AP Art History Unit 8

Vocab:

Sahn

A courtyard

Hajj

A pilgrimage made to the Kaaba known as the House of Allah in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Kufic

A stye of Arabic script and the oldest calligraphic form of the Arabic scripts

Minaret

A tall slender tower, part of a mosque, with a balcony from where a muezzin calls Muslims to prayera man

Muezzin

a man who calls muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosquethe

Qibla

the qibla is the direction that Muslims face when performing their prayers, which is the direction towards the Kaaba

Kiswa

This is the cloth that covers the Kaaba, it is draped annually

Charbagh

A charbagh is a persian quadrilateral garden with a layout of four gardens separated by waterways

Iwan

An Iwan is a rectangular hall r space that is usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open

Mihrab

A niche in the wall of a mosque or religious school that indicates the qibla

Minbar

A pulpit in a mosque where the imam (the leader of the prayers) stands to deliver sermons

Muqarnas

pointed niches that are arranged in tiers that appear to form a honeycomb or a staircase

Qur’an

the holy book of islam

Voussoirs

a wedge shaped or tapered stone used to construct an archar

Arabesque

arabesque means a style that employes flower, foliage, or fruit and sometimes animal and figural outlines to produce a pattern of interlaced lines

Huge Cultural Exchanges in West Asia:

  • The SILK ROAD connected distant lands

  • Islamic Art dominates West Asia, South Europe, and North Africa

  • Patrons were royal and religious figures

  • Islamic art influenced by trade/many traditions and mediums

Islam Dominates North Africa, West Asia and Spain

  • Group 1: Mosques, Tombs, Monuments

  • Group 2: Decorative Objects, rugs, illustrated manuscripts

  • Spread through pilgrimages

Five Pillars of Islam

  • Faith (there is one god —> Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet: the final prophet)

  • Prayer (5 times a day facing toward Mecca (this direction is called Qibla)

  • Charity (you should give up your money, time, and stuff for the Mosque and people in need)

  • Fasting (during the month of Ramadan)

  • Pilgrimage/Hajj (Once in your life you should go to Mecca if you’re able to, if your not able to then its fine but u should intend to)

Figural Art Varies

  • No figures in religious art

  • Some figuration in secular art, so if there are religious figures, its a secular piece of artwork

Islamic Art SPECIALIZES IN

  • Ceramics

  • Book Illustrations

  • Textiles

  • Metalwork

  • Decorative Architectural Structures

Islamic Art Uses

  • Arabesque: curvilinear

  • Calligrahy: Formal and pictoral writing of language, basically a font

  • Tesselation: geometric

Mosque Architecture:

  • the mosque is the muslim gathering place for prayer, also known as Masjid meaning place of prostration

  • the home of Muhammad is considered the first mosque, in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

  • large courtyard surrounded by long rooms supported by columns : hypostyle mosque (many columns)

  • The most fundamental need for a mosque is that it needs to hold the entire male pop of the city (women arent required to attend Friday prayers) —→ so it needs a large prayerhall which is suually adjoined to a sahn where there can be a fountain for water and ritual cleansing b4 prayer

  • The dome or domes on a musque are called Qubba —> a symbolic representation of the vault of heaven. The interior decor often has intricate designs and patterns.

  • Mosques iwth a single dome ALWAYS surmount the qibla wall

183. The Kaaba. Mecca Saudi Arabia. Islamic. Pre-Islamic Monument; rededicated by Muhammad in 631-632 C.E.; multiple renovations. Granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread.

Form:

  • 15 meters tall,, 10.5 meters per side

  • Draped in a silk and cotton veil (Kiswa) replaced annually, this reminds me of the Mosque of Djenne’s plastering

  • Door made of solid gold

  • Existing structure encased in a black stone which was believed to be given to Ibrahim by Angel Gabriel

  • The four sides almost exactly align with the 4 cardinal directions

  • Repaired and constructed many times since Mohammad’s time

  • Cube-Like shape

  • Covered by Textiles

  • Black and Gold

  • Masjid al-Haram (The Grand Mosque)

  • Encloses the Kaaba the largest mosque in the world

  • Expanded multiple times

  • Seven Minarets

  • Contains colonnades

Function:

  • Hajj

  • Pilgrims circumbabulate (tawaf) 7 times, (they go around it 7 times)

Content:

  • Black stone: believed to have been given by Angel Gabriel

  • Broke into 3 pieces in 683 CE reassembled with silver

Expansions and Modifications:

  • Caliph Umar surrrounds it to accomodate pilgrims

Ummayyad and Abbasid Periods

  • Caliph Abd al-Malik restores Mhammad’s design

  • Umayyad Caliph al-Walid decorates the mosque with mosaics

  • Abbasid ulers continue expansions

Modern Era

  • 1950s Saudia Government expanded it

  • Now it covers 40 acres

Context:

  • Ibrahim and Ishmael (Isaac is christian)

  • before the islamic era, the Kaaba was actually a SANCTUARY for Pagan Gods, then Muhammad comes in and kinda like cleanses it for monotheism

Islamic Significance:

  • He cleanses it of ideals so its monotheistic, established the rituals of hajj in 632 CE before his death.

