What Is the Place of Figurative Art in Islamic Culture

Islamic Art

Islamic fine art encompasses visual arts produced from the seventh century onwards past culturally Islamic populations.

Learning Objectives

Place the influences and the specific attributes of Islamic art

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Islamic art is not art of a specific faith, time, place, or of a single medium . Instead information technology spans some 1400 years, covers many lands and populations, and includes a range of artistic fields including architecture, calligraphy , painting, glass, ceramics , and textiles, amongst others.
• Islamic religious art differs from Christian religious art in that it is not-figural because many Muslims believe that the depiction of the homo form is idolatry , and thereby a sin against God, forbidden in the Qur'an. Calligraphy and architectural elements are given important religious significance in Islamic fine art.
• Islamic art developed from many sources: Roman, early Christian art, and Byzantine styles ; Sassanian fine art of pre-Islamic Persia; Central Asian styles brought past various nomadic incursions, and Chinese influences announced on Islamic painting, pottery , and textiles.

Fundamental Terms

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

Islam

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

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

1. Shahadah (conventionalities or confession of religion)
2. Salat (worship in the course of prayer)
3. Sawm Ramadan (fasting during the month of Ramadan)
4. Zakat (alms or charitable giving)
5. Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca at to the lowest degree once in a lifetime)

Islamic Art

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

Islamic fine art is non restricted to religious art, but instead includes all of the fine art of the rich and varied cultures of Islamic societies. Information technology oft includes secular elements and elements that are forbidden by some Islamic theologians. Islamic religious art differs greatly from Christian religious fine art traditions.

Because figural representations are generally considered to exist forbidden in Islam, the word takes on religious meaning in art every bit seen in the tradition of calligraphic inscriptions. Calligraphy and the decoration of manuscript Qu'rans is an important aspect of Islamic fine art equally the word takes on religious and artistic significance.

Islamic architecture, such every bit mosques and palatial gardens of paradise, are also embedded with religious significance. While examples of Islamic figurative painting do exist, and may cover religious scenes, these examples are typically from secular contexts, such as the walls of palaces or illuminated books of verse.

Other religious art, such as glass mosque lamps, Girih tiles, woodwork, and carpets normally demonstrate the aforementioned style and motifs every bit contemporary secular art, although they showroom more than prominent religious inscriptions.

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

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

Themes of Islamic Art

At that place are repeating elements in Islamic art, such as the employ of stylized , geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as the arabesque . The arabesque in Islamic art is frequently used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and infinite nature of God. Some scholars believe that mistakes in repetitions may exist intentionally introduced equally a show of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection.

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

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

However, depictions of the human form and animals tin be found in all eras of Islamic secular art. Depictions of the human form in fine art intended for the purpose of worship is considered idolatry and is forbidden in Islamic police, known as Sharia law.

Islamic Architecture

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

Learning Objectives

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

Central Takeaways

Central Points

• A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged presently subsequently Muhammad's time that incorporated Roman building traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the sometime Sassanid and Byzantine models.
• The Islamic mosque has historically been both a place of prayer and a community meeting space . The early on mosques are believed to be inspired past Muhammad'southward home in Medina, which was the commencement mosque.

Key Terms

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

Islamic Compages

Islamic compages encompasses a broad range of both secular and religious styles. The master Islamic architectural example is the mosque. A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged shortly after Muhammad'due south time that incorporated Roman building traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the quondam Sassanid and Byzantine models.

Early Mosques

The Islamic mosque has historically been both a place of prayer and a community meeting infinite. The early on mosques are believed to exist inspired by Muhammad'southward dwelling in Medina, which was the first mosque.

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

Dome of the mihrab (ninth century) in the Slap-up Mosque of Kairouan, also known as the Mosque of Uqba, in Kairouan, Tunisia: This is considered to be the ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world.

