian steppes and conquered
lands to both the west and the east. In 1256 a grandson of Genghis Khan founded the Ilkhanid dynasty,
which ruled a kingdom encompassing Iran, Iraq, and parts of Anatolia and the Caucasus, and lasted until
1335. At the end of the fourteenth century, yet another Turkic dynasty, known as the Timurids after its
founder Timur (Tamerlane in the West), established rule over Iran and Central Asia; it remained in power
until 1506.
Figurine of an elephant, Iran (Rayy), 11th–12th century. Fritware with
turquoise glaze. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, University Museum—M.F.A.
Persian Expedition, 39.430. Photograph © 2015 MFA, Boston
This figurine is of an elephant carrying a large platform on its back and
wearing heavy armor. It is one of about ten such figurines in collections
around the world. Some of them appear to bear musicians, perhaps
indicating that they represent a ceremonial procession. Zoomorphic
figurines like this one were a popular form of ceramic object during the
Seljuq period. They were made for an elite sector of society, though their
precise meaning and function remain unknown. Some figurines are hollow and have holes where liquid
could be poured in or out, and others may have been used in the bath as scrubbing stones. Many,
however, have no obvious function and must have been decorative or ceremonial objects.
Important Elements of Design
Shape
Line
Value
Important Principles of Design
Symmetrical balance
Repetition of shape
Pattern
Identify
What is this object?
Describe
How would you describe this figurine? What materials did the artist use to make this object?
Examine
Based on this elephant’s appearance, what might have been its purpose? Where does the artist use
different textures on this figurine?
18
Educator Activity: Geometric Patterns
Objective
Students will look closely at geometric patterns in the door and the silk lampas and create their own
complex geometric patterns using tracing paper and a grid.
Introduction
Geometric patterns are a significant characteristic of Islamic art. Though not prohibited by the Qurʾan,
figural rendering was often discouraged, especially in religious contexts, so geometric patterns became a
common method of expression.
Activity
Provide a grid made up of equilateral triangles like the one below or have students make one. As a class,
look closely at the grid and identify shapes that can be created and reproduced as a pattern.
Students will use the grid lines as a guide. Then, they will use markers or colored pencils to color in their
shapes and patterns.
Triangle grid
Completed example
19
Art Trunk Activity: Tessellation Mosaics
Pre-K–4th grade
Objective
Participants will gain an introductory lesson to tessellations by matching geometric shapes and creating
pattern through use of color.
Image
Mamluk door
Vocabulary
Tessellation
Materials
Roylco tessellation mosaics
Mosaic shapes
Glue
Introduction
Have participants take a close look at the Mamluk door and ask them to identify as many shapes as they
can.
Watch the ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You—Shapes in Architecture video
(http://fristcenter.org/misc/shapes-in-architecture) and discuss what shapes they see in the classroom.
Ask participants to take another look at the Mamluk door.
 Are there more shapes that you see in the door?
 Can you make that shape with your hands? Or draw it in the air?
Directions
1. Hand out Roylco tessellation patterns and geometric shapes
2. Have participants match the shapes to the tessellation pattern.
3. See if participants can name the shapes they are using (triangle, rhombus, trapezoid, square, and
hexagon).
4. Ask participants to carefully consider what colors they would use for making a pattern with color
as well as with the shapes in their tessellation mosaic.
5. Last, hand out glue and have participants glue their shapes to the tessellation mosaic.
6. Have an art show! Set a special space aside in your building, hallway, or classroom for others in
your community to enjoy!
Conclusion
Look closer at the Mamluk door pattern:
 After making your own tessellation, are there new shapes you can identify?
 What shapes in your tessellation look similar to the door pattern?
 Are there shapes that are different but have the same name? (For example: rhombus, trapezoid)
20
Art Trunk Activity: Tessellations—Pattern in Puzzles
5th grade–Adult
Objective
Participants will gain knowledge of the term tessellation and develop an understanding of complex
patterning through this activity.
Images
Mamluk door
Vocabulary
Tessellation
Materials
2‖ x 2‖ black paper
Scissors
Gold pencil
Tape
9‖ x 12‖ red paper
Colored pencils
Introduction
Have participants take a close look at the Mamluk door.
 What do you notice first?
 How many shapes or repeating patterns do you see?
 Can you name all the shapes used in this door?
 Why do you think these patterns are important to the spirituality of the Islamic world?
Explain that tessellations are patterns made of identical shapes that repeat and have no gaps. Go into
activity demonstration:
Directions
1. Hand out 2‖ x 2‖ squares of black paper, gold pencils, scissors, and tape.
2. Ask participants to write the letters P, A, R, and T on the square, with one letter in each corner.
3. Ask participants to do the following:
a. Holding the square of paper open (that is, without folding it), cut it in half, making the cut
a curvy line.
b. Pick up one of the halves. Cut that piece in half, making a zig-zag edge.
c. Pick up the other half of the original square. Cut through it with another curvy line. Each
participant should now have four pieces of paper, each cut from the original square.
4. Ask participants to connect all the straight corners of their pieces, going clockwise, to spell
T-R-A-P. The letters will be in the center of the connected pieces, with the curvy and zig-zag
edges forming a new outer shape. This new shape will be the participant’s tessellation puzzle
piece. Have participants tape the pieces together.
