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 domeCentral plan / Octogonal

The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691-2

DomeDrumArcade of piers and columnsAisles/ambulatories

Exterior tiles

minbar

Sultan Hasan Madrasa-Mausoleum-Mosque ComplexMain iwan (vaulted chamber) in the mosque, Cairo, Egypt

14th cent.

minaret

The Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia836–75

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

MihrabMosaics with inscriptions, geometric motifs and stylized vegetation

Dome in front of the mihrab

HorseshoePointedmuqarna

The Arch

Great Mosque, Cordoba, SpainBegun 785–86

Complexity of design reflects Islamic interest in mathematics and geometryas sources of artistic inspiration

White stone and red brick voussoirs

Page from the Qur'an in kufic script

9th century

Black ink pigments, and gold on vellum, 8⅜ X 11⅛"

calligraphy

Arabic manuscript page(kufic and Nashki script)1199,Iraq

The status of calligraphers

Bowl with kufic borderE with slip, pigment, and lead glaze

“Knowledge: the beginning of it is bitter to taste, but the end is sweeter than honey”

9th–10th century

Textile with elephants and camels (known today as the Shroud of Saint Josse)Before 961Dyed silk, largest fragment 20½ X 37" From Khurasan or Central Asia

Mamluk glass oil lampc. 1355Syria or Egypt

Glass, polychrome enamel, and goldheight 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

MihrabMadrasa Imami, IsfahanIran

Founded 1354

Tile Mosaic Glazed and cut tiles

11'3" X 7'6"

1356–63Qibla wall with mihrab and minbarSultan Hasan Madrasa-Mausoleum-Mosque Complex

Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain 1354–91

The Alhambra

Muqarnas Dome

Hall of the Abencerrajes

Palace of the Lions, Alhambra

1354–91

carved stucco

Mosque of Sultan Selim II, EdirneTurkey 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 SuleymanInk, paint, and gold on paperremoved from a firman and trimmed to 20½ X 25⅜"

c. 1555–60Istanbul, Turkey

From a copy of the 12th-century Khamsa (Five Poems) of Nizami Kamal al-Din Bihzad

The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid Visits the Turkish Bathc. 1494Herat, Afghanistan

Ink and pigments on paper

c. 7 X 6"

Brass with inlaid silver and copperheight 2", length 12⅝", width 2½"

Pen Box1210–11From Iran or Afghanistan

The Macy Jug

Composite body glazed, painted fritware and incised (glaze partially stained with cobalt), with pierced outer shell

6 ⅝ X 7 ¾"

1215–16

Iran

Banner of Las Navas de Tolosasouthern 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. 1368Cairo, Egypt

Ink, pigments, and gold on paper

24 X 18"

16th century

Medallion Rug, variant Star Ushak style

WoolAnatolia (present-day Turkey)

10'3" X 7'6 ¼"

a. Kilim weaving pattern used in flat-weaving, b. Symmetrical knot, used extensively in Iran, c. Asymmetrical knot, used extensively in Turkey