Ottoman Mosques

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

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

Edifice reached its meridian in the 16th century when Ottoman architects mastered the technique of edifice vast inner spaces surmounted by seemingly weightless yet incredibly massive domes , and achieved perfect harmony between inner and outer spaces, as well as articulated light and shadow.

They incorporated vaults , domes, square dome plans, slender corner minarets, and columns into their mosques, which became sanctuaries of transcendently artful and technical balance, as may exist observed in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Compages flourished in the Safavid Dynasty , attaining a loftier point with the edifice program of Shah Abbas in Isfahan, which included numerous gardens, palaces (such as Ali Qapu), an immense bazaar, and a large imperial mosque. Isfahan, the capital  of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture, such equally the the Imperial Mosque, which was constructed in the years after Shah Abbas I permanently moved the capital there in 1598.

Purple Mosque, Isfahan, Iran: Isfahan, the capital of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the virtually prominent samples of the Safavid compages.

Islamic Drinking glass Making

Glassmaking was the almost important Islamic luxury art of the early Middle Ages.

Learning Objectives

Describe the art of Islamic glass

Cardinal Takeaways

Key Points

• Between the 8th and early 11th centuries, the accent in luxury glass was on effects achieved past manipulating the surface of the glass, initially by incising into the glass on a wheel, and later past cutting abroad the background to get out a pattern in relief .
• Lustre painting uses techniques like to lustreware in pottery and dates back to the eighth century in Egypt; information technology became widespread in the twelfth century.

Primal Terms

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

Islamic Glass

For near of the Middle Ages , Islamic luxury glass was the nigh sophisticated in Eurasia , exported to both Europe and China. Islam took over much of the traditional glass-producing territory of Sassanian and Aboriginal Roman glass. Since figurative decoration played a small part in pre-Islamic glass, the change in style was not abrupt—except that the whole area initially formed a political whole, and, for instance, Persian innovations were now almost immediately taken up in Arab republic of egypt.

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

Between the 8th and early 11th centuries, the emphasis in luxury glass was on effects accomplished by manipulating the surface of the glass, initially by incising into the glass on a wheel, and later on by cutting away the background to leave a pattern in relief. The very massive Hedwig glasses, only found in Europe, just ordinarily considered Islamic (or possibly from Muslim craftsmen in Norman Sicily), are an case of this, though they are puzzlingly late in date.

These and other glass pieces probably represented cheaper versions of vessels of carved rock crystal (articulate quartz)—themselves influenced past before glass vessels—and at that place is some prove that at this period glass and difficult-rock cutting were regarded equally the aforementioned craft. From the 12th century, the glass manufacture in Persia and Mesopotamia declined, and the master production of luxury drinking glass shifted to Egypt and Syrian arab republic. Throughout this period, local centers made simpler wares, such every bit Hebron glass in Palestine.

The Luck of Edenhall: This is a 13th-century Syrian beaker, in England since the Middle Ages. For most of the Middle Ages, Islamic glass was the almost sophisticated in Eurasia, exported to both Europe and Mainland china.

Lustre painting

Lustre painting, by techniques similar to lustreware in pottery, dates back to the eighth century in Egypt, and involves the application of metallic pigments during the glass-making process. Another technique used past artisans was ornament with threads of glass of a different color, worked into the main surface, and sometimes manipulated by combing and other effects.

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

As decoration grew more than elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and it ofttimes exhibited bubbles and a brown-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major eye afterwards the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian drinking glass manufacture effectually 1400 past carrying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By about 1500, the Venetians were receiving large orders for mosque lamps.

Some of the finest work was in mosque lamps donated by a ruler or wealthy man. Every bit decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the bones glass decreased, and it often exhibited bubbles and a brown-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major eye after the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian manufacture around 1400 by carrying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By about 1500, the Venetians were receiving large orders for mosque lamps.

Mosque lamp: Produced in Arab republic of egypt, c. 1360.