5. Hand out 9‖ x 12‖ sheets of red paper and have participants follow these steps:
a. To start, find the exact center of the puzzle piece and line it up with a corner of the red
paper. Part of the puzzle piece will be hanging off the page.
b. Using a gold pencil, trace the outline of the piece onto the paper.
c. The goal is to fill the whole page with a pattern formed by the shape of the tessellation
puzzle piece, with no gaps between the pieces. Play with your puzzle piece to discover
how to connect each tracing to the next. Remember that you may need to move the
shape off the page to continue the pattern to the paper’s edge.
21
6. When the participants have completed covering their sheets of paper with their patterns, hand out
colored pencils. Participants should color in the spaces formed by the pattern.
7. Have an art show! Set a special space aside in your building, hallway, or classroom for others in
your community to enjoy!
Conclusion
After the activity, ask participants to take another close look at the door.
 Do you see any tessellations?
 If the door or pattern were larger, would these shapes make a tessellation?
 Are there any similarities between your tessellation and the door’s pattern?
22
An Era of Empires: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century
Three great empires ruled most of the Islamic world from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. The
Ottoman empire (1299–1923), which originated at the end of the thirteenth century and rose as a world
power after its 1453 conquest of Constantinople, spread across vast lands. Under the leadership of
Sultan Suleiman (reigned 1520–66), it reached from Budapest to Baghdad and from Tunis to Tabriz. In
South Asia, the Mughal dynasty (1526–1858) included, at its height, nearly all of present-day India, as
well as Bangladesh and Pakistan. East of the Ottoman empire, the lands of the Safavid dynasty (1501–
1736) included much of present-day Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. Though periodically in
conflict with one another, these empires were continually engaged with one another through mercantile
and diplomatic networks. They also had a great deal in common, including the use of Persian and Arabic
languages, a concept of governance centered on sacred kingship, and a cultural heritage that linked them
to the Mongol and Timurid empires.
University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies
https://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/maps-middle-east
23
Ottoman Empire
Although the Ottoman dynasty had been established at the end of the thirteenth century by a Turkmen
chief, its 1453 conquest of Constantinople, which ended the Byzantine era, marked its rise as a world
power. The Sunni Ottomans ruled an empire that, at its greatest height, reached from Budapest to
Baghdad and from Tunis to Tabriz, and included the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Ottoman lands
stood at the crossroads of trade between Europe and Asia, benefiting from this position and generating a
uniquely syncretistic imperial culture.
In addition to their renowned patronage of architecture, which led to the conversion of the Church of
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (the city formerly known as Constantinople) into a congregational mosque,
Ottoman sultans and elites supported flourishing textile and ceramics industries. Textiles in particular had
an important place in Ottoman court culture, as banners, wall hangings, and floor coverings that enriched
the settings of ceremonies, and as clothing worn by rulers and courtiers and imbued with symbolic value.
Ceramics, similarly ubiquitous in elite circles, were produced in the town of Iznik, first in imitation of
Chinese porcelains and later with distinctive Ottoman motifs and colors.
Length of velvet with carnations, Turkey (Bursa), Late 16th–early 17th century. Cut and
voided silk velvet brocaded with metallic thread (metal strips wrapped on a silk core).
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Mrs. J. D. Cameron Bradley, 42.368a. Photograph
© 2015 MFA, Boston
Silk velvets decorated with large carnation blossoms were used by the Ottomans,
mostly for furnishings such as covers or cushions. Wear and time have dulled the
silver-wrapped threads and flattened the texture of this velvet, but it once would have
dazzled the viewer with the juxtaposition of its silver sheen against the softness and
depth of red and blue-green pile. Workshops in the city of Bursa, not far from
Istanbul, supplied the Ottoman court as well as western European, Polish, and
Russian markets with silks and velvets.
Carnations like these bloomed throughout the palaces of Ottoman Istanbul, not only within the patterns of
silks but also on glazed tiles and in textiles draped on floors, sofas, and walls. Courtiers used ceramic
bowls and wore clothing decorated with the same floral designs. All of this made for a highly unified visual
universe enveloping the members of the ruling elite.
Important Elements of Design
Line
Color
Shape
Important Principles of Design
Symmetrical balance
Repetition of shape
Pattern
Identify
What characteristic identifies this work of art as part of Ottoman culture?
Describe
How would you describe what you see in this image? How did the artist use the carnation to create visual
rhythm?
Examine
What material was used to create this object?
24
Mughal Empire
The Mughal dynasty, founded by a descendant of both the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and the
Turkic leader Timur, conquered northern India from a base in Kabul in the early sixteenth century. From a
capital first in Agra and then in Delhi, his successors soon came to rule nearly the entire subcontinent,
using both military tactics and inclusive policies of administration. Though Mughal rulers adhered to the
Sunni branch of Islam, they ruled with tolerance for two centuries over a kingdom mainly composed of
Hindus, bringing into being an imperial culture that fused elements of Hindu and Muslim cultures.
Extensive contact with Europeans contributed further to the richness of Mughal imperial culture.
Following in Timurid footsteps, the Mughals were great patrons of the arts of the book. In their patronage,
the Mughals proved themselves culturally omnivorous, sponsoring the copying of Persian as well as
Hindu texts and creating an imperial style that combined elements of Persian, pre-Islamic Indian, and
European painting. Portraits of rulers and elites are among the most enduring works of Mughal art, as are
the floral and figural carpets and textiles used to embellish palaces. As at the Ottoman and Safavid
courts, conventions of dress communicated status and identity, and textile patterns could convey loyalty
to the ruling regime.
