How Does the Thousand and One Nights Resemble Principles of Design in Islamic Art?

Islamic Fine art

Islamic 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

Fundamental Points

• Islamic art is not art of a specific faith, fourth dimension, place, or of a single medium . Instead it spans some 1400 years, covers many lands and populations, and includes a range of artistic fields including architecture, calligraphy , painting, glass, ceramics , and textiles, amid others.
• Islamic religious art differs from Christian religious art in that information technology is non-figural considering many Muslims believe that the delineation of the human course is idolatry , and thereby a sin against God, forbidden in the Qur'an. Calligraphy and architectural elements are given important religious significance in Islamic art.
• Islamic art adult from many sources: Roman, early Christian fine art, and Byzantine styles ; Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia; Primal Asian styles brought by diverse nomadic incursions, and Chinese influences appear on Islamic painting, pottery , and textiles.

Cardinal Terms

• Qu'ran: The key religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: Allah). It is widely regarded every bit the finest piece of literature in the Standard arabic linguistic communication.
• 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 organized religion articulated by the Qur'an, a book considered past 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–xc%),[seven] or Shia (10–20%). Its essential religious concepts and practices include the v pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and the following of Islamic law, which touches on every attribute of life and order. The five pillars are:

1. Shahadah (belief or confession of organized religion)
2. Salat (worship in the course of prayer)
3. Sawm Ramadan (fasting during the calendar 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 not-Muslims who lived within the territory that was inhabited by, or ruled by, culturally Islamic populations. Information technology is thus a very difficult art to ascertain because 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 art covers a range of creative fields including compages, calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, and textiles, among others.

Islamic art is not restricted to religious art, just instead includes all of the art of the rich and varied cultures of Islamic societies. It frequently includes secular elements and elements that are forbidden by some Islamic theologians. Islamic religious art differs greatly from Christian religious art traditions.

Considering figural representations are mostly considered to exist forbidden in Islam, the word takes on religious meaning in art as seen in the tradition of calligraphic inscriptions. Calligraphy and the decoration of manuscript Qu'rans is an important aspect of Islamic art equally the give-and-take takes on religious and artistic significance.

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

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

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

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

Themes of Islamic Art

There are repeating elements in Islamic art, such as the utilise of stylized , geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as the arabesque . The arabesque in Islamic art is often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and space nature of God. Some scholars believe that mistakes in repetitions may be intentionally introduced as a prove of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection.

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

Typically, though not entirely, Islamic fine art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than human or fauna figures, because it is believed past many Muslims that the delineation of the human being form is idolatry and thereby a sin against God that is forbidden in the Qur'an.

However, depictions of the homo course and animals can exist found in all eras of Islamic secular art. Depictions of the human grade in 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 instance is the mosque.

Learning Objectives

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

Fundamental Takeaways

Key Points

• A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged shortly subsequently Muhammad'due south time that incorporated Roman edifice traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the old Sassanid and Byzantine models.
• The Islamic mosque has historically been both a place of prayer and a community meeting infinite . The early mosques are believed to exist inspired past Muhammad's home in Medina, which was the start mosque.

Central Terms

• mosque: A place of worship for Muslims, corresponding to a church or synagogue in other religions, often having at least ane minaret. In 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 tall slender tower of an Islamic mosque, from which the muezzin recites the adhan (call to prayer).

Islamic Architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles. The master Islamic architectural example is the mosque. A specifically recognizable Islamic architectural style emerged soon after Muhammad's time that incorporated Roman building traditions with the addition of localized adaptations of the former Sassanid and Byzantine models.

Early Mosques

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 by Muhammad's dwelling house in Medina, which was the first mosque.

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

Dome of the mihrab (ninth century) in the Great 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 outset emerged in the cities of Bursa and Edirne in the 14th and 15th centuries, developing from earlier Seljuk Turk architecture, with additional influences from Byzantine, Persian, and Islamic Mamluk traditions.

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

Building reached its summit in the 16th century when Ottoman architects mastered the technique of building vast inner spaces surmounted by seemingly weightless however incredibly massive domes , and achieved perfect harmony between inner and outer spaces, as well as articulated lite and shadow.

