West and Central Asia

Petra, Jordan: Treasury and Great Temple

Nabataean Ptolemaic and Roman

c. 400 BCE-100 CE

Cut rock

Buddha

Bamiyan, Afghanistan

Gandharan

c. 400-800 CE

Cut rock with plaster and polychrome paint

Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple

Lhasa, Tibet

Yarlung Dynasty

Believed to have been brough to Tibe 641 CE

Gilt metals with semiprecious stones, pearls, paint, various offerings

The Kaaba

Mecca, Saudi Arabi

Islamic (pre-islamic monument rededicated by Muhammad in 631-632 CE, renovations)

Granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread

Dome of the Rock

Jerusalem, Palestine

Islamic, Umayyad

691-692 CE (multiple renovations)

Stone masonry, wooden roof decorated with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, gilt aluminum and bronze dome

Folio from a Qur'an

Arab, North Africa/Near East

c. 8-9th century

Ink, color, gold on parchment

The Ardabil Carpet

Maqsud of Kashan

1539-1540 CE

Silk and wool

Victoria and Alber Museum, London, England

Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh)

Isfahan, Iran

Islamic, Persian: Seljuk, Il-Khanid, Timurid and Safavid Dynasties, c. 700 CE (restorations in 14,18,20 centuries)

Stone, brick, wood, plaster, glazed ceramic tile

Mosque of Selim II

Edirne, Turkey

Sinan (architect)

1568-1575 CE

Brick and stone

Great mosque

Córdoba, Spain

Umayyad, c. 785-786 CE

Stone masonry

Basin (Baptistère de St. Louis)

Muhammad ibn al-Zain

c. 1320-1340 CE

Brass inlaid with gold and silver

Braham Gur Fights the Karg, folio from the Great Il-Khanid Shahnama

Islamic, Persian, Il'Khanid

c. 1330-1340 CE

Ink and opaque watercolor, gold and silver on paper

The Court of Gayumars, folio from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama

Sultan Muhammad

c. 1522-1525 CE

Ink, opaque watercolor, gold on paper

Pyxis of al-Mughira

Umayyad

c. 968 CE

Ivory

Alhambra Palace

Granada, Spain

Nasrid Dynasty, 1354-1391 CE

Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, gilding