Ascribed to Muhammad ʿAli. Album folio fragment with scholar in a garden,
North India, about 1610–15. Ink, color, gold, and silver on paper. Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912 and Picture Fund, 14.663.
Photograph © 2015 MFA, Boston
This small painting depicts a gray-bearded man seated in a verdant garden,
surrounded by the accoutrements of the scholar’s life. To aid him in his
work he has a book with a gilded leather cover, a gold pen box, a red
portfolio of paper, and a small ceramic pot, possibly for ink. To sustain his
energy, he has a bottle of wine (on a gold stand, with a gold goblet nearby)
and a flask of water. The image may be emblematic of the intellectual life of
the best and brightest at the height of the Mughal empire.
Figural Art
The Qurʾan does not prohibit the creation of figural art, but warns against idolatry, probably in response to the
statues of gods that were worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia. As Islamic art and thought developed, ideas
about the potential threat posed by figural imagery were elaborated. One Hadith, or saying of Muhammad,
states that those who make ―pictures‖ will be punished on the Day of Judgment by being told, ―Make alive
what you have created.‖ As humans lack the ability to breathe life into objects or images, they would of
course fail this crucial test and be condemned for attempting to usurp a privilege unique to God. Because of
beliefs such as these, figural representation is almost entirely excluded from Islamic religious contexts.
Nevertheless, it has been an important part of secular Islamic art in nearly every period, region, and medium.
Important Elements of Design
Line
Value
Color
Shape
Space
Important Principles of Design
Asymmetrical balance
Repetition of shape
Pattern
25
Identify
How does the artist use the elements of color, value, line, shape, texture, and space in this painting?
Describe
Describe this painting, including the subject and his surroundings.
Examine
What are the objects in the painting and what purpose do they serve? What can the objects tell you about
the person in this painting?
Interpret
How do you think the artist intended the viewer to respond?
26
Safavid Empire
The Safavid dynasty, founded by the head of a Sufi order based in the Iranian city of Ardabil, controlled
Iran and surrounding regions between 1501 and 1726. From its inception, the Safavid dynasty made
Shiʿa Islam—the smaller of the two major branches of Islam, which maintains that authority passed from
the Prophet Muhammad to his lineal descendants—the official religion of its empire and mandated that
the largely Sunni population of its empire convert. Gradually, the Safavids were able to cultivate a
regional identity based on Shiʿism and Persian language and culture. They achieved their greatest
strength around the start of the seventeenth century, under the rule of Shah ʿAbbas I, whose capital in
Isfahan was known worldwide as a beautiful and prosperous city.
Nearly all members of the dynasty were generous patrons of the arts, supporting workshops that brought
together skilled artists who had served previous rulers of the region. Silk textiles produced in the empire
were both used locally and exported to Europe, leading the Safavids into conflict with the Ottomans, who
also aspired to control of the silk trade. Using silk for warps, wefts, and even pile, weavers found they
could make carpets with increasingly elaborate patterns, sometimes with designs created by
accomplished painters and draftsmen. The arts of the book saw great development as more and more
artists began producing single-page paintings and drawings in self-consciously cultivated personal styles.
Sunnism and Shiʿism
Sunnism and Shiʿism are the two major branches of Islam. Sunnis make up about 85 percent of the Muslim
population. They believe that the community as a whole can rightfully interpret the Qurʾan and select
political and religious authorities, known as caliphs. Many followers of this sect can be found in Saudi
Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Syria, and North Africa.
Shiʿis consider Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, and his descendants the only true successors to
the Prophet. About 15 percent of Muslims worldwide are Shi ʿis. While most live in Iran and in Iraq, different
Shiʿi communities can also be found in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Yemen.
Bottle, Iran, Mid-to-late 17th century, with later addition. Fritware with painted
decoration on white slip under transparent glaze; silver top. Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Washington Wales, 95.411. Photograph © 2015
MFA, Boston
About ten bottles nearly identical to this one can be found in museums around the
world, and it is likely that some were made within a single workshop. One side shows
a hunter shooting a deer, with a crane below, and the other side, a stylishly dressed
man carrying a doe toward a kneeling woman. The subjects are painted in reserve
over a flattened, pear-shaped clay body molded in low relief. For a vessel with this
irregular shape, the clay would have been molded in two halves, a common practice
in the Safavid period. Making the mold would have required great skill: a ―master positive,‖ produced by a
specialist, was used to make the ―negative,‖ the model for the mold.
The top of this bottle, like that of many others, has been lost. Based on intact examples, it would have
had a tulip shape, with painted decoration. Today, the bottle bears an engraved silver cone, likely made in
Iran in the nineteenth century.
27
Important Elements of Design
Shape
Color
Line
Form
Important Principles of Design
Repetition of shape
Symmetrical balance
Pattern
Identify
What is this object? For what purpose might it have been used?
Describe
How would you describe this bottle? What is depicted on the bottle’s surface? Look at the painted
decoration and describe the use of the elements of color, line, and shape.
Examine
How was this bottle made? What materials were used? Why is the top of the bottle made of different
material?
28
Educator Activity: A Closer Look at the Empires
Objective
Students will learn more about the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires and identify present-day
countries located where the territories for those empires used to be.
Introduction
The Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman dynasties ruled most of the Islamic world from the sixteenth to the
eighteenth century. Their histories involved conflict as well as engagement with one another during this
period.
