Chapter 8 EARLY ISLAMIC ART

Transcription

1 Chapter 8 EARLY ISLAMIC ART Islam and Muslim are Arabic for submission and one who has submitted. In the seventh century, the Islamic army helped spread the religion with amazing speed throughout the area of the former Roman empire. Islam is regarded as the world s third major religion, and like Buddhism and Christianity in their early stages, was looked upon as a great liberating force. Even today there are fewer essential differences between the various sects of Muslims, than those found in Buddhism and Christianity. The Koran offers a complete and comprehensive guide for the inner and outer life of the individual. Muslims believe that the Koran was dictated by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad s mission was to save his fellow men from eternal damnation by recalling them to the worshiping of the One God - the God of Abraham. Muhammad was born in 570 in Mecca and never made a claim to be divine. At this time, Arabia was occupied by groups of different religions: colonies of Jews who had fled Palestine, Christians, and foreign religions from the north. For Muhammad, all of these people had strayed from the true path. He did accept both John the Baptist and Jesus as divinely inspired prophets, but rejected the complexities of Christianity especially the doctrine of the Trinity. Islam is based on the direct relationship between the individual and God, without the intercession of saints in heaven or the mediation of priests on earth. In the Islamic religion, every individual stands alone before God. The duties of Muslims are simple: prayer, fasting during the month of Ramadan, abstinence at all times from strong drink and some foods, a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca, and faithful observance of the moral code contained in the Koran. Page 77

2 Muhammad was a social as well as a religious reformer, declaring that all believers were equal. After settling in Medina, Muhammad became a political and military leader, which is the most striking difference between him and the founders of Buddhism and Christianity. The Islamic state expanded with a rapidity that has never ceased to astonish. By 647, Islamic armies had conquered Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iran, and two years later they had reached the Indus Valley region in present day Pakistan. Northern Africa fell to them in 670 and in 710 they crossed into Europe and conquered the Visigothic kingdoms in Spain. The Islamic armies were defeated in 732 by the grandfather of Charlemagne. Arabic was the official as well as the religious language, in light of the fact that translation of the Koran was prohibited. Early Muslim attitude towards the visual arts was as much a reaction against the use of visuals in other religions as well as searching for a unique artistic form which embodied their own beliefs. Islamic art is one without visual represenation of holy figures. The only specifically religious elements in Islamic art are inscriptions, and because of this, Islamic art became one of signs not of symbols or images. Key Terms: Islam Allah mihrab Muslim Mecca Kufic Muhammad mosque Qibla Koran minaret Learning Objectives: The difference between Islamic and Christian artwork and architecture. The spread of Islam throughout the Middle East and Europe. Koran page (fig. 8.1) Calligraphy was a highly cultivated form of expression in Islam as much as it was in China and Japan. The use of calligraphy on buildings and on almost every type of surface was meant to remind the faithful that the word of Page 78

3 Allah is the only reality in an ephemeral world and to say that all the works of man, including works of art are vain. UMAYYAD ART AND ARCHITECTURE In the areas conquered by the Islamic armies, the Muslims took over whatever buildings were available, whether churches or temples, to be used for their mosques, as long as it did not contain idols. Dome of the Rock (fig. 8.5) The Dome of the Rock was built at the command of the caliph, Abd al-malik, of the first dynasty of Islam, the Umayyads, who were descended from a companion of the Prophet. This building is the first major monument in Islamic architecture and was built near the site of Solomon s temple. The Jews claim this spot as the tomb of Adam and also as the place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. For the Muslims, it was the place from which Muhammad ascended into heaven on the night journey described in the Koran. The Dome of the Rock was designed as a special sanctuary, not as a place of worship. Most of its seventh century decoration has survived. The Dome of the Rock was clearly intended to dazzle the eyes of Christians and to distract those of Muslims from the splendor of Christian churches. The interior has panels of variously colored marble cladding piers and walls, sheets of gilded metal worked in relief, and mosaics of glass and mother of pearl with flower and leaf motifs surrounding vases and crowns. Great Mosque (fig. 8.6) This is the earliest mosque of which a substantial part survives. The site was a rectangular walled precinct of a pagan temple that had been converted into a Christian church in the fourth century. The church was destroyed in 705, and the building of the largest mosque began. All that remained was the fabric of the Roman wall with its four corner towers, which were converted into minarets--the first in the history of Islam. Page 79

