How Did the Quran Influence Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic Art

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

Learning Objectives

Place the influences and the specific attributes of Islamic fine art

Key Takeaways

Cardinal Points

• Islamic art is not art of a specific faith, time, identify, or of a single medium . Instead information technology spans some 1400 years, covers many lands and populations, and includes a range of creative fields including compages, calligraphy , painting, glass, ceramics , and textiles, amidst others.
• Islamic religious art differs from Christian religious art in that information technology is not-figural because many Muslims believe that the delineation of the man 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 art.
• Islamic art developed from many sources: Roman, early on Christian fine art, and Byzantine styles ; Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia; Central Asian styles brought by various nomadic incursions, and Chinese influences appear on Islamic painting, pottery , and textiles.

Key Terms

• Qu'ran: The fundamental religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to exist the verbatim discussion of God (Arabic: Allah). It 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 blueprint.
• idolatry: The worship of idols.
• monotheistic: Believing in a unmarried god, deity, spirit, etc., especially for an organized faith, faith, or creed.

Islam

Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic 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 final prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.

Most Muslims are of two denominations: Sunni (75–90%),[7] or Shia (10–20%). Its essential religious concepts and practices include the v pillars of Islam, which are bones concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and the following of Islamic law, which touches on every aspect of life and lodge. The v pillars are:

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

Islamic Fine art

Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onward past both Muslims and non-Muslims who lived inside the territory that was inhabited past, or ruled by, culturally Islamic populations. Information technology is thus a very difficult art to ascertain because information technology 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 artistic fields including compages, calligraphy, painting, drinking glass, ceramics, and textiles, among others.

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

Considering figural representations are generally considered to be forbidden in Islam, the word takes on religious pregnant in art every bit seen in the tradition of calligraphic inscriptions. Calligraphy and the decoration of manuscript Qu'rans is an of import aspect of Islamic art as the discussion takes on religious and artistic significance.

Islamic compages, such equally mosques and palatial gardens of paradise, are also embedded with religious significance. While examples of Islamic figurative painting exercise exist, and may encompass religious scenes, these examples are typically from secular contexts, such as the walls of palaces or illuminated books of poetry.

Other religious art, such as drinking glass mosque lamps, Girih tiles, woodwork, and carpets usually demonstrate the same mode and motifs equally contemporary secular art, although they showroom more than prominent religious inscriptions.

A calligraphic console 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 information technology is feared by many Muslims that the depiction of the homo course is idolatry. The panel reads: "God, at that place is no god but 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 fine art styles, also as the Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia. Central Asian styles were brought in with various nomadic incursions; and Chinese influences had a formative issue on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles.

Themes of Islamic Art

There are repeating elements in Islamic fine art, such equally the utilize 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 be intentionally introduced as a evidence of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection.

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

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

Nonetheless, depictions of the human form and animals can be found in all eras of Islamic secular fine art. Depictions of the human class in art intended for the purpose of worship is considered idolatry and is forbidden in Islamic law, known equally Sharia law.

Islamic Compages

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

Learning Objectives

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

Fundamental Takeaways

Key Points

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

Key Terms

• mosque: A place of worship for Muslims, corresponding to a church or synagogue in other religions, frequently 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 alpine 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 primary 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 improver 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 exist inspired by Muhammad's abode in Medina, which was the start mosque.

The Swell Mosque of Kairouan (in Tunisia) is i of the best preserved and nigh significant examples of early on great mosques. Founded in 670, it contains all of the architectural features that distinguish early mosques: a minaret , a big courtyard surrounded past porticos , and a hypostyle prayer hall.

Dome of the mihrab (9th century) in the Dandy 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 earth.

Ottoman Mosques

Ottoman mosques and other architecture commencement emerged in the cities of Bursa and Edirne in the 14th and 15th centuries, developing from before Seljuk Turk architecture, with additional 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 particularly important models for Ottoman mosques, such as the mosque constructed by Sinan.

Building reached its peak in the 16th century when Ottoman architects mastered the technique of building vast inner spaces surmounted by seemingly weightless still 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 aesthetic and technical residual, as may be observed in the Bluish Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Architecture flourished in the Safavid Dynasty , attaining a high bespeak with the building plan of Shah Abbas in Isfahan, which included numerous gardens, palaces (such as Ali Qapu), an immense boutique, and a large regal mosque. Isfahan, the capital  of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the about 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.

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

Islamic Glass Making

Glassmaking was the most of import Islamic luxury art of the early Middle Ages.

Learning Objectives

Depict the art of Islamic glass

Fundamental Takeaways

Key Points

• Between the 8th and early 11th centuries, the emphasis 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 by cutting away the background to go out a design in relief .
• Lustre painting uses techniques similar to lustreware in pottery and dates back to the 8th century in Egypt; it became widespread in the 12th century.

Key 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 most of the Center 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 Aboriginal Roman glass. Since figurative ornamentation 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 example, Persian innovations were now most immediately taken upwards in Arab republic of egypt.

