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HOW
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ISIiMIC
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PENGUIN BOOKS
Author Professor Gabriele Mandel
Idea and realization Harry C. Lindinger
Graphic design Gerry Valsecchi
Artist Dr Mariarosa Conti
Translators Erica and Arthur Propper
Contents
Introduction 3
Architecture 6
Decoration 30
Metal, Glass, Ivory,
and Wood 36
Ceramics 42
Miniatures 48
Rugs and Carpets 54
Glossary 62
Bibliography 63
Sources 63
Index 63
Photocredits 64
Penguin Books, 625 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022
Penguin Books Canada Limited, 2801 John Street, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 1B4
First published in Italy by Rizzoli Editore, Milan, 1979
First published in Great Britain by Macdonald Educational Ltd 1979
First published in the United States of America and Canada by Penguin Books 1980
©
Copyright Rizzoli Editore, Milan, 1978
English edition copyright © Macdonald Educational Ltd, 1979
All rights reserved
Printed in Italy by Rizzoli Editore
The growth of Islam
Introduction
In ad 610 Muhammad ibn Abdallah, an Arab trader
generally known as Muhammad, began to preach a
doctrine of Islam, or submission to the One God, in
Mecca, a small town in central Arabia. The movement
he started was secret at first; but after some years the
leaders of Mecca came to feel their interests threatened
by Muhammad's preaching against the worship of
several deities; and in 622 he was forced to flee north to
the city of Medina. This event, known as the Hejira,
from the Arabic for 'emigration', hijra, is the starting
pointoftheIslamiccalendar. (UnliketheChristiandates
given in this book, Muslim years are based on lunar
months, often making comparison difficult between the
two systems.) In Medina Muhammad founded the first
Islamic community and after a short time became the
city's political leader. He and his followers embarked on
a course ofeconomic and territorial expansion and in a
veryfew years had conquered Mecca and its surrounding
territories.
After Muhammad's death, his followers elected a
succession of leaders - known as caliphs, from part of
the Arabic for 'successor of the apostle of God'. In the
course ofa policy ofswift conquests the caliphs overran
Syria in 635 and Persia and Egypt in 641, reached India
in 707, and began the conversion of Spain to Islam in
711. In less than a century the new religion had spread
among many peoples of greatly differing cultures. The
art that these cultures came to have in common was
developed gradually, over hundreds of years. It derived
not from one central source so much as a fusion of
elements from several different cultures.
Islamic or Muslim society (the words have the same
meaning) assimilated not only art forms but political
structures.TheUmayyads,whoruled fromad661 estab-
,
lished the earliest ofthecaliphates. They were succeeded
byanotherArabdynasty, the Abbasids(750-945), under
whose rule eastern influences, in particular, made them-
selves apparent in the arts. North Africa was ruled from
around the tenth century by the Berbers, including the
Fatimid dynasty (963-1 171), which founded Cairo as its
capital in 969. In Spain and North Africa the Umayyads
were also followed by local dynasties, including the
The growth of Islam
A The Royal Square Almoravids(1087-1492)and theAlmohads(1147-1230).
of Isfahan, in Iran, From the ninth century ad Islam increasingly felt the
built byShahAbbas influence of advances into western Asia by Turkish
the Great. In the nomads fromCentral Asia. The Seljuk Turksruled from
foreground is the
MosqueoftheShah 1038 to 1194 in Iran and from 1195 in Anatolia; and the
(1611-16); beyond Mamluks (1252-1517), a dynasty of slave origin, took
it, a vast space (150 power in Egypt. Here, they were in turn supplanted by
mbayydan5.00Omn),the leofrt another Turkish power, the Ottomans, who ruled in
is the AM Qapu Turkey itself from the beginning of the fourteenth
Palace; on the right, century ad. From the thirteenth century the eastern
the Mosque of limits of Islam were further invaded, by Mongol tribes
Sheikh Luft Allah from Central Asia. The nomads established a period of
(1603-17).
rule in India (1215-1857), and Persia (1256-1502) under
the Ilkhanid and Timurid dynasties, eventually sup-
planted there by the Safavids (1502-1736).