Islamic Calligraphy

Calligraphic design was omnipresent in Islamic art in the Center Ages, and is seen in all types of art including architecture and the decorative arts.

Learning Objectives

Explain the purpose and characteristics of Islamic calligraphy

Key Takeaways

Fundamental Points

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

Key Terms

• Kufic script: The earliest course of Arabic calligraphy, noted for its angular form.
• calligraphy: The art of writing letters and words with decorative strokes.

In a religion where figural representations are considered an act of idolatry, it is no surprise that  the word and its artistic representation became an important aspect in Islamic art. The most important religious text in Islam is the Quran, which is believed to be the word of God. In that location are many examples of calligraphy and calligraphic inscriptions pertaining to verses from the Quran in Islamic arts.

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

The primeval grade of Arabic calligraphy is Kufic script, which is noted for its angular form.  Arabic is read from correct to left and only the consonants are written.  The blackness ink in the image above from a ninth century Quran marks the consonants for the reader.  The red dots that are visible on the page note the vowels.

However, calligraphic pattern is not limited to the volume in Islamic art. Calligraphy is found in several dissimilar types of fine art, such as architecture. The interior of the Dome of the Stone (Jerusalem, circa 691), for example, features calligraphic inscriptions of verses from the Quran as well every bit from additional sources. Every bit in Europe in the Middle Ages , religious exhortations such as Quranic verses may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles, and metalwork .

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

Calligraphic inscriptions were non exclusive to the Quran, but also included verses of poetry or recorded ownership or donation. Calligraphers were highly regarded in Islam, which reinforces the importance of the word and its religious and artistic significance.

Islamic Book Painting

Manuscript painting in the late medieval Islamic world reached its meridian in Persia, Syria, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the origin and development of Islamic manuscript painting

Cardinal Takeaways

Key Points

• The fine art of the Western farsi book was born under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged by the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts .
• Islamic manuscript painting witnessed its outset aureate age in the 13th century when it was influenced past the Byzantine visual vocabulary and combined with Mongol facial types from twelfth-century book frontispieces.
• Under the dominion of the Safavids in Islamic republic of iran (1501 to 1786), the fine art of manuscript illumination achieves new heights, in particular in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi's epic poem that contains more than than 250 paintings.
• The medieval Islamic texts chosen Maqamat were some of the earliest coffee-tabular array books and among the first Islamic art to mirror daily life.
• Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the two books of festivals, i from the end of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad Three.

Key Terms

• Mongols: An umbrella term for a big group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the dominion of Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
• illuminated manuscripts: A volume in which the text is supplemented by the addition of ornament, such every bit decorated initials, borders (marginalia), and miniature illustrations.
• miniature: An analogy in an aboriginal or medieval illuminated manuscript.
• muraqqa: An album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, usually from several dissimilar sources, and maybe other matter.
• Maqamat: The plural for Maqāma, an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of verse that often ruminates on spiritual topics.

Islamic Book Painting

Book painting in the belatedly medieval Islamic world reached its height in Persia, Syria, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire . The art form blossomed across the dissimilar regions and was inspired past a range of cultural reference points.

The development of book painting first began in the 13th century, when the Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, swept through the Islamic world. Upon the death of Genghis Khan, his empire was divided amongst his sons and dynasties formed: the Yuan in China, the Ilkhanids in Iran, and the Gold Horde in northern Iran and southern Russia.

The Ilkhanids

The Ilkhanids were a rich civilization that developed under the little khans in Islamic republic of iran. Architectural activeness intensified as the Mongols became sedentary yet retained traces of their nomadic origins, such as the north–south orientation of buildings. Persian, Islamic, and Due east Asian traditions melded together during this period and a process of Iranization took identify, in which construction co-ordinate to previously established types, such as the Iranian-plan mosques , was resumed.

The art of the Western farsi book was born under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged by the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts, such as the Jami' al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Islamic book painting witnessed its first gold age in the 13th century, mostly within Syria and Republic of iraq.

