Islamic Art
The Kaaba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Surrounded by the mosque of al-Masjid al-Haram
Aerial view of Haram Al-Sharif, Jerusalem
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem 691 CE
Byzantine tradition
Golden dome
Central plan / Octogonal
The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem,
691-2
Exterior tiles
Dome
Drum
Arcade of piers and columns
Aisles/ambulatories
minbar
Sultan Hasan Madrasa-Mausoleum-Mosque Complex
Main iwan (vaulted chamber) in the mosque, Cairo, Egypt
th
minaret
The Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia
836–75
Great Mosque Samarra
847-52, near Bagdad, Iraq
164' high spiral minaret
Great Mosque
Cordoba, Spain
786 – 987
Area covered: 620 x 460’
1/3 of it is the courtyard
Dome in front of the mihrab Mihrab
Mosaics with inscriptions, geometric motifs and stylized vegetation
The Arch
Horseshoe
Pointed
muqarna
Complexity of design reflects Islamic
interest in mathematics and geometry
as sources of artistic inspiration
White stone and red brick voussoirs
Great Mosque, Cordoba,
Spain
Begun 785–86
calligraphy
Page from the Qur'an in kufic script
9th century
Black ink pigments, and gold on vellum, 8⅜ X 11⅛"
Arabic manuscript page
(kufic and Nashki script)
1199,
Iraq
The status of calligraphers
9th–10th century Bowl
with
kufic
border
E with slip,
pigment,
and lead
glaze
“Knowledg
e: the
beginning
of it is
bitter to
taste, but
the end is
sweeter
than
honey”
Textile with elephants and camels (known today as the Shroud of Saint Josse)
Before 961
Dyed silk, largest fragment 20½ X 37"
Mamluk glass oil lamp
c. 1355
Syria or Egypt
Glass, polychrome enamel, and gold
height 12" (30.5 cm)
“God is the light of the heavens and the earth.
His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp,
a lamp in a glass, the glass as a glittering star.
The Qu’ran
The Great Mosque of Isfahan
(The Masjid-I Jami Mosque),
Isfahan, Iran
11th–18th century
14th-century iwan vault,
17th-century minarets
Blue glazed tile
Mihrab
Madrasa Imami,
Isfahan
Iran
Founded 1354
Tile Mosaic
Glazed and cut tiles
11'3" X 7'6"
Qibla wall with mihrab and minbar 1356–63
Sultan Hasan Madrasa-Mausoleum-Mosque Complex
The Alhambra
Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain 1354–91
Muqarnas Dome
Hall of the Abencerrajes
Palace of the Lions, Alhambra
1354–91
carved stucco
Mosque of Sultan Selim II, Edirne
Turkey 1568–75 Ottoman architect Sinan (Sinan the Great)
Climax of Ottoman architecture
Interior,
Mosque of Sultan Selim
Dome higher from it base than Hagia Sophia’s
Illuminated Tugra of Sultan Suleyman c. 1555–60
Ink, paint, and gold on paper
removed from a firman and trimmed Istanbul, Turkey
to 20½ X 25⅜"
From a copy of the 12th-century Khamsa
(Five Poems) of Nizami
Kamal al-Din Bihzad
The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid Visits the
Turkish Bath
c. 1494
Herat, Afghanistan
Ink and pigments on paper
c. 7 X 6"
Pen Box
1210–11
From Iran or Afghanistan
Brass with inlaid silver and copper
height 2", length 12⅝", width 2½"
e Macy Jug
mposite body glazed,
nted fritware and incised
aze partially stained
th cobalt),
th pierced outer shell
⅝ X 7 ¾"
1215–16
Iran
Banner of Las Navas de Tolosa
southern Spain
1212–50
Silk tapestry-weave with gilt parchment
10'9 ⅞" X 7'2 ⅝"
Detail of center panel
Qur’an frontispiece
(right half of two-page spread)
c. 1368
Cairo, Egypt
nk, pigments, and gold on paper
Medallion Rug, variant Star Ushak style
Wool
Anatolia (present-day Turkey)
10'3" X 7'6 ¼"
16th century
a. Kilim weaving pattern used in flat-weaving,
b. Symmetrical knot, used extensively in Iran,
c. Asymmetrical knot, used extensively in Turkey