They incorporated vaults , domes, square dome plans, slender corner minarets, and columns into their mosques, which became sanctuaries of transcendently aesthetic and technical rest, equally may be observed in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Architecture flourished in the Safavid Dynasty , attaining a high indicate with the building program of Shah Abbas in Isfahan, which included numerous gardens, palaces (such as Ali Qapu), an immense boutique, and a large royal mosque. Isfahan, the capital  of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid compages, such every bit the the Imperial Mosque, which was constructed in the years after Shah Abbas I permanently moved the capital in that location in 1598.

Imperial Mosque, Isfahan, Iran: Isfahan, the capital of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture.

Islamic Glass Making

Glassmaking was the well-nigh important Islamic luxury fine art of the early Eye Ages.

Learning Objectives

Describe the art of Islamic glass

Primal Takeaways

Key Points

• Between the 8th and early 11th centuries, the emphasis in luxury glass was on effects achieved by manipulating the surface of the glass, initially by incising into the glass on a wheel, and later on by cutting abroad the groundwork to get out a pattern in relief .
• Lustre painting uses techniques similar to lustreware in pottery and dates dorsum to the eighth century in Egypt; information technology became widespread in the 12th century.

Central Terms

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

Islamic Drinking glass

For most of the Centre Ages , Islamic luxury glass was the most sophisticated in Eurasia , exported to both Europe and China. Islam took over much of the traditional glass-producing territory of Sassanian and Ancient Roman drinking glass. Since figurative ornament played a small-scale part in pre-Islamic glass, the change in style was non precipitous—except that the whole area initially formed a political whole, and, for instance, Western farsi innovations were now almost immediately taken upward in Egypt.

For this reason it is oftentimes impossible to distinguish betwixt the various centers of production (of which Arab republic of egypt, Syria, and Persia were the near important), except by scientific assay of the cloth, 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 drinking glass was on effects achieved by manipulating the surface of the glass, initially by incising into the glass on a bicycle, and later past cutting away the groundwork to get out a pattern in relief. The very massive Hedwig glasses, only constitute in Europe, but commonly considered Islamic (or possibly from Muslim craftsmen in Norman Sicily), are an example of this, though they are puzzlingly tardily in date.

These and other glass pieces probably represented cheaper versions of vessels of carved stone crystal (articulate quartz)—themselves influenced by earlier glass vessels—and there is some prove that at this menses glass and hard-stone cutting were regarded as the same arts and crafts. From the twelfth century, the drinking glass manufacture in Persia and Mesopotamia declined, and the main production of luxury glass shifted to Egypt and Syrian arab republic. Throughout this period, local centers made simpler wares, such as Hebron glass in Palestine.

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

Lustre painting

Lustre painting, by techniques similar to lustreware in pottery, dates dorsum to the 8th century in Egypt, and involves the application of metallic pigments during the glass-making procedure. Another technique used past artisans was decoration with threads of glass of a different color, worked into the master surface, and sometimes manipulated by combing and other effects.

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

Equally decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and it oftentimes exhibited bubbling and a brownish-xanthous tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major center after the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have concluded the Syrian glass industry around 1400 by carrying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By near 1500, the Venetians were receiving big orders for mosque lamps.

Some of the finest work was in mosque lamps donated by a ruler or wealthy man. As decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and it frequently exhibited bubbles and a brownish-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major center after the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian manufacture effectually 1400 past conveying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By about 1500, the Venetians were receiving big orders for mosque lamps.

Mosque lamp: Produced in Egypt, c. 1360.

Islamic Calligraphy

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

Learning Objectives

Explain the purpose and characteristics of Islamic calligraphy

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• In a organized religion where figural representations are considered an human activity of idolatry , it is no surprise that the give-and-take and its creative representation became an of import aspect in Islamic art.
• The primeval course of Standard arabic calligraphy is Kufic script .
• As well Quranic verses, other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording buying or donation.

Key Terms

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

In a organized religion where figural representations are considered an human activity of idolatry, it is no surprise that  the discussion and its artistic representation became an of import attribute in Islamic fine art. The virtually of import religious text in Islam is the Quran, which is believed to be the give-and-take of God. There 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 athwart form and as the earliest form of Arabic calligraphy .

The earliest course of Arabic calligraphy is Kufic script, which is noted for its angular form.  Arabic is read from right to left and only the consonants are written.  The black ink in the image above from a 9th century Quran marks the consonants for the reader.  The red dots that are visible on the page note the vowels.

