Download Islamic Decorative Arts

Islamic Decorative Arts
Kevin J. Benoy
The Basics
• Muslims believe in a world
in which everything is preordained by Allah.
• Allah is not
anthropomorphic – so he is
never presented in art.
• Most Muslims also do not
show the images of man –
though this ban was not
accepted everywhere and in
all periods.
The Basics
• Muslims see balance
and harmony in all
things as a
manifestation of
Allah’s Plan
Calligraphic Tradition
• The injunction
against showing
humans or animals
and the belief in the
importance of God’s
word as dictated in
the Koran, and the
beauty of Arabic
script, led to the
development of an
important
calligraphic tradition.
“Allah” in Arabic Script
Cursive Scripts
• There are six main
cursive Arabic scripts.
• These are:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Deewani
Kufi
Farsi
Req’aa
Naskh
Thuluth
Deewani
“Those who teach
me have my
everlasting respect.”
Kufi
• “The Prophet
Mohammed –
peace and
blessings be
upon him.”
Farsi
• “Sufficient for me is Allah; in Him those who trust
must put their trust.”
Req’aa
• "In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the day-break,
"From the evil of what he has created; And from the evil of
the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the
moon as it sets or goes away), And from the evil of the
witchcrafts when they blow in the knots, And from the evil of
the envier when he envies."
(From the Holy Qur'an, Surah: 113, Al-Falaq (The Day Break)
Naskh
• Say (O Muhammad):
"He is Allah, (the) One.
"Allah As-Samad (The
Self-Sufficient Master,
Whom all creatures
need, He neither eats nor
drinks). "He begets not,
nor was He begotten;
"And there is none coequal or comparable
unto Him."
• (From the Holy Qur'an,
Surah: 111, Al-Ikhlas. )
Thuluth
• "... and if you
count the
Blessings of
Allah, never you
will be able to
count them".
(From the Holy
Qur'an, Surah:
14, Ibrahim,
Verse: 34.)
Calligraphic Tradition
A 12th Century Koran
• Bound by a belief that
sacred scripture was
directly revealed to
Mohammed by Allah,
the Arabic language
binds all Muslims
together and Arabic
calligraphy is
respected by all.
• All Koran’s must be in
Arabic.
Calligraphy in Architecture
• Calligraphic
verses decorate
palaces, homes,
businesses and
public
buildings.
The Wazir Khan Mosque –
Lahore, Pakistan
Calligraphy in Carpets
• Carpet weaving is
particularly important
in Islam.
• Carpets are used in
worship.
• They were ideal
portable wealth to
traveling Arab
merchants.
Calligraphy in Metalwork
Calligraphy in Glassware
Calligraphy in Ceramics
Geometric Forms
• Another outcome of the
largely observed ban on
human and animal forms
was the use of interlaced
geometric forms.
• These reflected the
interconnectedness of all
things in the belief system
of Muslims.
• Abstraction and unity are,
therefore at the heart of
Islamic art.
Geometry in Islamic Art
• The circle and its center are the
starting point of Islamic art, as
God is at the center of the Islamic
system of belief.
• Three fundamental forms come
out of this:
– 1) the triangle
– 2) the square
– 3) the hexagon.
Geometry in Islamic Art
• The triangle is the
symbol of human
consciousness and the
principle of harmony.
• The square symbolizes
the physical or material
world.
• The hexagon
symbolizes heaven
Geometry in Islamic Art
• Infinitely repeated and
intricate patterns may
be seen as the
“unchanging laws of
God.”
Geometry in Islamic Art
•Repeated figures in
geometric shapes or
foliage are called
“arabesques.”
•The design to the
left is from the
Alhambra in
Grenada, Spain.
Floral decoration
• In addition to
geometrical
forms, floral
decoration also
serve to decorate
any kind of
surface.
Figurative Art
• The ban on figurative
art seems to be based
on the Hadith – oral
traditions relating to
the words and deeds of
Mohammed.
• Note that the face of
the prophet is not
shown.
Islamic figurative Art
• This kind of art tends to
be non-religious, though
it also exists as
manuscript illumination
and can depict religious
figures – though never
Allah..
• It does not attempt to
achieve three
dimensionality.
• Colours are usually flat.
Mughal Painting
• The Mughal style of
painting refers to
miniatures produced
mainly as book
illustrations and as single
works contained within
albums.
• This developed from the
Persian style of miniature
painting – but with Hindu
and Buddhist influences.
Mughal Painting
• The Mughal style is
richly reflective of
court life in Muslim
India.
• Note that Mughal
decoration reflected the
Islamic tendency
toward “horror vacui.”
• Note also the repetitive
decoration on walls,
furniture, carpets,
fabrics and ceilings.
Muslim Carpets
• As noted earlier,
carpet weaving was an
important art form in
Islam, and remains
important in the
Islamic world today.
Muslim Carpets
• Carpets were
important among the
nomadic people of the
Middle East even
before Islam arrived.
• Their prominence in
the Muslim world is
probably due to the
habit of Muslims to go
barefoot indoors.
Muslim Carpets
• Two traditions of
carpet weaving are
most important in the
Muslim world.
– Persian
– Turkish
Muslim Carpets
The primary difference is in the style of hand-weaving used.
Conclusion
• Most Islamic art was
decorative and generally
not figurative. There is no
large scale sculpture or
painting.
• Where human or animal
shapes were present, they
are in common objects or
in scenes of everyday life
– with very rare
exceptions.
Conclusion
• This tendency toward
the abstract and away
from the realistic led
to a love of abstract
geometric, floral and
calligraphic design
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