Islamic Art & Architecture Midterm Review (Vocab)

Ka’ba

the holiest shrine in Islam, built about a century before the birth of the prophet

Haram

a holy area, forbidden to all except certain people

Masjid

a place for prostration and prayer (root word for “mosque”)

Qur’an (English “Koran”)

the Revelations given to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel; the Islamic scriptures

Sura

an individual revelation (there are 114) in the Qur’an

Imam

the leader of prayer (there are no priests in Islam)

Qibla

The direction of Mecca

Shar’ia

the canonical law of Islam

Shi’a

(literally “party”) one of the two principle branches of Islam; Shi’ites recognize only the fourth caliph Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of the Prophet

Sunni

(literally “tradition” or “the sayings”) Orthodox Islam, which accepts the sayings of the Prophet as legally binding

Caliph

“representative,” the chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Muhammad

Aniconism

the absence of material representations of the natural and supernatural world

Arcade

a series of adjoining arches

Ambulatory

a place for walking, especially an aisle around the interior of a church, or around the courtyard of a mosque

Spolia

the reuse of materials from earlier buildings - such as columns, carvings, statues, metalwork, or jewels

Martyrium

the tomb of a Christian martyr

Hypostyle

a type of hall in which the roof is supported by many rows of interior columns

Mihrab

the ceremonial niche on the qibla wall of a mosque

Minbar

the pulpit in a mosque

Minaret

the tall tower attached to or near a mosque, used for the call to prayer

Muezzin

the man who calls the faithful to prayer five times a day

Maqsura

the enclosed area reserved for a ruler/royalty in a mosque

Stucco

lime plaster that can be carved, tinted, or painted, used for architectural decoration

Iwan

a vaulted hall opening onto a courtyard

Ziyada

a walled enclosure (usually around a mosque)

Lusterware

a form of pottery glaze using silver and gold oxides to paint a design on the unfired clay; once fired, the oxygen was drawn out of the oxides, leaving the precious metals on the surface of the pottery

Kerbschnitt

(chip-carving) a type of pottery decoration where the clay is both carved and incised before glazing and firing

Fritware

a type of ceramic developed in the Middle East in which ground glass is added to the clay used to make the ceramic vessel

Min’ai

a type of ceramic in which a design is painted in enamel and/or gold on a white ground

Underglaze

painted decoration on ceramics that is applied before the object is glazed

Spandrel

the curved triangular area between two arches

Canopy Tomb

a tomb in which a round dome is set on a cube shaped space

Squinch

an architectural element in the shape of a ¼ dome, built in the corners of a square room to make the necessary transition to a circular shape in order to fit a round dome onto the space

Articulated Squinch

a squinch that has been subdivided into more complicated forms; precursor of the muqarnas

Cupola

the interior surface of a dome

Horror Vacui

Latin: “fear of emptiness”

Pishtaq

an iwan that forms a monumental entryway

Cenotaph

a marker or sarcophagus that notes the location of a grave but does not contain a body (Muslims must be buried underground)

Kufic

oldest Islamic script

Codex

book with pages

Arabesque

vining, floral, and leafy ornamental scroll work in Islamic art

Strapwork

flat, bar-like strips used to delineate geometric designs

Interlace

strapwork or arabesques that are woven under and over each other, like weaving

Horseshoe Arch

a ¾ arch (continuing the semi-circular arch) on a rectangular opening

Polylobed Arch

an arch composed of several circular segments

Taifa

an independent kingdom in Muslim Spain; they formed after the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031

Pyxis

a round jar, used to hold ointments

Muqarnas

the most important decoration in Islamic architecture, based on complicated 3D geometry

Roof Cresting

decorative elements attached to a roof, used especially in Fatimid architecture

Bacino

the Italian word used to describe Fatimid ceramic bowls incorporated into Romanesque architecture in Italy - especially in the area around Pisa

Cameo glass

two different colors of glass are layered together, then the artist cuts through the first layer to reveal the color beneath; based on cameo carving

Tiraz

the fiber workshop under control of the ruler, providing magnificent textiles to the royal court