Activity
Review the histories of the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires. Investigate to find facts such as the
years marking the beginning and end of each reign, and important rulers and events during each period.
Also, learn about any cultural similarities and differences as well as any conflicts between these
dynasties. Review the map at the beginning of this section to see the expanse of the geographical
territory held by each; then list or use a current map to identify the present-day countries that were once
part of these empires.
29
The Modern Age: Nineteenth Century and Beyond
Until recently, Islamic art was often treated as if its production stopped abruptly at about the year 1800, as
if the people and places where Islamic art thrived had suddenly disappeared. The reasons for this abrupt
halt have to do with confusion about whether material from the early nineteenth century should be seen
as art or ―ethnographic material,‖ and with ambivalence among scholars about the status of Islamic art
once it had begun to change through interaction with the West. Today, however, it has become clear that
Islamic art’s history continued into the nineteenth century and beyond, and that contemporary art made
by artists with roots in the Islamic world constitutes the latest chapter.
The Nineteenth Century
Although the Ottoman empire persisted into the early twentieth century, the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries saw the weakening of centralized power. Meanwhile, movements for Turkish nationalism
emerged. The power of the Mughals in India was also in decline over the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries. The dynasty’s end came in 1858 when the subcontinent was incorporated into the British
empire. Safavid rule in Iran persisted until the early eighteenth century and was followed for about fifty
years by the Zand and Afsharid dynasties. These were succeeded in 1785 by the Qajar dynasty, which
ruled Iran as well as parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia until the early twentieth century, while other
areas of Central Asia came largely under Russian rule.
To a certain degree, artistic practices of this period continued along lines established during the era of the
great early modern empires. At the same time, however, increased contact with the West brought about
European influence on trends that inspired artists to explore new imagery, techniques, and modes of
representation. Patronage also underwent changes. For example, in India, artists in the waning years of
the Mughal empire began working for both ―Court‖ and ―Company‖––that is, Mughal courtiers and officers
of the East India Company, many of whom became colonial officials after 1858.
University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies
https://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/maps-middle-east
30
Wall hanging (pardha), Uzbekistan, about 1860. Silk and cotton plain weave, warpikat. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Marshall H. Gould Fund, 2002.10. Photograph
© 2015 MFA, Boston
Ikat, from the Malay word meaning ―to bind,‖ is a type of resist-dyed
(specifically, tie-dyed) textile produced in many parts of the world. In the region
that is today Uzbekistan, ikat production seems to have taken root only in the
early 1800s, but the results are celebrated. To create this wall hanging’s
colorful design, bundles of warp threads had to be tied in different
configurations and immersed in dye. Its six-color palette probably took weeks,
if not longer, to produce. What would have been a relatively simple composition
of stripes was made more interesting by staggering the warp threads on the
loom to create a chevron (v-shaped) pattern.
Important Elements of Design
Line
Value
Color
Shape
Important Principles of Design
Symmetrical balance
Harmony
Repetition of shape and color
Pattern
Identify
What is the dyeing technique used to create this wall hanging?
Describe
Describe the use of color, line, shape, texture, and value in this wall hanging.
Examine
How does this wall hanging maintain harmony while using a broad range of colors?
31
Modern and Contemporary Art
The great changes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—new economic and political
circumstances, the prominence of the West, and the emergence of national identities—had a dramatic
impact on Islamic art, leading to new forms of art as well as new forums for its production, appreciation,
and exchange. In the twentieth century, artists from the Middle East (those who continued to live in the
Islamic world and those who emigrated) contended with a whirlwind of change, including the end of
European colonialism and the birth of many new nations and nationalisms. Over the course of the
century, some of these nations became wealthy and powerful, leading to yet another restructuring of
economic and political relations within and beyond the Middle East.
Many artists whose roots are in the Islamic world responded to this altered landscape by developing
forms that were abstract, modern, and new, while connecting to or commenting on Islamic arts of the
precolonial past. Some discovered in calligraphy, for example, a form of expression that was identifiably
Islamic (or Arab, or Turkish) yet could be rendered modern through changes in scale or technique. Today
some artists who identify personally with the Islamic world choose to work with styles, subjects, and
techniques that have little or nothing to do with Islamic art, but are international. Others engage with both
international styles and artistic traditions of their country or region of origin.
Shahzia Sikander. Pathology of Suspension #6, 2005. Ink and gouache on prepared
paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Barbara Lee Endowment for Contemporary Art by
Women and Charles Bain Hoyt Fund, 2006.1254. Photograph © 2015 MFA, Boston
In this work Shahzia Sikander’s recognizable forms dissolve and transform before
our eyes. The peach-colored ground is covered in gestural marks that approximate
calligraphic letters of the Urdu alphabet but are neither formed of ink nor legible.
Other forms depict gopis (female cowherds devoted to Krishna) or yoginis (female
ascetics) from the painting traditions of northern India. They hover between full and
partial figuration (some appear as floating torsos) and range from opaque to
translucent. By excerpting and layering forms, Sikander reconstitutes canonical imagery in uncanny ways,
calling into question the temporal and cultural fixedness of figural imagery as well as categories of
identity, gender, statehood, and religious affiliation.
Important Elements of Design
Shape
Space
Line
Color
Important Principles of Design
Radial balance
Repetition of shape
Describe
How would you describe this work of art?