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

Between the 8th and early 11th centuries, the emphasis in luxury glass was on effects achieved by manipulating the surface of the glass, initially past incising into the glass on a wheel, and later on by cut away the background to go out a blueprint in relief. The very massive Hedwig spectacles, just found in Europe, only normally 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 drinking glass pieces probably represented cheaper versions of vessels of carved rock crystal (clear quartz)—themselves influenced past earlier glass vessels—and there is some bear witness that at this period drinking glass and hard-stone cutting were regarded as the same craft. From the 12th century, the glass industry in Persia and Mesopotamia declined, and the main production of luxury glass shifted to Egypt and Syria. Throughout this menstruation, 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 Heart Ages. For almost of the Middle Ages, Islamic drinking glass was the most sophisticated in Eurasia, exported to both Europe and People's republic of china.

Lustre painting

Lustre painting, by techniques like to lustreware in pottery, dates dorsum to the eighth century in Egypt, and involves the application of metallic pigments during the glass-making procedure. Another technique used by artisans was decoration with threads of glass of a dissimilar color, worked into the main surface, and sometimes manipulated by combing and other furnishings.

Golden, painted, and enameled glass were added to the repertoire, as 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 human.

As decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the basic glass decreased, and it often exhibited bubbles and a brownish-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major centre after the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to have ended the Syrian drinking glass manufacture around 1400 past carrying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By almost 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. Equally decoration grew more elaborate, the quality of the bones drinking glass decreased, and information technology frequently exhibited bubbling and a brownish-yellow tinge. Aleppo ceased to be a major center afterwards the Mongol invasion of 1260, and Timur appears to accept ended the Syrian industry effectually 1400 past carrying off the skilled workers to Samarkand. By near 1500, the Venetians were receiving large orders for mosque lamps.

Mosque lamp: Produced in Egypt, c. 1360.

Islamic Calligraphy

Calligraphic pattern was omnipresent in Islamic fine art in the Heart 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

Fundamental Takeaways

Fundamental Points

• 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 earliest form of Arabic calligraphy is Kufic script .
• Also Quranic verses, other inscriptions include verses of poesy, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation.

Primal Terms

• Kufic script: The earliest form 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 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 epitome above from a 9th century Quran marks the consonants for the reader.  The cerise dots that are visible on the folio note the vowels.

Nonetheless, calligraphic pattern is not limited to the book in Islamic fine art. Calligraphy is found in several different types of art, such every bit compages. The interior of the Dome of the Stone (Jerusalem, circa 691), for example, features calligraphic inscriptions of verses from the Quran as well equally from additional sources. As in Europe in the Middle Ages , religious exhortations such equally Quranic verses may exist 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 apply in several dissimilar media.

Calligraphic inscriptions were non exclusive to the Quran, only besides 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 creative significance.

Islamic Book Painting

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

Learning Objectives

Hash out the origin and evolution of Islamic manuscript painting

Fundamental Takeaways

Key Points

• The 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 get-go 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 particular in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi'southward ballsy verse form that contains more than 250 paintings.
• The medieval Islamic texts chosen Maqamat were some of the earliest coffee-table books and amidst the first Islamic art to mirror daily life.
• Masterpieces of Ottoman manuscript illustration include the ii books of festivals, ane from the stop of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad III.

Central Terms

• Mongols: An umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the dominion of Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
• illuminated manuscripts: A book in which the text is supplemented past the addition of ornamentation, such every bit decorated initials, borders (marginalia), and miniature illustrations.
• miniature: An analogy in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript.
• muraqqa: An album in book class containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter.
• Maqamat: The plural for Maqāma, an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poesy that ofttimes ruminates on spiritual topics.

Islamic Book Painting

Book painting in the tardily medieval Islamic earth reached its tiptop in Persia, Syria, Republic of iraq, and the Ottoman Empire . The art class blossomed across the different regions and was inspired past a range of cultural reference points.

The development of volume painting commencement began in the 13th century, when the Mongols, nether the leadership of Genghis Khan, swept through the Islamic world. Upon the death of Genghis Khan, his empire was divided among his sons and dynasties formed: the Yuan in Prc, the Ilkhanids in Iran, and the Golden Horde in northern Iran and southern Russia.

The Ilkhanids

The Ilkhanids were a rich civilization that adult under the little khans in Islamic republic of iran. Architectural activity intensified as the Mongols became sedentary even so retained traces of their nomadic origins, such as the north–due south orientation of buildings. Persian, Islamic, and Eastward Asian traditions melded together during this period and a process of Iranization took place, in which structure according to previously established types, such equally the Iranian-plan mosques , was resumed.

The fine art of the Western farsi book was born nether the Ilkhanid dynasty and encouraged by the patronage of aristocrats for large illuminated manuscripts, such as the Jami' al-tawarikh past Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Islamic volume painting witnessed its first golden age in the 13th century, generally within Syrian arab republic and Republic of iraq.

Miniatures

The tradition of the Persian miniature (a pocket-sized painting on paper) developed during this flow, 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 depiction of the human figure were much more relaxed and the human form is represented with frequency inside this medium.