Miniatures

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

Influence from the Byzantine visual vocabulary (bluish and gold coloring, celestial and victorious motifs, symbology of drape) was combined with Mongol facial types seen in 12th-century book frontispieces. Chinese influences in Islamic book painting include the early adoption of the vertical format natural to a book. Motifs such as peonies, clouds, dragons, and phoenixes were adapted from China as well, and incorporated into manuscript illumination.

Mongol soldiers, in Jami al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani: The Jāmi al-tawārīkh is a work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia. The breadth of the piece of work has caused it to be called the first world history and its lavish illustrations and calligraphy required the efforts of hundreds of scribes and artists.

The largest commissions of illustrated books were usually classics of Farsi poetry, such as the Shahnameh. Under the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the art of manuscript illumination achieved new heights. The most noteworthy example of this is the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi'south ballsy verse form that contains more than 250 paintings.

The Court of Gayumars, from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp: Illuminated manuscripts of the Shahnameh were often deputed by royal patrons.

Maqamat and Albums

The medieval Islamic texts called Maqamat that were copied and illustrated by Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, were some of the primeval coffee-table books. They were among the first texts in Islamic art to concur a mirror to daily life, portraying humorous stories and showing little adherence to prior pictorial traditions.

In the 17th century a new type of painting adult based around the album (muraqqa). The albums were the creations of connoisseurs who bound together unmarried sheets of paintings, drawings, or calligraphy past various artists; they were sometimes excised from earlier books and other times created equally contained works.

The paintings of Reza Abbasi figure largely in this new form of book art. The form depicts one or two larger figures, typically arcadian beauties in a garden setting, and often use the grisaille techniques previously used for background border paintings .

Mughal and Ottoman Manuscripts

The Mughals and Ottomans both produced lavish manuscripts of more recent history with the autobiographies of the Mughal emperors and purely war machine chronicles of Turkish conquests. Portraits of rulers developed in the 16th century, and later in Persia, where they became very popular.

Mughal portraits, commonly in profile, are very finely drawn in a realist mode , while the best Ottoman ones are vigorously stylized . Album miniatures typically featured picnic scenes, portraits of individuals, or (in India especially) animals, or idealized youthful beauties of either sexual activity.

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

Islamic Ceramics

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

Learning Objectives

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

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The showtime Islamic opaque glazes engagement to around the 8th century, and another significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics in 9th century Iraq.
• Lusterwares with iridescent colors were either invented or considerably developed in Persia and Syria from the 9th century onward.
• The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated past Islamic potters, especially after the Mongol and Timurid invasions.
• The Hispano–Moresque fashion emerged in the eighth century, with more than refined production happening later, presumably by Muslim potters working in areas reconquered past Christian kingdoms.

Key Terms

• Hispano–Moresque manner: A way of Islamic pottery created in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Espana, which connected to be produced nether Christian rule in styles that blended Islamic and European elements.
• lusterware: A type of pottery or porcelain having an irised metal coat.
• glaze: The vitreous coating of pottery or porcelain, or a transparent or semi-transparent layer of paint.
• ceramics: Inorganic, nonmetallic solids created by the action of estrus and their subsequent cooling. Most common ceramics are crystalline and the earliest uses of ceramics were in pottery.

Islamic Ceramics

Islamic art has notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for buildings, which reached heights unmatched by other cultures . Early on pottery had ordinarily been unglazed, simply a tin-opacified glazing technique was developed by Islamic potters. The beginning Islamic opaque glazes tin can exist constitute as bluish-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the eighth century.

Some other significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq. The commencement industrial complex for glass and pottery production was congenital in Ar-Raqqah, Syria, in the 8th century. Other centers for innovative pottery in the Islamic world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600), and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).

Lusterware

Lusterware is a type of pottery or porcelain that has an iridescent metallic glaze. Luster kickoff began as a painting technique in glassmaking , which was then translated to pottery in Mesopotamia in the 9th century.