Examine
Look closely at the marks radiating from the center of the paper. What kinds of marks and images do you
see? How did the artist apply the elements of design listed above?
Interpret
The artist uses elements of traditional cultural imagery in an unusual way. What does the artist want the
viewer to think about?
32
Art Trunk Activity: Weaving—Warm and Cool Patterns in Paper
Pre-K–4th grade
Objective
Participants will gain an understanding of warm and cool colors, discovering a wax resist dyeing process,
and create their own woven patterns in paper.
Image
Wall hanging
Vocabulary
Warp
Weft
Weave
Materials
Book: Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan and Mehrdokht Amini
Videos: ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You—Color Temperature and Color Theory (available at fristkids.org)
Multisensory kit: silk pod, raw silk ikat, and cotton
8 ½‖ x 11‖ paper
1‖ x 8‖ paper strips (9 strips for each participant), in a variety of warm and cool colors
Watercolors
White crayon
Paintbrushes
Water cups
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Glue sticks
Color wheel
Introduction
Start by looking at the image of the wall hanging from Uzbekistan. Explain to participants that this artist
used the ikat process to dye their weaving. Ikat (pronounced ―ee-K-aw-T‖) is similar to our American tiedyeing, as is binding textiles to resist a liquid dyeing process. Ikat means ―to bind.‖ Pass out multisensory
boards that display the various textures and patterns of twill cotton, ikat raw silk, and silk cocoons with a
plain weaving. Explain that the wall hanging is a blending of two fibers, cotton and silk.
Watch the ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You—Color Temperature and Color Theory videos
(http://fristcenter.org/misc/warm-cool-colors). Once the videos are over, share the color wheel with the
group.
Read Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors to the class and ask the students to
identify the warm and cool colors in the book while you read.
Revisit the wall hanging image and ask:
 How many warm colors can you find on the wheel? In the weaving?
 How many cool colors can you find on the wheel? In the weaving?
33
Directions
1) Prepare the art-making space by covering and protecting surfaces in the room. Hand out 8 ½‖ x
11‖ paper, white crayons, water cups, paintbrushes, and watercolors.
2) Have participants use a white crayon to draw a pattern onto the 8 ½‖ x 11‖ paper. This paper will
be their warp for the weaving.
3) Next, participants must dye their warp in warm colors (reds, yellows, oranges) or cool colors
(blues, greens, and purples). They must pick only one set.
4) Paint over the paper with the chosen warm or cool colors.
5) While the paper dries, put away the watercolors, brushes, crayons, and water cups.
6) Once the paper warp is dry, hand out rulers and pencils.
7) Fold the warp in half shortways (―hamburger‖ style).
8) Use the ruler to measure and then use pencil to make a mark one inch from each long open
edge, opposite the fold.
9) Use the ruler to draw a straight line connecting the one-inch marks across the open edge of the
warp. This line will be the guideline for drawing and cutting.
10) Continue measuring and marking one-inch spaces along the guideline and have participants draw
a line from each mark from the guideline toward the folded end of the paper. (That is, not toward
the open ends).
TIP! The lines may be straight or curved, but make sure they are no less than 1‖ wide.
11) While paper is folded, cut along the lines from the fold to the guideline.
12) Unfold the paper to see the warp for their weaving.
13) Last, instruct participants to choose nine paper strips that are the opposite type of color from their
previously dyed warp (i.e., warm-colored strips for a cool-colored warp, and cool-colored strips for
a warm –colored warp). These strips will be the weft in their weaving.
14) Using the nine weft strips, have participants weave across the warp, using one of the following
patterns:
Ages 5–7
Plain weave
 Using the weft, begin weaving an over-one, under-one pattern into the warp of your paper. Once
the whole weft strip is in place, tap tightly to make sure it is straight.
 Begin the second row of weft, using the opposite weaving method with under-one, over-one.
 Continue this, alternating throughout each row. Alternating the beginnings of each row, along with
leaving no gaps in the weft, will also help make the weaving stronger.
 When the final row has been woven, have participants glue down each row at its ends to secure
the paper.
Ages 8 and up
Basket weave
This is similar to the plain weave process, but instead of an over-one, under-one pattern, basket weave
uses an over-two, under-two pattern.
15) Have an art show! Set a special space aside in your building, hallway, or classroom for others in
your community to enjoy!
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Art Trunk Activity: Woven Pattern Mini-Rug
5th grade–Adult
Objective
Participants will gain a better understanding of Middle Eastern weaving by using a shed stick and
cardboard loom to create a colorful patterned mini-rug.
Image
Wall hanging
Vobaculary
Warp
Weft
Shed
Materials
Book: Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan and Mehrdokht Amini
Video: ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You—Warm and Cool Colors (available at fristkids.org)
Multisensory kit: silk pod, raw silk ikat, and cotton
Sketch paper
Pencils
Colored pencils
Cardboard loom
Scissors
Blue tapestry needles
Ruler
Pencil
Tape
2‖ cardboard strip
For the warp: natural cotton, cut into one 12.5’ length per participant
For the weft: thick, soft yarn in various colors, cut into one-yard strands
Color wheel
Introduction
Start by looking at the image of the wall hanging from Uzbekistan. Explain to participants that this artist
used the ikat process to dye their weaving. Ikat (pronounced ―ee-K-aw-T‖ ) is similar to our American tiedyeing, as is binding textiles to resist a liquid dyeing process. Ikat means to bind. Pass out multisensory
boards that display the various textures and patterns of twill cotton, ikat raw silk, and silk cocoons with a
plain weaving. Explain that the wall hanging is blending of two fibers, cotton and silk.