Influence from the Byzantine visual vocabulary (blue and golden coloring, angelic and victorious motifs, symbology of drapery) was combined with Mongol facial types seen in twelfth-century book frontispieces. Chinese influences in Islamic book painting include the early adoption of the vertical format natural to a volume. Motifs such as peonies, clouds, dragons, and phoenixes were adjusted from Cathay every bit 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 work has acquired 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 Persian poetry, such every bit the Shahnameh. Nether the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the art of manuscript illumination achieved new heights. The nearly noteworthy example of this is the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi'due south epic poem 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 regal 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 earliest coffee-table books. They were among the first texts in Islamic art to hold 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 developed based around the album (muraqqa). The albums were the creations of connoisseurs who leap together single sheets of paintings, drawings, or calligraphy by various artists; they were sometimes excised from earlier books and other times created equally independent works.

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

Mughal and Ottoman Manuscripts

The Mughals and Ottomans both produced lavish manuscripts of more contempo history with the autobiographies of the Mughal emperors and purely military machine chronicles of Turkish conquests. Portraits of rulers adult 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 style , while the all-time 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, 1 from the terminate of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad Three. These books comprise numerous illustrations and showroom a strong Safavid influence, perhaps inspired by 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 by other cultures.

Learning Objectives

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

Key Takeaways

Primal Points

• The first Islamic opaque glazes appointment to around the eighth century, and some other pregnant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics in ninth century Republic of iraq.
• Lusterwares with irised colors were either invented or considerably developed in Persia and Syria from the ninth century onward.
• The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated past Islamic potters, particularly afterward the Mongol and Timurid invasions.
• The Hispano–Moresque style emerged in the 8th century, with more refined production happening later, presumably by Muslim potters working in areas reconquered past Christian kingdoms.

Central Terms

• Hispano–Moresque style: A mode of Islamic pottery created in Al-Andaluz, or Muslim Spain, which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles that blended Islamic and European elements.
• lusterware: A type of pottery or porcelain having an iridescent metal coat.
• coat: The vitreous coating of pottery or porcelain, or a transparent or semi-transparent layer of paint.
• ceramics: Inorganic, nonmetallic solids created past the activeness of rut 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 past other cultures . Early pottery had usually been unglazed, but a can-opacified glazing technique was adult past Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found every bit blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century.

Another significant contribution was the evolution of stonepaste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq. The kickoff industrial complex 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 blazon of pottery or porcelain that has an irised metallic glaze. Luster first began as a painting technique in glassmaking , which was and so translated to pottery in Mesopotamia in the ninth century.

10th century dish: Islamic fine 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 Cardinal Asia.

The techniques, shapes, and decorative motifs of Chinese ceramics were admired and emulated by Islamic potters, particularly after the Mongol and Timurid invasions. Until the Early Modernistic period, Western ceramics had lilliputian influence, but Islamic pottery was highly sought afterwards in Europe, and was often copied.

An instance of this is the albarello, a type of earthenware jar originally designed to hold apothecary ointments and dry drugs. The evolution of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Islamic Centre 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 Spain, in the 8th century, nether Egyptian influence. More refined production happened much later, 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 can-coat.
2. Painting in metallic lusters.

Ottoman Iznik pottery produced almost 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 not made in Islamic countries until modern times.

The medieval Islamic world too painted pottery with beast and man imagery . Examples are institute throughout the medieval Islamic world, particularly in Persia and Egypt.

Islamic Textiles

The most important material produced in the Medieval and Early Modern Islamic Empires was the carpet.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the making and designs of Islamic textiles

Cardinal Takeaways

Central Points

• 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 Route .
• When the Islamic dynasties formed and grew more powerful they gained control over cloth production in the region, which was arguably the most of import craft of the era.

Fundamental Terms

• textile arts: The production of arts and crafts that use plant, creature, or synthetic fibers to create objects.

Islam and the Textile Arts

The textile arts refer to the production of arts and crafts that use found, animate being, or synthetic fibers to create objects. These objects can be for everyday apply, or they tin be 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 textile production in the region, which was arguably the most important craft of the era. The most of import textile produced in Medieval and Early Modernistic Islamic Empires was the carpeting.

The Ottoman Empire and Carpet Production

The art of rug weaving was particularly of import in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman country 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. Within the Ottoman Empire, carpets were immensely valued as decorative furnishings and for their applied value . They were used not just on floors merely also as wall and door hangings, where they provided additional insulation.

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

Carpet 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 faith of its shahs, which was the majority Islamic denomination in Persia. Safavid art is contributed to several artful traditions, peculiarly to the textile arts.

In the sixteenth century, carpet 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 deputed to commemorate the Safavid dynasty and are now considered to be the best examples of classical Persian weaving, especially for their use of graphical perspective.

Textiles became a large export, and Farsi weaving became one of the most popular imported goods of Europe. Islamic carpets were a luxury particular in Europe and in that location are several examples of European Renaissance paintings that certificate the presence of Islamic textiles in European homes during that time.

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

Indonesian Batik

Islamic textile production, still, was non limited to the rug. Royal factories were founded for the purpose of textile production that too 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, but 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 loftier point in the royal 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 besides wearing, such as wrapping the Quran.

Javanese courtroom batik: The development 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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