However, calligraphic design is not limited to the book in Islamic art. Calligraphy is found in several different types of fine art, such every bit architecture. The interior of the Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem, circa 691), for example, features calligraphic inscriptions of verses from the Quran as well as from boosted sources. As in Europe in the Centre Ages , religious exhortations such every bit Quranic verses may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles, and metalwork .

Interior view of the Dome of the Rock: The interior of The Dome of the Rock 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 dissimilar media.

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

Islamic Book Painting

Manuscript painting in the late medieval Islamic earth reached its height in Persia, Syria, Republic of iraq, and the Ottoman Empire.

Learning Objectives

Hash out the origin and development of Islamic manuscript painting

Primal Takeaways

Key Points

• The art of the Persian book was built-in under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged by the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts .
• Islamic manuscript painting witnessed its beginning golden age in the 13th century when it was influenced past the Byzantine visual vocabulary and combined with Mongol facial types from 12th-century book frontispieces.
• Under the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the art of manuscript illumination achieves new heights, in item in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi'south epic poem that contains more than 250 paintings.
• The medieval Islamic texts called Maqamat were some of the earliest coffee-table books and among the first Islamic fine art to mirror daily life.
• Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the ii books of festivals, i from the finish of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad III.

Primal Terms

• Mongols: An umbrella term for a big grouping of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
• illuminated manuscripts: A book in which the text is supplemented by the improver of decoration, such as busy initials, borders (marginalia), and miniature illustrations.
• miniature: An illustration in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript.
• muraqqa: An album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, unremarkably from several different sources, and perhaps other thing.
• Maqamat: The plural for Maqāma, an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry that frequently ruminates on spiritual topics.

Islamic Book Painting

Volume painting in the late medieval Islamic globe reached its height in Persia, Syrian arab republic, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire . The art form blossomed beyond the unlike regions and was inspired by a range of cultural reference points.

The evolution of book painting start began in the 13th century, when the Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, swept through the Islamic earth. Upon the death of Genghis Khan, his empire was divided among his sons and dynasties formed: the Yuan in China, the Ilkhanids in Iran, and the Golden Horde in northern Iran and southern Russian federation.

The Ilkhanids

The Ilkhanids were a rich culture that adult under the little khans in Iran. Architectural action intensified as the Mongols became sedentary yet retained traces of their nomadic origins, such as the north–south orientation of buildings. Farsi, Islamic, and Eastward Asian traditions melded together during this period and a process of Iranization took place, in which construction co-ordinate to previously established types, such equally the Iranian-plan mosques , was resumed.

The art of the Persian book was built-in under the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged by the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts, such equally the Jami' al-tawarikh past Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Islamic book painting witnessed its first aureate historic period in the 13th century, mostly inside Syrian arab republic and Iraq.

Miniatures

The tradition of the Persian miniature (a minor painting on paper) developed during this menstruum, and it strongly influenced the Ottoman miniature of Turkey and the Mughal miniature in Bharat. Because illuminated manuscripts were an art of the court, and not seen in public, constraints on the delineation of the human being figure were much more than relaxed and the human form is represented with frequency inside this medium.

Influence from the Byzantine visual vocabulary (blue and gold coloring, angelic and victorious motifs, symbology of drapery) was combined with Mongol facial types seen in 12th-century volume 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 Communist china likewise, 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 work has acquired information technology to exist called the showtime 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 Persian verse, 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 case of this is the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi's ballsy poem that contains more than 250 paintings.

The Court of Gayumars, from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp: Illuminated manuscripts of the Shahnameh were oft commissioned by imperial patrons.

Maqamat and Albums

The medieval Islamic texts chosen Maqamat that were copied and illustrated by Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, were some of the earliest java-table books. They were amid the first texts in Islamic art to hold a mirror to daily life, portraying humorous stories and showing niggling adherence to prior pictorial traditions.

In the 17th century a new type of painting developed based around the anthology (muraqqa). The albums were the creations of connoisseurs who bound together single 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 effigy largely in this new course of book art. The form depicts one or two larger figures, typically idealized beauties in a garden setting, and often employ the grisaille techniques previously used for groundwork 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 armed forces chronicles of Turkish conquests. Portraits of rulers developed in the 16th century, and later in Persia, where they became very popular.

Mughal portraits, normally 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 sex.

Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the two books of festivals, one from the end of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad Three. These books comprise numerous illustrations and exhibit a potent Safavid influence, perhaps inspired by books captured in the course of the Ottoman–Safavid wars of the 16th century.