4 The columns and Corinthian capitals, taken from earlier buildings to support the arcade running around three sides of the courtyard. The fourth side is the prayer hall differs from a Christian church in that there is no altar, it is larger and not long like the churches. The plan enabled the maximum number of men to pray, shoulder to shoulder, facing the qibla wall which is oriented towards Mecca. The qibla wall is marked by three shallow niches called mihrabs. Great Mosque, detail of mosaic decoration (figs. 8.8; 9) These mosaics are certainly the work of Byzantine craftsman. The buildings and landscape are done in the Hellenistic tradition with one large difference being that there are no humans in them. There has been much speculations as to the meaning of the mosaics, one interpretation is that they illustrate the vision of a peaceful Islamic world. Frieze from Umayyad palace at Mshatta (fig. 8.11) This frieze is purely ornamental, with no symbolic or other meaning and is from the most famous of the Umayyad palaces. It went right across the facade of the palace just above eye level. The imagery is made up of lions, birds, and fabulous beasts entangled in luxuriant growths of vine, which was probably taken from Near Eastern art and Each triangle has a huge rosette in the center. ABBASID ART AND ARCHITECTURE The Abbasid dynasty succeeded the Umayyads and was descended from an uncle of the Prophet. The 500-year-long Abbasid period is generally regarded as the Classical age of Islamic culture in which visual arts, music, and literature all flourished. The Muslims developed algebra from India, chemistry and alchemy from China. The Muslims also initiated the scientific study of optics and astronomy. We are indebted to Islam for the transmission from India of what are called Arabic numerals, the numerals, which we still use. Page 80

5 In 762, the Abbasid caliph transferred his capital from Damascus to the banks of the Tigris River to present day Baghdad. Minaret and Great Mosque at Samarra (fig. 8.13) As in Baghdad, artists from all parts of the Islamic world were employed. This mosque was the largest in the world, measuring 784 by 512 feet, and capable of accommodating 100,000 people. The minaret resembles the spiral towers of Iran. Aerial view of Great Mosque, Tunisia (fig. 8.14) This mosque is the work of many periods. The basic unit of construction was the round arch slightly compressed to swell out into a horseshoe shape, resting on Corinthian columns. Despite the mosque s long history, it is remarkably homogeneous and despite the use of elements from other cultures it remains Islamic. ISLAMIC SPAIN Cordoba, which was originally a Roman city, was chosen as the Islamic capital of Spain, after the Arab conquest of the peninsula in Under the rule of the Umayyads, Cordoba grew to be by far the most prosperous city in Western Europe. Great Mosque, Cordoba (fig. 8.17) The purpose of the design of the interior of this mosque was to increase the amount of light in a wide prayer hall. This unique system of double arches was introduced at Cordoba within the earliest section of the mosque. The columns used were of various types, smooth and fluted, varying from 14 to 17 inches in diameter and no taller than 19 feet. Impost blocks were set on the capitals to carry arches and the 6 foot high stone piers from which the segmental upper arches spring. Dome above the mihrab, Great Mosque, Cordoba (fig. 8.19) This is the richest of the mosque s three domes demonstrating Islamic skill and precision in geometry. The dome is constructed on eight intersecting arches. Islamic domes are seldom of any great span. Page 81

6 The Romans concealed the framework inside the fabric; whereas, Islamic architects displayed the whole structural system and its complex patterns of symmetrical arcs. Islamic Decoration A distinctively Islamic style is more evident in ornament and surface designs. Even in ornament, the work was marked by the absence of religious symbols and, in religious art, of animal and human figures. As mentioned earlier, calligraphy was the most highly regarded art by the Muslims. Kufic was a ceremonial script not used for day-to-day business, but was developed mainly for manuscripts of the Koran. Because illustrations within the Koran were not allowed, the Koran could be given appropriate dignity only by fine penmanship and an occasional panel of abstract ornament. Kufic inscriptions were also prominent in the decoration of such luxury objects as ivory caskets. Bowl with Kufic inscription (fig. 8.27) This bowl has no other decoration other than the inscription of pious wishes. Pottery had long been regarded in the Near East, as in Europe, as a humble medium suitable for common utensils. Griffin (fig. 8.28) The making of solid gold and silver vessels was officially prohibited, but this edict was often violated. This is the finest surviving example of an object that is Islam s nearest approach to sculpture in the round. Page 82