Watch ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You—Color Temperature and Color Theory videos
(http://fristcenter.org/misc/warm-cool-colors). Once the videos are over, share the color wheel with the
group.
Read Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors to the class and ask the students to
identify the warm and cool colors in the book while you read.
Revisit the wall hanging image and ask:
 How many warm colors can you find on the wheel? In the weaving?
 How many cool colors can you find on the wheel? In the weaving?
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Directions
Beginning the process
1) Share with participants the sample weaving and explain that they will each create their own minirug.
2) Hand out sketch paper, pencils, and colored pencils.
3) Ask participants to sketch a simple pattern, consisting of stripes in different colors, for a rug that
will be 4–5 inches long. This sketch will help them think about the design of the rug and act as a
map as they weave.
Warping the loom
1) Hand out cardboard looms, warp thread, tape, and scissors.
2) Have participants warp the loom by taping one end of the thread to the back of the cardboard.
They should then loop the thread back and forth across the front of the loom. There should be 12
lines of thread across the front when they are done.
3) Have participants tape the loose end of the thread to the back side of the cardboard and, if
necessary, cut off the excess.
Using a shed stick
1) Participants can use a ruler as a shed stick, which will help them weave faster. First, show them
how to weave the ruler over and under through the warp.
2) Ask each participant to twist their ruler on its side to raise every other thread. Doing so will create
a diamond-shaped opening. This opening is called the shed.
3) Ask participants to double-check their threads, to make sure they have woven their shed stick
correctly into the warp. Make corrections as needed.
4) Hand out needles and weft yarn.
5) Beginning with a shed stick on its side, demonstrate to participants how to pass the needle
between the warp threads. Explain that the shed stick only raises one shed (i.e., one set of
threads), and then show them how to return it to its flat position and how to weave the needle
under and over the second shed (i.e., the next set of threads) to create the next row of the rug.
Explain that they will be alternating between raising the shed stick (passing the needle between
the threads) and laying it flat (weaving the needle over and under the threads).
Weaving the rug
1) Hand out the 2‖ cardboard strips. Have participants position the strip at the bottom of the loom as
a spacer. Participants should start their weaving above the top edge of the strip. The unwoven
space created by the strip will reserve enough warp thread to tie into knots later (in ―Completing
the Rug‖).
2) Have each participant follow these steps:
a. Look at your sketch to see what color the first stripe should be.
b. Select a strand of weft yarn that is the same color (or close to it).
c. Thread the yarn through the tapestry needle. Do not tie any knots into the thread. Just
bring the thread through the eye of the needle until it overlaps with itself by two or three
inches.
d. Begin weaving by turning the shed stick onto its side, which should raise every other
thread in the warp.
e. Pass the needle through the shed (the diamond-shaped opening), pulling the weft yarn
through until there is only a two- or three-inch-long tail hanging over the edge of the loom.
f. Turn the shed stick back to its flat position. Create the next row of the rug by weaving the
weft yarn back through the warp, using the under-and-over pattern demonstrated in Step
5 of ―Using a shed stick.‖ Pack this row snugly against the row below it by using the ruler
or needle to push the yarn down.
36
Note to teachers: Remind participants to avoid weaving too tight or too loose, and to
keep the warp threads parallel to one another, being careful not to pull the weft yarn in
too tight along the sides of the weaving (known as the selvage edges). Paying close
attention to this will help participants produce a more even fabric.
1) Have each participant continue to weave with the first color until there are only 6 inches of yarn
left on the needle.
2) Instruct participants to remove the needle from the yarn, leaving the 6-inch tail hanging off the
side of the loom.
3) Have participants look at their sketches again, to see what the color of the next stripe should be.
Ask them to follow these next steps:
a. Select a strand of weft yarn that is the color (or close to it) of the next stripe on your
sketch.
b. Thread the needle with it and begin weaving as before, remembering to leave a 2- or 3inch-long tail hanging over the side of the weaving when you start.
c. Follow your sketch, changing weft colors when each stripe is as wide as the stripe on
your sketch. Don’t forget to leave a 2- or 3-inch-long tail when you start each new color!
d. When your rug is as long as your sketch (4–5 inches), you are done with the weaving
part.
Completing the rug
1) Demonstrate to participants how to use their tapestry needles to weave the weft tails into the
stripes of the rug, using the under-and-over pattern they learned above.
2) After all the tails have been woven into the rug, ask each participant to release the warp from
the loom by cutting the threads at each end.
3) Participants will finish their rugs by tying pairs of warp threads together, making six knots at
the bottom and six knots at the top. They can use scissors to even out any ends that are too
long or even.
