Bowl with Simurghs Samarkand, 10th Century Ceramic The red interlace strapwork in this ceramic bowl creates a complex geometric pattern within the center, almost serving as the focal point for this piece. A pink-tan base color comes through in the negative spaces of the bowl, however, there is little space left unoccupied, as the composition […]
The Raven Addressing the Assembled Animals
Miskin The Assembled Animals Complain to the Raven India, 1595-1600 Gouache on paper The Assembled Animals Complain To The Raven is part of the Anwar-i Suhayli illustrated manuscript. This was a collection of fables that features animals and uses them symbolically. This detached folio focuses on the troubles in the world similar to Farid al-Din’s […]
Calligraphy In The Shape Of The Hoopoe Bird
Calligraphy In The Shape Of The Hoopoe Bird 17th Century Iran Pergamonmuseum, National Museums in Berlin Calligraphy in the shape of the Hoopoe bird is a “calligram” or figurative imagery consisting of Arabic characters; this type of artwork was very popular in later Islamic calligraphy. This form of calligraphy was typically used in the field […]
Lobed Bottle with Simurghs in Flight
Lobed Bottle with Simurghs in Flight 17th Century Safavid Dynasty Ceramic: fritware, painted in luster on opaque white and cobalt blue glazes Brooklyn Museum This vertical striped, lusterware bottle was most likely used simply as a decoration, as suggested by the shape of the vessel.Towards the bottom of the bottle, around the […]
The Concourse Of The Birds
Habiballah of Sava The Concourse Of The Birds Iran, Isfahan 1600 Ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper Habiballah of Sava’s “The Concourse of the Birds” depicts a diverse assortment of birds, as well as other creatures, all surrounding a crowned bird. This crowned bird at the center of these other creatures is […]
Bihzad and Authorship in Persianate Painting
In Roxburgh’s essay, he discusses the difficulty in making the connection between artist and artwork without signatures or written sources. The essay brings up the point of how viewers tend to make problematic assumptions when placing authorship on a work of art. Roxburgh uses the breadth of Bihzad’s artwork to prove why paintings can’t be […]
Abbasid Ceramic
The claim that “It is not until the Abbasid period that a distinct type and style of ceramic ware emerged that can be distinguished technically as ‘Islamic’” is only proved to a certain extent by the ceramics in the Abbasid exhibition. There are some ceramic pieces in the exhibition that show definitely have “Islamic” characteristics […]
The Formation of Islamic Art
In Oleg Grabar’s The Formation of Islamic Art he argues that after a region goes through an exchange of power a landmark or some type of visual symbolization is usually erected in order to announce this new presence. Grabar provides evidence and theories of how Muslims created monuments after Islam had successfully spread to a […]
Umayyad Art and Architecture
The term “Islamic Art” is used loosely because of the variety of styles seen in artwork deemed to be Islamic. Art and architecture was considered to be particularly eclectic in the Umayyad dynasty, as there was an overlap in styles from distinct artistic traditions. The diversity seen in Umayyad art and architecture is believed to […]
The Message
Steven Sedig The Message In The Message, the protagonist is never shown throughout the film making it different from many other Hollywood biopics. The entire plot revolves around Muhammad, however he is never seen by the viewer. This is done in order to respect the Islamic belief that holy figures should not be recreated in […]