During the years, therefore, that the art of Islam
reached a climax ofachievement - throughout much of
the Muslim world approximately from shortly after the
early conquests up to the eighteenth century ad - it did
so under the influence of many, often simultaneous,
spheresofpower overa huge area ofimmense social and
geographical variety.
An international art
Miniature from
Afghanistan by Mir
Haydar, painted in
1436 and showing
Muhammad before
the Spirit of
Abraham, from the
'Night Journey of
Muhammad' {Mir
Nama). It is not
entirely true to say
thatthe Muslimsdid
-
not depict figures
although Muham-
mad himself is never
completely repre-
sented in orthodox
Islamic painting.
< Ceramic bottle,
made in Kashan. in
Iran, and dated
1236. In several
Islamic countries
pottery was one of
the highest forms of
artistic expression.
Their craftsmen
combined Egyptian,
Mesopotamian. and
Chinese experience
to develop brilliant
newtechniquesthat
enabled them to
transcend the limits
of craftsmanship
and create true
works of art.
Common elements
Architecture
During the time when the architecture of the Islamic
world wasmostdistinguishable asan independentgroup
ofstyles - from the early Islamic conquests to as late as
the eighteenth century - building styles consistently ap-
peared adapted to their surroundings. Islamic archi-
tecture was generally lively and open in feeling, as
opposed to solid and shut in. This effect was sometimes
obtained by decoration, which often covered every
surface and particularly masked the structure of the
building. Such decoration, however, never created any
focal point or any centre drawing attention to itself. In
particular, one feature that prevented any single element
frombecomingtooprominentwasthetypeofdecoration
An example of
muqarnas: in the
angle formed bythe
meeting of the back
and side walls there
is a triangular
bracket. This carries
acellflanked bytwo
others which con-
nect it with two
walls.Onthesethree
cells another four
arebased, and soon
up to the ceiling,
each layer project-
ing a little farther so
thatthewholeforms
a large recess made
up of a number of
smallerindentations,
each with a little
arch whose bases
hang down like
stalactites in a
grotto.
Common elements
known as 'infinite pattern', a basic motif of Islamic art
not only in architecture but in almost all its forms.
Before considering any individual buildings, let us
examine two architectural elements, the arch and the
dome; and two largelydecorative elements, the iwan and
themuqarnas, whichIslamicbuildings bothreligiousand
secular had in common. The iwan, which already had a
longpre-Islamichistory,wasavaultedchamber, opening
to the exterior on one side (see pp. 19, 20, 25, 27). The
muqarnas was a decorated transitional element between
walls and vault, often with an overall 'stalactite' appear-
ance(seep. 7). Itwasfirstdeveloped intheearlyeleventh
century,in Persia.
No other art has made such use of a wide variety of
types ofarches. Originally the round arch supported by
columnswas adopted, following the Byzantine style. But
soon the pointed arch was being used in many different
A
varieties. hundred years after the first Islamic experi-
ments in the use of this element, the arch, resting on
columns, piers, or walls, had assumed a vast range of
shapes. Sometimes different shapes or designs were
A Syrian example
of muqarnas. or
'stalactite' decor-
ation, built in
Jerusalem in about
the eleventh cen-
tury. This form of
architectural orna-
ment was con-
structed not only in
stone and marble,
but also in stucco,
wood, and pottery,
incorporating a var-
ietyof structural de-
tails. It was often
richlydecorated,es-
pecially in Iran
where such vaults
were covered with
glazed tiles.
Holy tombs
-< An example of a A The tomb of
typical Islamicstruc- Sheikh Abdullah in
ture, a cube-shaped North Yemen. This
room with a hemi- is one of the oldest
spherical roof. examples of a qubat
(domed) tomb. Al-
though in orthodox
Islamtheveneration
of saints is pro-
hibited, from the
earliest times tombs
were built to per-
petuate the memory
of those who had
servedtheFaithwith
distinction.
grafted or superimposed on one another. The result was
awidevarietyoftypes, and thechoicebetweenthemwas
often prompted not by structuralnecessitybut bypurely
decorative considerations. They included the horseshoe
arch, notably in Spain and Morocco (see p. 13); the
lancet; the three-lobed and polylobed arches; the raised
arch on slender pillars (see p. 28); broken and stepped
arches; and stalactite(muqarnas)arches. In someregions