37
38
Timeline of Major Islamic Empires and Dynasties
Glossary
Abrahamic religions: Monotheistic religions that trace their common origin to the patriarch Abraham or
recognize a spiritual tradition identified with him. The three largest Abrahamic religions were founded in
the following chronological order: Judaism (1st millennium BCE), Christianity (1st century CE), and Islam
(7th century CE).
al-Andalus: Also known as Muslim Spain, this term is applied to the portions of the Iberian Peninsula
under Islamic rule between the years 711 and 1492, especially the region corresponding roughly with
present-day Andalusia in southern Spain.
caliph: A deputy or commander of the Islamic community whose role combines both religious and
political functions. The first four ―rightly guided‖ caliphs—Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali—were
companions of Muhammad and served collectively from 632 through 661 CE.
caliphate: A form of Islamic government led by a caliph.
calligraphy: The art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush.
codex (plural codices): A book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar
materials, with handwritten content.
design: The organization or composition of a work; the skilled arrangement of its parts. An effective
design is one in which the elements of art and principles of design have been combined to achieve an
overall sense of unity.
dynasty: A sequence of rulers from the same family, stock, or group.
East India Company: A company chartered in 1600 by the British government to trade in the East Indies.
After being driven out by the Dutch, it developed trade with India until the Indian Mutiny (1857), when the
British took over the administration. The company was dissolved in 1874.
empire: An extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority.
folio: An individual leaf of paper or parchment, occurring either loose as one of a series or forming part of
a bound volume.
fritware: A type of pottery produced to mimic Chinese porcelain. Earthenware vessels are coated with a
mixture of white clay, quartz, and soda that fires into a brittle white material, which is then covered with a
thin transparent glaze.
geometric: Refers to any shape or form made up of straight lines or angles, including circle, ovals,
triangles, rectangles, squares, and other quadrilaterals, along with such polygons such as pentagons,
hexagons, etc.
Gregorian calendar: The calendar introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII and still commonly used in
the West today.
Hadith: A collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad that, with accounts of his
daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Qurʾan.
39
hijra: The migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE to escape
persecution. The year 622 marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
ikat: A technique used to pattern textiles. A dye-resistant substance is put on the warp fibers or the weft
fibers prior to dyeing and weaving, leaving select areas of the textile undyed. The front and back of an
ikat textile look the same.
Islam: The religion revealed to Muhammad that entails the complete acceptance of the wisdom of God.
The word Islam is derived from the Arabic root word for ―peace.‖
Islamic calendar: Also known as the Hijri calendar, this is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months, with
354 days in a year.
Kaʿba: A cube-shaped stone structure seen as Islam’s most sacred building. The faithful turn toward it
when they pray, and circumambulate it during the rites of the hajj. It stands in the middle of an immense
mosque complex in Mecca.
khan: A title given to rulers and officials in central Asia, Afghanistan, and some other Muslim countries.
lampas: A heavy fabric similar to satin, often elaborate and multicolored. Since the pattern is ―floated‖
against a stable diagonal background, the ―wrong‖ side is often as attractive as the ―right‖ side.
Mecca: A city in southwestern Saudi Arabia and the Prophet Muhammad’s birthplace. It is considered the
holiest Islamic city and is the pilgrimage destination for Muslims from all over the world.
monotheistic: The belief in a single all-powerful god, as opposed to the belief in multiple gods. Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam are widely practiced forms of monotheism.
mosque: A Muslim place of worship.
Muhammad: Arab prophet and founder of Islam. Muslims regard him as God’s messenger through whom
the Qurʾan was revealed. Muhammad established a theocratic state at Medina after 622 and began to
convert Arabia to Islam.
Muslim: A follower of the religion of Islam. Literally ―one who submits.‖
pseudo-script: The decorative imitation of a style of inscription.
Qurʾan: The body of divine revelations transmitted orally to the Prophet Muhammad and written down by
his followers after his death. Muhammad received God’s message in Arabic, so it consequently became
the language of the Qurʾan.
satin weave: A basic weave structure characterized by four or more weft yarns floating over a warp yarn
or vice versa.
shed: In weaving, the temporary separation between upper and lower warp yarns through which the weft
is woven. The shed is created to make it easy to interlace the weft into the warp and thus create woven
fabric.
Shiʿa: One of the two major sects of Islam, followed especially in Iran. Shiʿites consider Ali, the Prophet’s
cousin and son-in-law, and his descendants the only true successors to the Prophet. About 15 percent of
Muslims worldwide are Shiʿites.
40
Sufi: Member of an ascetic, contemplative Muslim sect founded in Iran in the eighth century.
sultan: The political leader of some Islamic states, specifically those under Turkish control.
sultanate: The office or authority of a sultan.
Sunni: One of the two major sects of Islam. Sunnis make up about 85 percent of the Muslim population.
They believe that the community as a whole can rightfully interpret the Qurʾan and select political and
religious authorities, known as caliphs.
tessellation: A collection of shapes that fit together to cover a surface without overlapping or leaving
gaps.
Urdu alphabet: The right-to-left alphabet used for the Urdu language, the official language of Pakistan
and India. It is a modification of the Persian alphabet, which is itself a derivative of the Arabic alphabet.
warp: The first threads positioned on a loom, which form the lengthwise threads in a woven fabric.
weave: To make (fabric, baskets, or the like) by passing threads or strips over and under each other; also
known as interlace.
weft: The thread or yarn that alternately crosses over and under the warp in a woven material; also
known as the woof.
zoomorphic: Having or representing the form of an animal.
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Dynasties and Empires
Abbasid caliphate (750–1258) The second major Islamic dynasty, which significantly expanded the
Islamic empire. Its members claimed to be descendants of Abbas, uncle of Muhammad.
Afsharid dynasty (1736–1796) The founder of this empire was Nader Shah Afshar, and Afsharid kings
originated from an area northeast of Persia. The Afsharid empire was the greatest Iranian dynasty after
Islam.
