2.2 — Islamic Art and Architecture
Islamic art spans vast geographies and centuries, from Spain and North Africa to Central Asia and India. This chapter highlights key architectural types, ornamental vocabularies, and the central roles of calligraphy and geometry.
Core Forms and Functions
- Mosque: Space for communal prayer, often with courtyard (sahn), hypostyle halls or iwans, minaret, mihrab (prayer niche), and minbar (pulpit).
- Madrasa: Educational institution; often organized around a courtyard with student cells and iwans.
- Mausoleum: Monumental tombs with domed chambers and rich decoration.
- Palace and Garden: Secular architecture integrating water, shade, and geometry (e.g., Alhambra’s courtyards).
Ornament and Aniconism
Non-figurative decoration predominates in religious contexts: calligraphy, geometric pattern, and arabesque vegetal motifs. Figural art does appear in secular settings, manuscripts, and some ceramics and textiles.
Definition: Mihrab
A niche in the qibla wall of a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca; often richly decorated with tile, stucco, or carved stone.
Regional Highlights
- Umayyad (Damascus, Spain): Great Mosque of Damascus; Great Mosque of Córdoba with double-tiered arches and maqsura.
- Abbasid (Iraq): Samarra’s spiral minaret; stucco wall panels with abstract designs.
- Fatimid & Ayyubid (Egypt/North Africa): Cairene mosques with keel arches; lusterware ceramics.
- Seljuk & Ilkhanid (Iran): Four-iwan mosque plans; glazed tile revetment; stucco mihrabs.
- Mamluk (Egypt/Syria): Stone muqarnas portals; glass lamps with enamel and gilding.
- Ottoman (Anatolia/Balkans): Centralized domed mosques (Sinan’s Süleymaniye, Selimiye), pencil minarets, Iznik tiles.
- Safavid (Iran): Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Square ensemble; Shah Mosque with brilliant tilework and iwans.
- Mughal (India): Fusion of Persian, Timurid, and Indian forms; Taj Mahal’s white marble, inlay, and charbagh garden plan.
Materials and Techniques
- Tile and Glaze: Cuerda seca, mosaic faience, and underglaze-painted tiles for walls and mihrabs.
- Stucco and Stone Carving: Calligraphic bands, geometric panels, muqarnas niches.
- Wood and Ivory: Carved doors, minbars, furniture inlay.
- Textiles: Silks, carpets (notably Anatolian and Persian workshops), with repeating medallions and borders.
- Manuscripts: Qur’ans with elaborate scripts (Kufic, Naskh) and gilded headings; illustrated epics and scientific texts.
Note: Geometry and Meaning
Geometric pattern and repetition suggest infinite extension and unity, reflecting theological ideas of order and the divine.
Urbanism and Water
Courtyards, fountains, and channels temper climate and create reflective surfaces. Garden design (chahar bagh) divides space into quadrants, uniting architecture, water, and vegetation.
Looking Ahead
Next, Chapter 2.3 examines Romanesque art, where pilgrimage, monasticism, and stone architecture reshape Europe’s visual landscape.