10th century dish: Islamic art has very notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for walls, which reached heights unmatched by other cultures. This dish is from East Persia or Central Asia.

The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated past Islamic potters, especially after the Mongol and Timurid invasions. Until the Early Mod period, Western ceramics had piffling influence, just Islamic pottery was highly sought subsequently in Europe, and was often copied.

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

Hispano–Moresque Style

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

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

1. Glazing with an opaque white tin-glaze.
2. Painting in metal lusters.

Ottoman Iznik pottery produced most of the finest ceramics of the 16th century—tiles and big vessels boldly decorated with floral motifs that were influenced by Chinese Yuan and Ming ceramics. These were still in earthenware, since porcelain was non fabricated in Islamic countries until modern times.

The medieval Islamic world also painted pottery with animal and human imagery . Examples are found throughout the medieval Islamic world, particularly in Persia and Egypt.

Islamic Textiles

The almost important textile produced in the Medieval and Early Mod Islamic Empires was the carpet.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the making and designs of Islamic textiles

Key Takeaways

Key Points

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

Key Terms

• fabric arts: The production of arts and crafts that use found, animal, or synthetic fibers to create objects.

Islam and the Textile Arts

The textile arts refer to the production of craft that use plant, animate being, or synthetic fibers to create objects. These objects tin can be for everyday utilize, or they tin exist decorative and luxury items. The production and trade of textiles pre-dates Islam, and had long been important to Middle Eastern cultures and cities, many of which flourished due to the Silk Road.

When the Islamic dynasties formed and grew more powerful they gained control over textile production in the region, which was arguably the most of import craft of the era. The most of import textile produced in Medieval and Early Modernistic Islamic Empires was the carpet.

The Ottoman Empire and Carpet Production

The art of carpet weaving was peculiarly important in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman state was founded by Turkish tribes in northwestern Anatolia in 1299 and became an empire in 1453 after the momentous conquest of Constantinople.

Stretching beyond Asia, Europe, and Africa, the Empire was vast and long lived, lasting until 1922 when the monarchy was abolished in Turkey. Within the Ottoman Empire, carpets were immensely valued every bit decorative furnishings and for their practical value . They were used not only on floors but besides equally wall and door hangings, where they provided additional insulation.

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

Carpeting and interior of the Harem room in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul: The Ottoman Turks were famed for the quality of their finely woven and intricately knotted silk carpets.

Western farsi Carpets

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

In the sixteenth century, carpet weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant arts and crafts to a well-executed industry that used specialized design and manufacturing techniques on quality fibers such as silk. The carpets of Ardabil, for example, were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty and are at present considered to exist the best examples of classical Persian weaving, particularly for their use of graphical perspective.

Textiles became a large export, and Western farsi weaving became one of the almost popular imported goods of Europe. Islamic carpets were a luxury item in Europe and there are several examples of European Renaissance paintings that certificate the presence of Islamic textiles in European homes during that time.

The Ardabil Carpeting, Persia, 1540: The Ardabil Carpet is the finest example of 16th century Western farsi carpet production.

Indonesian Batik

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

The evolution and refinement of Indonesian batik textile was closely linked to Islam. The Islamic prohibition on certain images encouraged batik design to become more than abstruse and intricate. Realistic depictions of animals and humans are rare on traditional batik, just serpents, boob-shaped humans, and the Garuda of pre-Islamic mythology are all commonplace.

Although its existence in Indonesia pre-dates Islam, batik reached its high point in the majestic Muslim courts, such equally Mataram and Yogyakarta, whose Muslim rulers encouraged and patronized batik production. Today, batik has undergone a revival, and cloths are used for other purposes likewise wearing, such as wrapping the Quran.

Javanese court batik: The evolution and refinement of Indonesian batik fabric was closely linked to Islam.

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

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