  • The legend is that Ibrahim and Ishamel build this structure for God, then it becomes the destinatoin for the hajj under Muhammad

Religious and Political Importance:

  • Control over Mecca and the Kaaba has been significant for Muslim Rulers

  • Only Muslims are allowed to enter Mecca and Medina today

Symbol of Continuity and Change:

  • The Kaaba has gone through MANY renovations

  • The annual kiswa tradition continues symbolizing reverence for the structure

56. Great Mosque. Cordoba, Spain. Ummayad. c. 785-786 C.E. Stone Masonry.

  • Locally known as the Mezquita-Catedral

  • This site is believed to have first been a temple to the Roman god Janus, then it was converted into a church by Visigoths who seized Cordoba in 572. Afterwards it was converted into a mosque and completely rebuilt by the descendants of the Ummayads that were exiled

  • The Umayads were overthrown in Damascus, and Prince Abd al-Rahman escaped to Southern Spain and established control there and tried to recreat the grandeur of Damascus in his new capital —> Cordoba.

  • Form:

    • Its a hypostyle mosque: meaning there is no central focus like an axial church

    • Double arched clumns/bands of colors (850 columns)

    • Light Interior as columns rise up

    • Double-Tiered arches (red and white voussouirs)

    • Sahn

    • Minaret which was later encased in a bell tower after Christian conversion

    • Use of Roman and Visigothic spolia (recycled columns and capitals

      Gothic rib vaulting

    • Ribbed dome above mihrab adorned with LOTS of gold mosaics

    • This is an exmple of the Horseshow arches —> a sign of Visigothic (a type of christianity) and later Islamic architecture

    • The harmony between Roman, Visigothic, and Islamic traditions show the adaptability of the Islamic art

Function:

  • Mosque

  • A major political statement to establish the Ummayad power area

  • Served as a major religious and cultural center

  • After the Christian RECONQUISTA in 1236, it was converted into a cathedral and they inserted a Gotchi-Renaissance nave inside, NOW it functions as a Roman Catholic Cathedral (this is like the opposite of what happened to Hagia Sophia)

  • Built on site of a temple and church

  • Later it was converted to a church

Context:

  • From the time the Muslims ruled Al-Andalus

  • Built under Abd al-Rahman I, the Ummayyad ruler who fled Damascus after the Abbasid takeover and established Cordoba as his new capital

  • Symbolized the Ummayyad attempt to recreate the grandeur of Damascus in Al-Aandalus

  • the Christian conquest of Cordoba (1236) turns it from a mosque to a church

  • REFLECTS THE layered religious and cultural history of the Iberian Peninsula

65. Alhambra. Granada, Spain. Nasrid Dynasty. 1354-1391 CE Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gilding

84. Mosque of Selim II. Edirne, Turkey. Sinan. 1568-1575 CE

  • 4 slender pencil minarets —> Ottoman mosque architecture

    Massive central dome surpassing hagia sophia

  • Dome is supported by 8 piers with muqarnas decorated on squinches ABOVE

  • Centralized interior space with a harmonious geometric layout

  • Polychrome stone and brick exterior

  • Tile decor featuring floral and geometric motifs

  • Created by Sinan arguably the greatest architect to ever live

  • built by sultan Selim II the son of Suleyman the magnificent

  • The selimiye complex was located in Edirne, which was felicitous (WELL CHOSEN) because it had been a capital of the Ottoman Empire before Istanbul and was basically the second city of the Empire (Like NYC and Albany for New York)

  • Edirne was the first major city euros travelling TOWARDS the ottoman empire reached, so this offered an opportunity for a first great impression for the sultan to show visitors and travelors

  • The mosque in the complex of suleiman the magnificent who was the sultan for the most part of the 16th century

  • Francis 1 and Charles V also prominent large rulers, a time of large monarchs

  • Many ppl built mosques early into their careers but he was more experienced, a sense of sureness and grandeur. Basically he cashed all his aura points in to this