Islamic Ceramics

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

Learning Objectives

Discuss how developments such every bit tin-opacified glazing and stonepaste ceramics fabricated Islamic ceramics some of the about advanced of its fourth dimension

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The first Islamic opaque glazes date to effectually 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 by Islamic potters, especially after the Mongol and Timurid invasions.
• The Hispano–Moresque style emerged in the 8th century, with more refined product happening after, presumably by Muslim potters working in areas reconquered past Christian kingdoms.

Key Terms

• Hispano–Moresque fashion: A way of Islamic pottery created in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Kingdom of spain, which continued to be produced nether Christian rule in styles that blended Islamic and European elements.
• lusterware: A type of pottery or porcelain having an irised metallic glaze.
• glaze: The vitreous coating of pottery or porcelain, or a transparent or semi-transparent layer of paint.
• ceramics: Inorganic, nonmetallic solids created past the action of oestrus and their subsequent cooling. Near common ceramics are crystalline and the earliest uses of ceramics were in pottery.

Islamic Ceramics

Islamic fine art has notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for buildings, which reached heights unmatched past other cultures . Early pottery had usually been unglazed, only a tin-opacified glazing technique was developed by Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blueish-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century.

Another significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq. The offset industrial circuitous for glass and pottery production was built 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 first began every bit a painting technique in glassmaking , which was then translated to pottery in Mesopotamia in the ninth 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 E Persia or Key Asia.

The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated by Islamic potters, specially afterward the Mongol and Timurid invasions. Until the Early Modern period, Western ceramics had niggling influence, but Islamic pottery was highly sought later in Europe, and was oftentimes copied.

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

Hispano–Moresque Way

The Hispano–Moresque style emerged in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Kingdom of spain, in the 8th century, under Egyptian influence. More than refined production happened much later, presumably past 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 can-coat.
2. Painting in metallic lusters.

Ottoman Iznik pottery produced most of the finest ceramics of the 16th century—tiles and large vessels boldly decorated with floral motifs that were influenced past Chinese Yuan and Ming ceramics. These were still in earthenware, since porcelain was not made in Islamic countries until modern times.

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

Islamic Textiles

The well-nigh important textile produced in the Medieval and Early Modernistic Islamic Empires was the carpet.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the making and designs of Islamic textiles

Key Takeaways

Central Points

• The production and trade of textiles pre-dates Islam , and had long been important to Heart 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 fabric production in the region, which was arguably the about important arts and crafts 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 arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to create objects. These objects tin can exist for everyday use, or they tin exist decorative and luxury items. The production and merchandise 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 cloth production in the region, which was arguably the well-nigh important arts and crafts of the era. The most of import textile produced in Medieval and Early Modern Islamic Empires was the rug.

The Ottoman Empire and Rug Product

The fine art of carpeting weaving was particularly 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 across Asia, Europe, and Africa, the Empire was vast and long lived, lasting until 1922 when the monarchy was abolished in Turkey. Inside the Ottoman Empire, carpets were immensely valued every bit decorative effects and for their applied value . They were used not but on floors simply also every bit wall and door hangings, where they provided additional insulation.

These intricately knotted carpets were fabricated of silk, or a combination of silk and cotton, and were oftentimes 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 regal palaces.

Rug 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.

Persian Carpets

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

In the sixteenth century, rug weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant craft 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 now considered to be the best examples of classical Western farsi weaving, specially for their employ of graphical perspective.

Textiles became a large export, and Persian weaving became one of the nigh popular imported appurtenances of Europe. Islamic carpets were a luxury item in Europe and there are several examples of European Renaissance paintings that document the presence of Islamic textiles in European homes during that time.

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

Indonesian Batik

Islamic cloth production, however, was non limited to the carpet. Royal factories were founded for the purpose of fabric production that also included cloth and garments.

The development and refinement of Indonesian batik cloth was closely linked to Islam. The Islamic prohibition on certain images encouraged batik blueprint to become more abstract and intricate. Realistic depictions of animals and humans are rare on traditional batik, just serpents, puppet-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 as Mataram and Yogyakarta, whose Muslim rulers encouraged and patronized batik product. Today, batik has undergone a revival, and cloths are used for other purposes also wearing, such as wrapping the Quran.

Javanese courtroom batik: The evolution and refinement of Indonesian batik cloth 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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