Byzantine empire (330–1453) After the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he shifted
the capital of the Roman empire to the east, making Constantinople the seat of the new Byzantine
empire. The Byzantine empire ultimately lost Constantinople to the Ottoman empire in 1453.
Fatimid caliphate (909–1171) This was the fourth and final Arab caliphate. The Fatimids ruled North
Africa and established the Egyptian city of Cairo as their capital. They were descended from Fatima,
daughter of Muhammad, and her husband.
Ilkhanid khanate (1206–1353) A khanate (principality or kingdom ruled by a khan) established by the
descendants of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan.
Mamluk sultanate (1250–1517) The Mamluks emerged from Turkic military forces who served the
preceding Egyptian dynasty and overthrew their masters, establishing their own rule with an unusual
political system in which slaves held positions of great power and were recruited into leadership.
Mongol empire (1206–1368) An empire founded by Genghis Khan in 1206 when he brought together the
Mongol tribes. When their territory reached its greatest extent in the thirteenth century, it encompassed
the larger part of Asia and extended westward to the Dnieper River in eastern Europe.
Mughal empire (1526–1858) Founded by Turkic prince Bābur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. Mughals
ruled most of northern India.
Nasrid dynasty (1232–1492) The Nasrids, whose capital was Granada, were the last of many Islamic
dynasties to rule in Spain. Their reign ended in 1492, when most Muslims and Jews were cast out of
Spain by the Castilian king and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella.
Ottoman empire (1299–1923) A Turkish empire based in the capital city of Istanbul (i.e.,
Constantinople). It controlled the eastern and southern lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The empire
collapsed after World War I.
Qajar dynasty (1794–1925) A ruling Turkic dynasty of Iran founded by Āghā Moḥammad Khān.
Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) This dynasty ruled in Iran and traced its lineage to an important Sufi
mystic.
Sasanian empire (224–636) A Persian empire founded by Ardashir I, which at its greatest extent
encompassed what is now Iran, Iraq, Eastern Arabia, the eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, Egypt,
parts of Turkey, Central Asia, Yemen, and Pakistan and is considered the last great Iranian empire before
the Muslim conquest.
Seljuq dynasty (1040–1196) The Seljuqs were a Turkic people from Central Asia who ruled Iran, Iraq,
and most of Syria during their reign.
42
Timurid empire (1307–1507) Named for the founder of the dynasty, Timur (called Tamerlane in the
West), the Timurids were Turks who conquered much of Greater Iran and Central Asia. They were
important patrons of the arts, commissioning architectural monuments as well as fine illustrated
manuscripts.
Umayyad caliphate (661–750) It was the largest empire in the world at the time, and the fifth largest
empire in history. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose members came from Mecca. Damascus
was their capital from 661 to 744, Harran from 744 to 750, and in exile their capital was Córdoba (756–
1031).
Zand dynasty (1750–1794) An Iranian dynasty of Lurish or Kurdish origin founded by Karim Khan Zand
that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the eighteenth century. It later quickly expanded to include
much of the rest of contemporary Iran, as well as Azerbaijan and parts of Iraq and Armenia.
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Resources
Books for children
Ahsan, M. M. Muslim Festivals. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Enterprises, 1987.
Ghazi, Suhaib Hamid. Ramadan. New York: Holiday House, 1996.
Gordon, Matthew S. Islam. New York: Facts on File, 1991.
Husain, Shahrukh. What Do We Know about Islam? New York: P. Bedrick Books, 1995.
Khan, Hena, and Mehrdokht Amini. Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors. San
Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2012.
Monaghan, Kathleen, and Hermon Joyner. You Can Weave! Projects for Young Weavers. Worcester,
MA: Davis Publications, 2000.
Reidy, Hannah, and Emma Dodd. All Sorts of Shapes. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books, 2005.
Rumford, James. Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325–1354. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
Books for adults
Bloom, Jonathan, and Sheila Blair. Islamic Arts. London: Phaidon Press, 1997.
Douglass, Susan L. Beyond a Thousand and One Nights: A Sampler of Literature from Muslim
Civilization. Fountain Valley, CA: Council on Islamic Education, 2000.
Douglass, Susan L., and Karima Diane Alavi. The Emergence of Renaissance: Cultural Interactions
between Europeans and Muslims. Fountain Valley, CA: Council on Islamic Education, 1999.
Irwin, Robert. Islamic Art in Context: Art, Architecture, and the Literary World. New York: Harry N.
Abrams, 1997.
Weinstein, Laura. Ink, Silk and Gold: Islamic Art from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2015.
Online resources for teachers
Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Arts of The Islamic World: A Teacher’s
Guide. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2002.
http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/teacherResources/islam.pdf.
Teaching about Islam and Muslims in the Public School Classroom. Fountain Valley, CA: Council on
Islamic Education, 1995. http://www.classbrain.com/cb_ff/cb_9_11/AboutIslam.pdf.
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October 9, 2015–January 10, 2016
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2015 Education and Outreach Sponsor
Lynn and Ken Melkus
2015–2016 Teacher and School Program Sponsor
Supporting Sponsor
Art Trunks Sponsor
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit art exhibition center dedicated to
presenting and originating high-quality exhibitions with related educational programs and community outreach activities. The Frist Center offers the
finest visual art from local, regional, national, and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions that inspire people through art to look at
their world in new ways.