  • grainte columns that come from Egypt

  • The columns are SINGLE PIECES OF STONE THAT ARENT CUT (this had to be transported from egypt which is crazy cuz they straight up carried the giant monoliths)

  • Dome on pendentives and two semi-domes

  • Hanging mosque lamps creat a sense of the heavens

  • Reflective metal balls that light up the space

  • The walls and dome are pierced with an enormouns number of windows

  • Sinan knew exactly what he was doing

  • big fire in 1660 and earthwuare in 1766 that damaged it

  • Display of Ottoman Power and architectural superiority

  • Islamic Worship

  • Part of a larger complex with a madrasas, a school, and a marketplace

  • Sinan was attempting to surpass Hagia Sophia, like on purpose

  • The dome’s octagonal plan was influenced b the Ill-Khanid mausoleums in Iran

  • the inscriptions on the INSIDE emphasize the unity of Allah and Muhammad’s role as a messenger

  • Placement of the muezzin’s platform under the dome references Christian church altars

  • The exterior is a unified architectural design

  • Built after the Ottoman naval defeat at Lepanto (1571) to assert Islamic dominance

186. Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh). Isafahan, Iran. Islamic, Persian: Seljuk, Il-Khanid, Timurid and Safavid Dyansties. c. 700 CE; additions and restorations in the 14th, 18th, and 20th centuries CE Stone, brick, wood, plaster, and glazed ceramic tile.

  • most cities possess a primary

168. Great Mosque of Djenne. Mali. Founded c. 1200 CE; rebuilt 1906-1907. Adobe

Form

  • largest adobe/mudbrick structure in the world

  • showcasing Sudano-Sahelian architecture with local materials such as adobe and mud

  • Rectilinear plan, munumental pillars, earthen roof with ventilation holes

  • Facade features 3 minarets and engaged columns that create a rhythmic visual effect

  • Center exterior tower = the mihrab

  • Timber beams are both decorative and scaffolding for the Crepissage Festival

Function

  • place of worship

  • political and cultural symbol, historically for local rulers and later for colonial powers like the French (remember how the kids spoke French)

  • The mosque is the center of community life, playing a major role in the annual Crepissage Festival (this is where they go to plaster the mosque)

  • every year the community plasters the mosque. They get mud, water, and the entire community goes to “clothe” this structure of God. The entire village participates becuase they are unified. Even other villagers go to help and EVERYONE is welcomed because its the house of God

Content

  • The current structure of the bulding which was completed in 1907 is actually its THIRD iteration, replacing earlier versions from the 13th and 19th centures GYATDAM

  • it uses traditional building techniques and local materials —> Sudano-Sahelian

  • has special courts for women, a principatl entrance with earthen pillars mark

Context

185. Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem, Palestine. Islamic, Umayyad. 691-692 CE, with multiple renovations. Stone masonry and wooden roof decorated with glazed cermaic tile, mosaics and gilt aluminum and bronze dome.

  • believe muhammad journeyed from heaven to this rock

  • Intricate geometric designs

  • stone and tile

  • massive mosque but jews called this temple mound

  • Jews believe this spot is the center of the earth bc this is where Abraham sacrificed Isaac

  • The wall that jews stuff papers into cracks

57. Pyxis of al-Mughira. Umayyad. c.968 CE Ivory

Form:

  • “Horror Vacui” = fear of open spaces —> everything so clumped together like Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

  • Vegetable and geometric motifs

  • Human figure = SECULAR PIECE (theres also an animal figure)

  • Made out of an elephants tusk (DAMN) 5 inch in diameter

Function:

  • used as a vessel for aromatics

Content:

  • Depicts 4 activities: hunting, falconry, sports, music

  • The caligraphy asks for Allah’s blessing but also has the name of the owner (name of the artist reminds me of Arnolfini Portrait)

Context:

  • A gift for the caliph’s younger son

  • Medieval Islam

191. The Ardabil Carpet. Maqsud of Kashan. 1539-1540 CE Silk and wool

Form

  • GIANT AF THE CARPET IS SO BIG, its the world’s OLDEST CARPET

  • Every square inch of this carpet has 340 knots (gyatdamn) theres so much fabric, its so dense which is why its survived this long

  • 1 of the oldest

  • Wool woven by ten ppl likely men altho women were weavers culturally (cuz women had to take a backseat in religious matters)

  • Theres a 4 line inscription

  • Uses indigo and pomegranet juice dyes

Function

  • its a prayer carpet

  • There are Two in total, both of which in museums, originaly from the funerary mosque of Shayik Safial-Din

Content

  • the medallion in the middle represents a dome

Context

  • its named after a town/shrine: Ardabil

188. Basin (Baptistere de St. Louis). Muhammad ibn al-Zain. c. 1320-1340 CE Brass inlaid with gold and silver

Form

  • figures, animals, decorative patterns (SECULAR ART)

  • Sea animals on the bottom

  • Brass, areas of silver, gold, and black paste

  • Eels i

Function

  • used to baptize the children of the royal family in France AFTER its time in Islam

  • signautre of the artist (signs it 6 times)

Content

  • eels in silver at the bottom

  • frize of men on horseback interspaced with animals, medallions and coats of arms

  • two rulers sit frontally holding goblets

  • Scene of battle (reminds of the bayeux tapestry)

  • One is raising a goblet in one hand and rasiing a vessel in the other

  • one person is holding a leopard by a leashe

  • Fleur de lis, was originally the logo of the mamuk Sultan in Islam but its also the france logo afterwards

Context

  • normally vessels like this would have calligraphy, but this doesnt

  • Might have been given for export no one rlly knows

187. Folio from a Qur’an. Arab, North Africa or Near East. Abbasid. c. eighth to ninth century CE Ink, color, and gold on parchment

Form:

  • gold on parchment (in the west its called an illuminated manuscript) so its the same thing (there are some artworks)

  • great clarity: you can have multiple readers at once

Function

  • acts as a guide for ppl who already have it memorized

Content

  • Arabic reads right to left

  • Kufic script: strong upright and long horizontals

Context

  • Qur’an means recitation

  • this is from the oldest surviving Qur’an

  • scale / proportions / time suggest the wealth o fthe patron (Great mosque of Damascus)

  • Sura - short reading / prayer medallions / rounded palmette’s establish break in Suras

189. Bahram Gur Fights the Karg, folio from the Great Il-Khanid Shahnama. Islamic; Persian, Il’Khanid. c. 1330-1340 Ink and opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper

Form

Function

  • book illumination depicting many stories from the Shahnama aka the Persian Book of Kings

Content

Context

190. The Court of Gayumars, folio from Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama. Sultan Muhammad. c. 1522-1525 CE Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

208. Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings. Bichitr. c 1620 CE. Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper.

Form

  • The medium is opaque watercolor (we would call it guash modern times), gold, and ink on paper. So kind of like another illuminated manuscript.

  • Dimensions: 46.9 × 30.7 cm

  • Small painting from the Mughal period showing rich colors and intricate details: the flower designs at the top

Function

  • propaganda: because even tho the Shaik is there, it reinforces Jahangir’s spiritual and imperial authority showcasing his preference for spiritual over material power (this is like the justinian mosaic)

  • Reflects Jahangir’s political relationships with other rules

  • Acts as a visual statement about their devotion to Sufism and spiritual leadership

Content:

  • the emperor is depicted as divine (has the same halo like renaissance and baroque works)

  • A crescent moon is encircling his head

  • He’s sitting on an elevated platform

  • Five human figures (SECULAR) in total: Jahangir, a Sufi Shaikh, an Ottom Sultan, King James I, and the artist himself Bichitr, all arranged hierarchically with him at the bottom.

  • Iconograph: a golden disc and crescent moon symbolize divine power and royal authority (The crescent moon is associated with Islam)

  • Contrast of material wealth and spiritual poverty emphasizes spiritual vs material worlds

  • Angels collecting the sand of an hourglass (gathering time, maybe extending his reign)

  • The sufi shaike is rescieving a book from the emperor

  • The ottoman Sultant is dressed in foreign garb, so is King James I, but is pose and clothing suggests unease, hes also the only one LOOKING AT THE VIEWER

  • Bchitir (artist) there humbly

  • Painting features allegorical elements such as putti (angels) and a myseterious polyheaded figure, showing symbolic depth related to time and divine favor

Context

  • ughal Empire: created during the reign of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1605-1627.

  • Mughal court known for lavish art and complex iconography

  • Emphasizes Jahangir’s preference for spiritual leaders reinforcing his image as a ruler with divine favor

  • Diplomatic ties with foreign powers

  • Portraiture and attention to detail (like renaissance works)

  • self gloriciation and blending of Islamic and European influences

209. Taj Mahal. Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Masons, marble workers, mosaicists, and decorators working under the supervision of Ustad Ahmad Lahori, architect of the emperor. 1632-1653 CE Stone masonry and marble with inlay of precious and semiprecious stones; gardens.

Form: Mugal architecture w persian islamic and indian influences

White marble, red sandstone

Central dome, four surrounding minarets, symmetrical layout

Inlaid semi